High Achievers

You were the kid who got good grades, didn’t cause a fuss, and kept quiet. Praised for your achievements and for not needing much—but you did need something. You needed your feelings to be taken seriously. Inside, you were struggling, but you didn’t want to take up space.

You learned to bottle things up to keep the peace in a house that felt unpredictable or chaotic. Now, you’ve become the overachieving people-pleaser who’s finally starting to realize how exhausting that is.

Change

Hi—former “good kid” here, too. I grew up in a family with addiction and did everything I could to stay invisible. I didn’t want to add to the chaos, but I was hurting. I learned early on that there wasn’t room for my feelings—everyone else’s were louder, heavier, more important. Eventually, though, everything I’d buried caught up with me.

Getting into therapy in my early 20s changed everything. Through EMDR, I was able to heal from the past, release old beliefs about myself, and finally see that my needs and emotions matter too. EMDR can help you do the same—untangle the old patterns, quiet the guilt, and start feeling more at ease in your own life.

hange