While grieving — and at all other times — it is important to be aware of, protect, and set clear boundaries with others. If you are like many of us, you may have some difficulty saying no to people. If saying NO to others is difficult for you, below are some other ways that you can say NO that may work for you.
- I’m not comfortable speaking about that now.
- I’m sorry but I don’t feel right about doing that.
- If that’s what you want, you’re, asking the wrong person.
- I realize many people feel fine about things like that, and it’s not for me to judge them, but it just wouldn’t work for me.
- What I did in the past is past. Now is now, and it’s not right for me anymore so please don t ask because I won’t.
- This is not an okay time. I’ll let you know if I can spend time on it later.
- If you had let me know earlier we could have talked about it, but it’s just not possible for me now.
- I can see something needs doing, but it should be done by the person who caused the problem in the first place, not by me.
- It would be far more appropriate for you to do that yourself.·
- Why would you want to know that kind of information about me?
- How would you feel if someone said something like that to your (wife, husband, daughter, son, etc)?