SC
Sarah Chen
Active client
Sessions
2
Total
Check-ins
2
This week
Mood trend
Anxious
Fluctuating
Summary
The client has been working through a recurring pattern of difficulty saying no at work, particularly with their manager. Across several check-ins, they described feeling overwhelmed and out of control of their own time, having broken commitments to themselves about boundaries on multiple occasions. Notably, they did take a significant step and declined an extra project request, and while they felt proud, the experience was physically overwhelming and they quickly fell into replaying it and catastrophising the outcome. The central question emerging for them is not just how to set boundaries, but why saying no feels so dangerous.
Themes
BoundariesWork stressFear of conflictSelf-trustPeople-pleasingInternalised consequences
Flags
⚠The client broke their own stated commitment to themselves twice in one week before eventually managing to say no — the gap between intention and action is a pattern worth exploring, not just the boundary-setting itself.
⚠Physical symptoms (shaking hands) accompanied the act of saying no, suggesting this may be more than a skills issue — there's a strong somatic and emotional charge here worth noticing.
⚠The client is repeatedly replaying their manager's reactions and reading ambiguous responses (quiet tone, surprised look) as confirmation of threat — this interpretive loop is intensifying and worth exploring.
⚠The client has framed their manager as potentially becoming 'an enemy' after a single neutral response — the size of that leap may be worth gently unpacking.
What Sarah wants to explore
Why saying no feels dangerous — what's underneath that sense of threat
The gap between knowing their own limits and being able to act on them in the moment
What they make of their manager's reactions and how much weight they're giving them
Boundaries more broadly, not just in this specific work context