A patsy is an easy target; someone people think is easy to push around.

I am not a fan of being blunt unless I am exasperated at someone who disrespects me.

Managing people who expect you to do what they want by setting new boundaries can be delicate to do. It is so important to be consistent. But, we're all human and all of us makes mistakes. And folks in recovery and those who need to be in recovery are fragile. It would concern me about hurting them further.

One thing I say when I set a boundary, and the person pushes back is " Please respect my decision." If they keep going, I walk away. After that, I keep my distance from them by not seeking them out or starting conversations with them, if that is at all possible.

This is a tricky topic because so much depends on who the person is. Like with my family, when I lived at home when I tried to stand up for myself, mother and my sisters just got nastier to regain their "power".