If you're a people pleaser, a perfectionist, a peacekeeper, an overachiever - I wrote a book for you.
Available August 5, 2025 in 17 different languages and territories.
– Katherine Morgan Schafler, Psychotherapist and Author of The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control
Constantly worried about what people think of you, if they like you, if they’re mad at you
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Anxious, a perfectionist, or an overachiever
Always overextending yourself (and then resentful)
Someone who avoids conflict at all costs
Fearful of getting in trouble or being seen as “bad”
Silencing your needs for the comfort and happiness of everyone else
Prone to overexplain or over-apologize
Continually performing in your relationships
Eternally obsessing over why someone texted with a period instead of an exclamation point?
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In her groundbreaking debut self-help book, psychotherapist Meg Josephson explodes the idea that people-pleasing is a personality trait. Instead, she illuminates how it’s actually a common trauma response (also known as “fawning”); an instinct often learned in childhood to become more appealing to a perceived threat, in order to feel safe. Yet, many people are stuck in this way of being for their whole lives.
Identify all the roles you might play—from peacekeeper to performer to caretaker to perfectionist to lone wolf to chameleon—that keep you far from yourself.
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Stop fearing your thoughts and emotions, even if they’re unpleasant.
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Rethink conflict and boundaries as an opening for deeper connection.
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Practice “leaning back” in relationships.
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—Holly Whitaker, author of Quit Like A Woman
Meg Josephson, MSW is a full-time psychotherapist with over five hundred thousand followers and millions of likes across social media platforms. She holds a masters of social work from Columbia University with a concentration in clinical practice and received her meditation teacher certification from the Nalanda Institute in New York City.
Photo by David Goddard
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