Don't Set Yourself on Fire to Keep Someone Else Warm

Helping others at the cost of your own wellbeing is not love — it's self-destruction with a generous label. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and you cannot sustain support that you're providing at your own expense. There's a difference between genuine generosity and compulsive self-sacrifice. The people who truly care about you don't want you to burn for them. And the people who do want that — who only feel secure when you're depleted — those relationships deserve a harder look. Put on your own oxygen mask first. It's not selfishness. It's basic sustainability.