Setting Boundaries in Recovery

Erin Smith

Published on: 09/03/2026

If there is one skill that comes up again and again in recovery — in meetings, in therapy, in sober living homes, in every honest conversation about what it takes to stay sober — it is boundaries. Setting boundaries is not about being difficult, cold, or selfish. It is about knowing what you need to protect your sobriety and your wellbeing, and having the courage to communicate that clearly. For many people in recovery, this is brand new territory. Addiction has a way of erasing boundaries — your own and everyone else's. Learning to establish them again is one of the most important and most liberating things you will do in recovery.