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🇦🇷 Argentina /Health & Science

Psychiatrists agree: A better life begins with setting boundaries and giving things up without guilt

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Psychiatrist Marian Rojas Estapé said people need to learn to set limits and give up some demands without feeling guilty.
  • She described her own difficulty saying no and argued that priorities change across different stages of life.
  • Accepting a commitment or activity less often does not necessarily mean abandoning it permanently, she said.

Helping others, meeting every responsibility and trying to do everything perfectly can look like a strength. But when those habits become permanent demands, they can leave people exhausted and push their own needs aside.

Spanish psychiatrist Marian Rojas Estapé reflected on that tension during a conference excerpt later shared on Instagram. “I realized that the key to life was learning to give things up without guilt, knowing how to choose what is best at each moment,” she said. For her, self-care does not mean abandoning obligations. It means deciding what deserves priority at a particular stage.

I realized that the key to life was learning to give things up without guilt, knowing how to choose what is best at each moment.

· Marian Rojas EstapéThe psychiatrist summarized her view that self-care requires choosing priorities without guilt.

Rojas Estapé said she once believed she had to remain available to anyone who needed help and handle every responsibility as well as possible. Saying no seemed incompatible with her commitment to other people. “I did not know how to say no. I thought the key to life was helping everyone whenever you could and doing everything as well as possible,” she recalled.

I did not know how to say no. I thought the key to life was helping everyone whenever you could and doing everything as well as possible.

· Marian Rojas EstapéShe described the beliefs that previously made it difficult for her to set boundaries.

She said fear of disappointing others, appearing selfish or failing to meet expectations often makes people accept commitments they lack the time or energy to sustain. Changing that pattern was difficult for her. “It seemed impossible to me, because I myself learned to say no,” she said as she described reconsidering how she responded to everyday demands.

The psychiatrist also stressed that giving something up can be temporary. Family needs, a work project, health problems or emotional exhaustion may require certain activities to take a less prominent place. Some choices last weeks or days, while others may shape a longer period. That does not necessarily mean those activities have lost their value or must be abandoned forever.

It seemed impossible to me, because I myself learned to say no.

· Marian Rojas EstapéShe recalled how challenging it was to change her response to everyday demands.
About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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