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ALL trauma responses are protective often at the expense of other people. But this doesn’t make it malicious or intentional. Take people-pleasing, for example. On the surface, it might look like the person is very considerate and thoughtful, right? But if we look closer, this behavior is actually about protecting themselves from feeling rejected. People pleasers work hard to keep everyone else happy, not necessarily because they care deeply, but because it makes THEM feel safe and accepted. This puts their fear of rejection BEFORE the actual well-being and growth of both themselves and the people around them. True love and care isn't about keeping everyone comfortable and pleased at all times, it's about doing what’s genuinely best for them. It’s about nurturing growth and resilience, even if it gets challenging or uncomfortable. #peoplepleasing #peoplepleaser #peoplepleasers #rejection #fearofrejection #relationships

@matthiasjbarker
864.3K views62.1K likes0:46ENAug 3, 2026
165 words932 characters12 sentencesReadability: Middle School

Transcript

People pleasers are selfish. I hate to tell you. That's like the main thing driving it. It's not love and nurture and kindness and sweetness and just trying to care for other people. It looks like that on the outside, on the inside it's all fear. It's all like I'm worried if I push back or if I do something that makes them disappointed, they're going to reject me, they're going to leave. It's going to make me feel unsafe. The guiding light in all of it is like I want to make sure they stay pleased with me, with me. Not like that they're genuinely benefiting because sometimes the best thing for other people is that they experience the consequences of their actions, that they experience pushback, they experience my resistance, it actually helps the relationship get healthier and then mature. True love doesn't just want someone to feel comfortable all the time. That's not love. Love is about wanting what's best for them.

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