My first experience with empathy happened before I even knew what empathy was. All I knew as a child was that I felt sad. Sad for children who had less, sad for abandoned animals, sad for the last apple in the fridge, because it must have felt so lonely. In fact, I felt more than sad, because I was feeling the pain of what I imagined they felt themselves.
As I grew older, I began to feel like empathy was a burden. I grew tired of feeling so deeply and looked for ways outside of myself to cope.
My empathy became a source of fuel for picking romantic "projects"; people who I thought I could fix. People I thought I could love enough into changing. People who's brokenness on the outside matched my brokenness on the inside.
This fueled my alcohol addiction, eating disorders and low self-esteem. I was in a cycle of unrecovered codependency and people pleasing; living anxiously with no sense of identity or purpose and yearning for external validation.
I started an Instagram account @diaryofapeoplepleaser_ and began to unravel and journal through all my pain. Through that I met myself; my authenticity. My account became a source of healing, clarity, understanding and education for not only myself, but thousands of strangers who connected with my experiences.
This refueled my passion for psychology and created business opportunities through podcasts, writing, TV and public speaking to educate others about people pleasing, codependency and narcissistic abuse.
Portfolio links
I am attaining my Master Degree in Psychology to become a Registered Clinical Counsellor to further support others. Stay tuned!
Interested in 1:1 coaching? Let's connect! https://diaryofapeoplepleaser.com/
Credits:
Created with an image by Monstar Studio - "Closeup empty glass bottles. On background homeless drunk woman is sitting on cardboard on floor in abandoned house. Addicted teenage girl drunkard is drinking beer. Alcoholism, alcohol abuse concept."