Setting boundaries is often framed as empowering and it is.
But what we don’t talk about enough is what comes after.
The quiet.
The emotional exhaustion.
The loneliness that settles in when you stop over-giving, over-explaining, and abandoning yourself for the comfort of others. In this Mid Week Tease episode, Adelle Onyango explores the rarely discussed emotional aftermath of boundaries, especially for women who have spent years being the strong one, the reliable one, the emotionally available one. This conversation is not about “how to set boundaries.”
It’s about what it feels like to live with them.
In this episode, we reflect on:
- Why setting boundaries can feel lonely before it feels freeing
- The emotional exhaustion that follows when your nervous system finally slows down
- How boundaries expose relationships built on access and emotional labour
- Grieving connections that couldn’t meet you at your new level
- Resisting the urge to undo your growth just to avoid discomfort
- Learning to sit with space long enough for healthier connections to form
This episode is for anyone who set boundaries and wondered:
“Why do I feel so tired?”
“Why does it feel so quiet?”
“Did I do something wrong?” You didn’t. You’re in transition.
Join the Legally Clueless Africa community
Newsletter: www.legallycluelessafrica.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/legallycluelessafrica/
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@legallycluelessafrica
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/LegallyCluelessYoutube
Share your story: forms.gle/kMn7Wae5N563JFGQ8