"Lately, listening to people's problems is painful."
Hiyori said quietly. Unusually showing weakness.
Sora worried. "Hiyori, you're always listening to everyone's problems."
"I thought that was my role. But lately it's heavy."
Mira wrote in her notebook. "Compassion fatigue"
Hiyori was surprised. "Mira, you know about it?"
Mira nodded and continued writing. "Becoming exhausted from continuously feeling others' pain"
Sora understood. "Kindness is becoming a burden?"
"That's how I feel," Hiyori acknowledged. "When I listen to friends' worries, I suffer as if they were my own."
Mira wrote. "Boundaries are unclear"
"Boundaries?" Sora asked.
Hiyori explained. "The boundary between your own emotions and others'. When it's unclear, you take on others' problems as your own."
Sora wrote in her notebook. "Difference between empathy and identification?"
"Exactly," Hiyori nodded. "Empathy is understanding others' feelings. Identification is feeling others' feelings as your own."
Mira supplemented. "Empathy is healthy. Identification is exhausting"
Sora asked. "But isn't it cold not to deeply empathize?"
Hiyori thought. "That's my dilemma. I want to be kind. But kindness feels like it's breaking me."
Mira slowly wrote. "Compassion fatigue"
"Compassion fatigue," Hiyori translated. "A symptom common in nurses and counselors."
Sora noticed. "Hiyori, you listen to people like a counselor."
"But I'm not a professional," Hiyori said. "I don't know how far I should help."
Mira wrote. "Savior complex"
Hiyori felt a jolt. "That's me?"
"Confirming your own value by helping someone," Mira continued writing. "But there are limits"
Sora gently asked. "Hiyori, why do you try so hard to help others?"
Hiyori answered honestly. "I want to be needed. Want to be useful. And..."
"And?"
"Because I can look away from my own problems."
Mira and Sora were surprised. Hiyori saying such things.
Hiyori continued. "If I focus on others' problems, I don't have to feel my own loneliness and anxiety."
Mira wrote. "Also a defense mechanism"
"Yes," Hiyori acknowledged. "But it's exhausting me."
Sora asked. "Then what should you do?"
Hiyori thought. "Draw boundaries. But that's difficult."
Mira wrote. "Fear of refusing"
"Yes," Hiyori nodded. "If I refuse, I'll be disliked. Won't be needed. That's what I think."
Sora suggested. "But protecting yourself is also important, right?"
"I understand in my head," Hiyori said. "But can't practice it."
Mira showed her notebook. There were concrete methods for setting boundaries written.
"Mira, this..." Hiyori was surprised.
Mira wrote. "I'm practicing too. Not rejecting people. Protecting myself"
Sora read. "Decide time limits for listening. Communicate your limits. Don't try to help perfectly"
Hiyori thought. "Not trying to help perfectly... is that allowed?"
"It's allowed," Mira wrote. "You're also human. Have limits"
Sora supplemented. "Kindness shouldn't be self-sacrifice."
Hiyori teared up. "But if I refuse..."
"Real friends will understand," Sora said. "They'll respect Hiyori's limits."
Mira wrote. "And from people who don't understand, it's okay to distance yourself"
Hiyori took a deep breath. "I'll try practicing, little by little."
Sora smiled. "We'll also try not to help Hiyori too much."
Hiyori was surprised. "What?"
"Hiyori also needs opportunities to solve things yourself," Sora said. "Helping too much might not be kindness either."
Mira nodded. Then wrote. "Healthy boundaries are for both parties"
Hiyori smiled. "Thank you. Both of you."
The three sat quietly. When kindness becomes a burden, it might be a sign to redraw boundaries.