Emotional Regulation

Is Crying a Way to Regulate Emotions: I Finally Stopped Fighting the Tears

I used to think crying was proof I was losing control. A few years ago, in the middle of a work cris...

Is Being a People Pleaser a Sin

I used to think I was just being a good Christian. Saying yes to every request. Smiling through exha...

The Woman Reading in the Rain

It was drizzling outside the library and I was waiting under the overhang for it to let up, annoyed ...

Everything That Happened on the Walk Home

I took the long way back from the coffee shop last Thursday — not for any reason, just because it wa...

How Is People Pleasing a Form of Manipulation? The Honest Truth

I was halfway through offering to organize the entire class party before I even realized my mouth ha...

How Not to Be a People Pleaser: I Deleted Social Media and Found Myself

I was the person who laughed at jokes I didn't find funny, agreed to plans I dreaded, and apologized...

Company I Stopped Apologizing For

"I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity." — Al...

The Day I Stopped Trying to Hate Myself Into Being Better

I was curled on my bathroom floor at 2 a.m., tile cold against my cheek. The phone screen glowed ...

How Does People Pleasing Develop? The Roots of a Silent Habit

I remember standing in my kitchen, phone pressed to my ear, saying "Of course, no problem!" while my...

Stop Fighting Your Anxiety: The One Shift That Finally Calms Your Nervous System

I was standing in my kitchen, holding a coffee mug I didn't remember pouring. My jaw was clenched so...