Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson8 Sep 2025

People Pleasing and the Fawn Response with Meg Josephson

Forrest and therapist Meg Josephson explore the fawn response, a survival strategy where safety is sought by pleasing other people. They discuss how fawning can start as self-protection in childhood, but later morph into overthinking, hypervigilance, and self-abandonment. Meg shares her own experience, including how fawning creates resentment and makes it difficult to find a healthy relationship or figure out your authentic needs. Topics include becoming aware of unconscious habits, building distress tolerance, grief, self-compassion, healthy boundaries, and speaking up for ourselves. About our Guest: Meg Josephson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and author of the new book Are You Mad at Me? Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction 1:18: Self-sabotage as self-protection 4:01: Bringing the unconscious fawn response into awareness 9:51: Silencing wants and needs, conflict avoidance, and resentment 14:33: Rediscovering wants and needs after people pleasing 18:05: The healing arc: grief, anger, and relationship 25:30: Viewing people pleasing as a “part” rather than an identity 30:11: Nice vs. compassionate 51:36: Hypervigilance and the NICER practice 57:22: Authenticity as “uncovering” rather than “fixing” 1:03:02: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors If you have ADHD, or you love someone who does, I’d recommend checking out the podcast ADHD aha! Level up your bedding with Quince. Go to Quince.com/BEINGWELL for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Join hundreds of thousands of people who are taking charge of their health. Learn more and join Function at functionhealth.com/BEINGWELL. Listen now to the Life Kit podcast from NPR. Go to Zocdoc.com/BEING to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/beingwell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episoder(478)

Understanding Dissociation and DID: What It's Really Like, and How People Recover w/ Dr. Milissa Kaufman and Dr. Lauren Lebois

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13 Jul 1h 26min

From Insight to Action: How to Face the Fear You Keep Avoiding

Dr. Rick and Forrest continue last week’s conversation on avoidance coping, this time focusing on how to move from insight into meaningful action. They explore why self-awareness often isn’t enough to...

6 Jul 1h 15min

Breaking the Avoidance Loop: Why You Keep Repeating the Same Patterns

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29 Jun 1h 7min

The Secret to Happiness: How to Feel Loved with Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky

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22 Jun 1h 14min

How to Repair: The Key to Successful Relationships

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15 Jun 1h 24min

Healthy Conflict: The Most Important Relationship Skill We Don’t Learn

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8 Jun 1h 4min

The Gut-Brain Connection: Anxiety, Depression, and Wellness Fads with Dr. Trisha Pasricha

Forrest is joined by neurogastroenterologist Dr. Trisha Pasricha for a conversation about the gut-brain connection, including how gut health impacts our mood and mental health. Dr. Pasricha explains h...

1 Jun 1h 4min

Right Effort: When to Push and When to Let Go with Yung Pueblo

Forrest is joined by author, meditator, and friend Diego Perez, also known as Yung Pueblo, for a conversation about right effort, the balance between pushing through and letting go, and the death of n...

25 Mai 1h 2min