We are located in Clifton, NJ, providing in-person and online appointments throughout the state of New Jersey.
Are you so nice to everyone else that you actually end up hurting yourself? Are you taken advantage of because you can't seem to say "no"? Do you bend over backwards to help others, even when they rarely come through for you? Is your stomach in knots over having to explain why you can't do a favor for a friend, stay late at work, or run every school PTA event? Does your own family suffer because of all the "nice" things you agree to do for others? Do you snap at your spouse and children because you're burnt out by outside demands?
If you said yes to any of these questions, you may be "too nice" for your own good. Without balance, being excessively "nice" to others can result in being "mean" to ourselves. Don't you deserve the same sensitivity and compassion you give to others?
Sensitivity, caring and compassion are admirable qualities. They fill
life with meaning, protect us from unhealthy self absorption and are vital for
spiritual and emotional health. Yet, there are times when saying "yes" to everyone else's needs is
self-defeating and self-destructive.
Too often I see wonderful, creative, loving people who are overwhelmed by
panic and stress from the need to please everyone around them. They feel "guilted into" all sorts of projects and obligations and can't
seem to set appropriate limits with friends, family and
acquaintances. They want to make everyone else happy, yet too often end
up feeling miserable themselves.
If this speaks to you, you know that the pressure to "be nice", accommodating, and available at all
costs can feel suffocating.
All that "niceness" can leave you with little energy to take care of your
own emotional and physical needs. Ironically you may also end
up secretly resenting the very people you are trying to be
nice to. (Unfortunately, that can become another thing to feel
guilty about...)
If all your "niceness" ends up leaving you a nervous wreck, you could
benefit from a little assertiveness coaching.
Therapy can help you:
* let go of the
excessive need to please others
* create a more balanced
internal vision of what a "nice girl" or "nice boy" is
* set
appropriate limits on the types of favors and obligations you can handle
* prioritize
"sacred" times and activities that will be free of interruptions for
favors (dinner, homework time, exercise)
* prioritize which
people and causes you can commit to
* role-play how to say
"no", without leaving a negative impression
* manage anxiety
with stress reduction techniques
* reinforce the new you with
positive affirmations and visualizations
Call or email today to get started! 973-815-0777, ext 101; [email protected]