How do I stop feeling responsible for my parent's emotional wellbeing as an adult?

This is one of the hardest things to untangle, and Rabia's life teaches us something crucial: love doesn't require you to carry what isn't yours to carry. When you grew up managing a parent's mood, their loneliness, their stability—you learned that your worth lived in their comfort. That's real. That happened. But adulthood is the long, patient work of distinguishing between *caring about* someone and *being responsible for* them. You can love your parent fiercely without being their emotional infrastructure. Start small: notice when you're explaining their behavior to others, or apologizing for their feelings, or rearranging your life to prevent their sadness. These are the tells. Set one boundary—maybe it's not answering calls during your dinner, or not initiating conversations about their problems. It will feel selfish at first. It's not. Your own emotional wellbeing isn't a luxury you earn by performing devotion. It's foundational. Rabia loved without transaction, without keeping score—but she also knew the difference between love and abandonment of self. That distinction is where your freedom lives.