Letting Go of People Pleasing, with Dora

Headspace Studio. (gentle music) Hi, everybody, it is time for another wonderful episode of "Dear Headspace." I'm Robin, and today I'm joined by Dora, or as I like to refer to her, as the woman whose voice alone calms me down. Now, today, the two of us are gonna be talking about how to share your anxiety with new friends, balancing your mental health with that of your partner. And we also have a question about how to make decisions when you are a people pleaser. Well, I am pleased to kick the show off right now. Have you ever wished you had a wise meditation teacher on speed dial? Someone you can call after a long day. Someone you could lean on for their advice. Someone to listen and help you to see things differently. Welcome to "Dear Headspace," a podcast where I sit with a meditation teacher and we answer your questions. Hi, Dora, I'm gonna say something. I just saw your face and I already feel calmer. I'm so glad you're here today. No, hi, I'm excited to be here. Well, in a turn of events right before I hit record, I took a look at the script and I realized that I inadvertently put together a show that's filled with all questions from women. We love to see it. So I don't know, I'm thinking maybe we just shouldn't keep the ladies and the gents who are listening waiting. I mean, should we just go right to our first question? Let's get into it, Robin. Okay, here's Sophie. Hi, I'm Sophie, I'm from Florida. And basically my question is about how to open up to people because I've had a anxiety disorder since I was seven, and I haven't had any actually real friends until now I'm in high school. And as I've gotten to know them, I'm having a really hard time telling them and opening up to them about my struggles because like I don't want them to think that I'm this super depressed person and I don't want them to worry about me. But at the same time, I really want them to know the struggles and the challenges I face. So how do I open up and tell them about that without them being worried or seeing me in a different way? Aw, thank you for your question, Sophie. I'm so thankful that people feel like safe to bring these kinds of questions to us. And you could just hear like for Sophie, like what an isolating position that she must be in, feeling like she kind of can't share her whole self with her friends. And you know, it's just so, I'm so glad that she reached out. Yeah, thank you so much for sharing, Sophie. And I'm like, you could just play them this episode (laughs). Just play them the episode when you feel ready and share with them and listen to this advice. But I just want to also...