People Pleasers: Are You Giving Too Much of Yourself in a Relationship?
If so, (though common in many of us) it can be a Trait of HSPs (aka highly sensitive persons) and can certainly develop resentment in relationships and in your life.
Today we are sharing Julie Bjellands video on the tendency for highly sensitive persons to over commit, over give, be people pleasers and give too much of yourself to others. Because of this tendency, HSPs tend to hold onto a significant amount of resentment in relationships.
Why is that so?
Julie Bjelland has worked with 1,000’s of highly sensitive persons as an HSP therapist for years. Shes sees this common trait of HSPs over and over again
Resentment shows up in many areas of our lives including:
- all types of relationships,
- families,
- marriages,
- work, and more!
HSPs tend to be over-givers and people pleasers. Because of this HSP trait, you become depleted. Resentment builds from depletion or instances where you are not having your needs met in some way.
Julie likens resentment to a tank.
When the tank fills up, (and people pleasers are good at this!) you start to break down other areas of your life including your own health, relationships and everyday life including work and friendships.
Resentment requires mental energy. Unfortunately, this type of mental energy is negatively oriented, downward pulling and destructive.
The Process of Compromise for HSPs and People Pleasers
In Julie’s practice and HSP therapy she likes to help highly sensitive persons better understand the process of compromise and what you as an HSP tend to do in compromise.
As an example, when Julie is working with a couple in therapy she likes to ask each person to share what their “ideal” scenario is on a particular subjet or issue in the relationship.
In a perfect world, each person states honestly what their ideal scenario would be. The process in a healthy understanding of compromise is that each person in the couple comes to an agreeable meeting point in the middle, between each of their “ideal scenarios”.
The problem with “people pleasers” and highly sensitive persons is that they don’t start from their ideal point. They always tend to take a lesser (not ideal) position.
They are thinking about the other person first . They are wanting to give the other person what they want right outta’ the gate! (I’m guessing confrontation or attempts at compromise are overwheleming for highly sensitive persons and they just want to be a people pleaser and get to happy ending sooner.)
This may work in the short run, but in the long run it will create depletion and lack of needs being met, which is an unsavory recipe for continued resentment.
HSPs tend to start lower than their ideal point and then overcompromise (beyond their compromise point) to a point where their needs can’t be met and the resentment tank continues to fill. This is a perhaps unconscious habit of over-giving, over-committing and giving too much of yourself (possibly) in many areas of your life.
Another problem with this scenario is that the other person in the pair assumes you are being honest about your “ideal scenario”.
They don’t know what’s going on in your head (necessarily)! So, they expect compromise beyond your already over-compromised “ideal scenario” that isn’t really your “ideal”. (Watch Julie’s visual on this in the video above, it’s helpful)
Over-giving, over-committing and people pleasing at work can look like taking on someone else’s work along with your own. The expectation starts to build that you are willing to take on other people’s work (your over-giving and people pleasing nature). Once the expectation starts to build, you start to become depleted and the resentment tank starts to fill up again.
Does any of this sound familiar?