The Exhausting Business Of Being Who Everyone Needs You To Be
Are you the reliable one? The sensible one? The person who never makes a fuss, always understands, rarely complains and can generally be counted on to sort things out? Perhaps you're the friend everyone comes to for advice, the partner who anticipates everybody else's needs, the colleague who picks up the extra work, or the family member who keeps the peace.
The Quiet Creep of Burnout
Burnout rarely arrives all at once. It tends to seep in quietly, threading itself through everyday life until what once felt manageable begins to feel heavy, relentless, and oddly joyless. Many people I work with describe a sense that they should be coping better, that nothing is dramatically wrong, and yet everything feels harder than it used to. This slow erosion is often overlooked, particularly by those who are carrying a disproportionate share of responsibility at home alongside work and emotional labour.
Rejection Sensitivity or People Pleasing in a Trench Coat?
That familiar stomach drop when someone takes too long to reply. The instant urge to apologise for existing. The detailed post mortem you run after a slightly flat “okay” from a friend. Many of us have been told this is rejection sensitivity, a deep seated fear of being disliked or abandoned. Very clinical, very serious, very “this is just how my brain is”.