@brookeweinstein: That's how you know it wasn't genuine care. It was people pleasing. And people pleasing is a nervous system response. When your system learned early that keeping others happy meant staying safe, the fawn response became your default. Your body's way of avoiding conflict, rejection, or perceived threat. So you say yes when you mean no. You overextend when you're already empty. You swallow your needs to keep the peace. Here's the real kicker: people pleasing damages the relationship you're trying to protect. When you're operating from fawn, you're not showing up as yourself. You're performing. Managing. Shapeshifting to match what you think someone else needs. The other person never gets the real you. They get the version you think will keep them close. That's not connection. That's survival mode dressed up as care. Real relationships require your nervous system to feel safe enough to be honest. To say no. To hold boundaries without flooding with fear or guilt. Regulation gives you that choice. The ability to pause before you say yes out of panic. To notice when you're fawning instead of feeling. Your system learned this pattern to protect you. It can learn something new. #peoplepleasing #fawnresponse #boundaries #nervousystem #healingpatterns
