I used to be so understanding to people’s reasons behind their bullying, putting me down, etc just so that they could get it out of their system. I would only focus on their reasons but not their behavior, which was of course a mistake. I started putting my boundaries and eliminated those people from my life.
While I still try my best to understand and emphasize, I no longer tolerate their behavior. They are two different things. Understanding doesn’t hurt me but tolerating without boundaries do hurt me.