Have you got the disease to please?
If you’ve started looking for a rash, stop and instead, ask yourself these questions:
- Are you the one hosting family events and elaborate Christmas dinners?
- Did you agree to babysit your second-cousin-twice-removed’s daughter?
- Do you frequently hang up the phone and say, ‘Damn it, why did I agree to that?’
- Do you have a physical reaction to saying the word ‘no’
- Does your inner voice scream “No” but your lips say “Yes”?
If you’re plagued by any of the above, we’re here to help.
Psychiatrist Judith Martin joined The Well this week to give us a much-needed lesson in saying no, without feeling like a jerk.
While Robin Bailey is in recovery from being a “yes” woman, Rebecca Sparrow still can’t say no to her family… or anyone really.
“With my family, I am the martyr. I say yes to everything. I am the person walking around muttering angrily,” she admits.
Judith says for most of us, boundaries have to be learned. So if you haven’t got it figured out just yet, that’s okay.
Watch: The Well’s guide to saying no (without looking like a jerk.) Post continues below.
She says the first step is developing self awareness.
