After Obedience: When Freedom Doesn’t Feel Like Freedom

After Obedience: When Freedom Doesn’t Feel Like Freedom

The Terrifying Truth About People Pleasing

Brittney Walker, ExMo ADHD's avatar
Brittney Walker, ExMo ADHD
Jun 13, 2025
∙ Paid

Three months into therapy, my therapist said something that stopped me cold: "People pleasing isn't just about self-protection. It's about control."

I sat there, stunned. Control? Me? I'm the person who says yes to everything, who bends over backward to make everyone else comfortable, who apologizes for existing. How could that possibly be about control?

…

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