Many women spend years becoming the person everyone can rely on. The supportive colleague. The dependable friend. The partner who puts everyone else’s needs first. Yet beneath that reputation can be exhaustion, resentment, and a growing sense of disconnection from themselves.
People pleasing is often praised as kindness, generosity, and selflessness. But what happens when constantly putting everyone else first comes at the expense of your own needs, well-being, and identity?
In this episode, wellbeing hypnotherapist Vicci O’Reilly shares the deeper roots of people pleasing, anxious attachment, and self-abandonment and reveals why so many women feel responsible for other people’s happiness, how early experiences can shape adult relationship patterns, and why people pleasing is often driven by fear rather than genuine choice.
Vicci also shares insights into the connection between people pleasing, burnout, resentment, relationship challenges, and the gradual loss of self that can occur when your worth becomes tied to being needed. The conversation explores what it takes to rebuild self-trust, establish healthier boundaries, and reconnect with who you are beyond caring for everyone else.
If you have ever struggled to say no, found yourself prioritizing other people’s needs above your own, or wondered why setting boundaries feels so difficult, this conversation offers a thoughtful and compassionate perspective.
Because it’s so praised, we create this belief in ourselves that if i’m not there for people i’m a bad person. But who’s there for you?
Topics Discussed
- The real drivers behind people pleasing
- The connection between childhood experiences and adult relationships
- How self-abandonment shows up in everyday life
- The warning signs that people pleasing may be going too far
- The role of boundaries in healthy relationships
- How to start rebuilding self-trust
- A most powerful question everyone should ask themselves
