Fortress of survival

As a young man, five times I loaded up my motorcycle and headed for the hills. Not just a ride but my intent was to permanently remove myself from society...yes, forever. I soon realized my hunting skills weren't up to the task. That 5 cans of baked beans weren't enough. The creature comforts of home were missed. I had to find another answer. It came in the way of country living. This half way point allowed me to hermitise myself. Locals don't treat you as one of them for 30 years it seems, so no risk of a door knock. There is however, another adjustment required. The "fortress of survival" is an idea I developed many years ago. This is an extension of country living and it came about when I introduced social media to my life. Bullying arrived and a message came "go to your doctor and get some more meds nutter" So sad yes, but I'm proactive and I found the answer to surviving social media in the form of the "fortress" The "fortress" is a concept of mind. It means that your mind is your fortress. You allow into your fortress only those people that you think you can trust and give them a temporary visa. If they fail they are turfed out of your castle into the moat. Gone! This discarding of toxic people can seem ruthless however, we are unusual, we have mental illness and society does not protect us. We need a system whereby we protect ourselves. Once you have this system in place, which is really just a frame of mind including basic boundaries you will feel safer. Too many of us are left vulnerable to cruelty and told to "toughen up" when in reality we are who we are, warts and all, sensitivity is us, its part of us, damn it- why should we "harden up"? Why don't they soften down? Don't be afraid of using your fortress on family members. Sure make sure you are certain of your move, but family are often tolerated just because they are family. That's not logical because another way of explaining this is "I'll tolerate abuse, demands, expectations and bullying because they are family. That isn't a system of protection, that's a system of suppression. You can communicate minimal at family events but in your mind you are not trusting of them unless they make serious attempts to understand. An example of my fortress is when I dated ladies in the 1980's (you might laugh). For the lady to qualify to the next date with me she had to pass certain tests. eg She had to enjoy the company of children and baby animals, pay for a meal within 3 dates and finally be on the same emotional level as myself which was tested at the movies. I married my first wife on this "formula". She admired the bouncing lambs in the paddocks as we drove in the country. She paid for a hamburger with the lot (yes with pineapple) and she expressed sadness in a movie called "purple rain" during a sad scene. Bingo we married. The marriage lasted 11 years so the formula needed tweaking. Divorced I introduced a fourth requirement...that she tolerated my moods. lol and she included beetroot in the burger. Seriously, this filtering system is not to be underestimated as far as protecting yourself. We are individuals that need to set boundaries and install certain customized requirements to get through life with the least pain possible. Do you have a "fortress" you can share with us to help us all on our protected journey through life with mental illness? How do you protect yourself.? WK