The Fawn Response: How Your ‘Niceness’ Might Actually Be a Trauma Response (And What to Do About It)

You weren’t being kind. You were avoiding punishment.

Cody Taymore

May 12, 2025

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A close-up of a woman with a complex expression of both smiling and crying. A single tear runs down her cheek while she maintains a strained smile, conveying a powerful mix of pain, resilience, and emotional conflict.

You’re always the one who stays late.

Who takes on the project no one wants. Who says “it’s fine” when it’s absolutely not.

You’re the emotional support human for everyone you know. The one who swallows rage and serves it back as a smile. The person who can’t remember the last time they said “no” without attaching fifteen qualifiers and an apology tour.

Ev…

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