Meg Josephson

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Are You Mad At Me?

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Are You Mad at Me unlocks a secret door in the house of healing: understanding the fawn response. Honest, relatable, and totally binge-worthy, Josephson's work has the power to change your entire life. If you struggle with that screensaver type of anxiety that's always on - constantly worrying that you're doing something wrong or that people don't like you - this book will feel like coming up for air. Read it and get free.

Katherine Morgan Schafler, author of 'The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control'

How to Stop Focusing on What Others Think and Start Living for You

Why do I always feel everyone’s mad at me? Am I the problem? How can I feel safe? If you’ve felt this way, you’re not alone. “Fawning” is a common yet misunderstood trauma response for chronic people-pleasers who fall under six categories: peacekeepers, performers, perfectionists, caretakers, and lone wolves, and chameleons. For the first time, this empowering guide equips each archetype with the specific tools they need to handle high-pressure scenarios and break patterns of self-sabotage, inspiring you to awaken your intuition and fall back in love with your soft power.

From psychotherapist and social media star Meg Josephson, a groundbreaking exploration of people-pleasing as an under-recognized but common trauma response, that also offers a compassionate and actionable path for healing. 
 
Are you... 
- Constantly worried about what people think of you, if they like you, if they're mad at you? 
- Anxious, a perfectionist, or an overachiever? 
- Always overextending yourself (and then resentful)? 
- Someone who avoids conflict at all costs? 
- Fearful of getting into trouble or being seen as "bad"? 
- Silencing your needs for the comfort and happiness of everyone else? 
- Prone to overexplain or over apologize? 
- Eternally obsessing over why someone texted with a period instead of an exclamation point? 
 
In Are You Mad at Me?, 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. 
Meg weaves her own moving story, fascinating patient case studies, and thought-provoking exercises to show readers how to: 
 
- 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. 
- Stop fearing your thoughts and emotions, even if they're unpleasant. 
- Rethink conflict and boundaries as an opening for deeper connection. 
- Practice "leaning back" in relationships.

Meg Josephson is a psychotherapist, meditation teacher and content creator who shares insights into how we can improve our mental wellbeing across Instagram, TikTok and Substack. Meg takes complex yet common human experiences and breaks them down in tangible, digestible ways, offering gentle, supportive wisdom and insight to her viewers, readers and clients. Her approach is trauma-informed, mindfulness-based and compassion-focused, and blends Western clinical frameworks with Buddhist thought and practice.

Are You Mad At Me?

How to Stop Focusing on What Others Think and Start Living for You

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