You Are Not Responsible for Other People's Emotions

You can care about someone deeply without being the manager of their inner world. Their sadness, anger, or disappointment belongs to them — it's theirs to feel and theirs to process. You can support without absorbing, and empathize without carrying. The confusion between empathy and responsibility is one of the most reliable paths to emotional exhaustion. Staying present for someone is generous. Treating their feelings as your fault is something else entirely.