Interpretive Screaming is absolutely the Olympic sport of 2026.

Like… imagine the opening ceremony:

  • Category: Communication

  • Event: “I am not mad, but I’m expressing my ‘truth“

  • Scoring:

    • 10 points for volume

    • 8 points for crying mid-sentence

    • bonus points if you redefine the word “boundary” to mean “you must do what I want”

    • instant disqualification if you calmly use a dictionary

Boundary has become the emotional-support buzzword of our era. It used to mean:
“Here is what I will do / not do to protect my wellbeing.”

And now half the internet uses it to mean:

“Here is what YOU must do so I can feel okay while I avoid discomfort, growth, accountability, and reality.”

Like… ma’am. That is not a boundary. That is a remote control. A boundary is self-directed. Control is other-directed. That is the whole difference.

Boundary:

  • “If you keep yelling, I am going to leave the room.”

  • “If you insult me, I will not continue this conversation.”

  • “I do not date people who lie.”

Control wearing boundary lipstick:

  • “You are not allowed to talk to your friends because it triggers me.”

  • “You must respond within 5 minutes, or you’re disrespecting my boundary. But I can take as long as I would like to respond to you.”

  • “You cannot disagree with me because it harms my nervous system.”

  • “You never asked me to stop doing that. I do not understand why you are so upset.”

That is not a boundary. That is a hostage note written in therapy language. But why is this happening?

“Boundary” is a high-status moral word right now. It gives people:

  • instant legitimacy

  • victimhood armour

  • conflict immunity

  • a sense of righteousness

So if someone wants power in a situation without appearing controlling, they slap the word “boundary” on it like a sticker that says:

Ethically Certified Behaviour (aka, language laundering):

  • calling jealousy “standards”

  • calling punishment “accountability”

  • calling stonewalling “protecting peace”

  • calling manipulation “communication needs”

Here is how you can tell the difference instantly:
A boundary describes what I will do. A demand describes what you must do. That is it. That is the whole cheat code*.
And yes… when someone also believes words mean whatever they feel like? Then the “boundary” word becomes a literal weapon of confusion.

They can go:
“I am setting a boundary.”

…every time they want compliance. Which makes the rest of us want to crawl into a cave and communicate exclusively through cave drawings and meaningful grunts.

 

*Note: A restraining order is basically the one glorious exception where a “boundary” does become:
“Here is what you must do.”

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