Absolutely, Lox. Sometimes I get caught without that barrier, as soon as I do, usually on the telephone, I hang up. One thing which helps me is knowing not feeding into whatever they are doing/saying, is actually healthier for both of us...they do not need my support in perpetuating negative behaviours. Well-meaning actions really cannot help that much in most cases. We just watched the movie, The Soloist, last night. It deals exactly with that helping a mentally ill person and not seeing the rewards they expected. Very good movie, imo.