Fawning, at its core, is what we learn to do to avoid being abandoned or rejected and to maximize feelings of love and safety. The irony is that, in an unconscious attempt to avoid abandonment, we end up abandoning ourselves. For us to appease others to the degree that fawning requires, we have no choice but to fully disconnect from our own emotions, sensations, and needs. We’re forced to withhold expressions of our sadness, fear, and anger to prevent conflict or negative reactions from our caregivers. But as we’ll learn, these emotions, sensations, and needs don’t just disappear—they go
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