Rerelease | When People Pleasing Becomes Survival: Fawning in Abusive Relationships

In this rerelease episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Brandon explores the different ways people pleasing can appear and how qualities such as loyalty, caretaking, peacemaking, and a desire to help can become unhealthy when boundaries disappear. He discusses five people-pleasing archetypes and how trauma, childhood experiences, financial insecurity, oppression, and stigma can shape these patterns. Brandon also examines fawning as a survival response within abusive relationships. He discusses walking on eggshells, suppressing your needs, taking responsibility for another person’s emotions, and changing yourself to avoid conflict or retaliation. The episode concludes with ways survivors can begin reconnecting with their identity, recognizing their needs, creating boundaries, and learning that caring for others should not require abandoning themselves.