Author: Dylan Moore

If asking for help feels harder than just doing it all yourself, you’re not alone. So many of us have been conditioned to believe that needing help is a weakness, that we should be able to handle everything on our own. But here’s the truth: asking for help is not a sign of failure—it’s a sign of strength.

Overachieving isn’t just about ambition. Sometimes, it’s about survival. About proving your worth in a world that once made you feel invisible. About staying busy so you don’t have to sit with old wounds. About believing that if you just do more, be more, achieve more, maybe—just maybe—you’ll finally feel enough.

Emotional shutdown doesn’t happen randomly. It’s a survival response. At some point, your nervous system learned that feeling was dangerous, so it built walls to protect you. And for a while, those walls worked. They kept you safe. They helped you survive.

That habit of shrinking yourself? It might be keeping you from setting boundaries. The need to always be “strong”? It might be stopping you from asking for help. The ability to emotionally detach? It might be preventing you from forming deep connections. Let’s unlearn what no longer serves us and build new ways of being that support our growth.

Parentification is when a child takes on adult responsibilities too soon, either by caring for siblings, managing household tasks, or even becoming the emotional support for a parent. And while it may have shaped you into a strong, capable person, it likely came at the cost of your own needs and emotional well-being.