Perfectionism, People Pleasing, and Guilt: The 3 Hidden Causes of Anxiety
The Anxiety Guy Podcast
Dennis Simsek
4.8 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 26 January 2026
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If you're ready for structured daily guidance to help you retrain the anxiety loop and respond to fear differently, visit anxietyguyprograms.com to find the program that fits what you're going through right now.
✨ Today's Episode:
In today's episode, I'm breaking down three hidden patterns that quietly keep anxiety alive in the background of your life: perfectionism, people-pleasing, and guilt.
These aren't just "bad habits." For many people, they're early survival strategies your nervous system learned to stay safe, stay connected, and avoid rejection. The problem is that what once helped you cope can now keep your body stuck in hypervigilance, tension, and overthinking.
You'll learn how perfectionism trains your system to believe it's never safe to rest, how people-pleasing keeps you scanning others for approval, and how guilt becomes an invisible leash that pulls you back into overdoing and self-abandonment. Most importantly, I'll give you simple, practical ways to start putting these weights down without creating more fear or pressure.
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📝 Disclaimer:
This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider if you have specific medical or mental health concerns.
Credits:
Host: Dennis Simsek
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Most people think they're anxious because they're too sensitive, but a lot of the time they are |
| 0:08.8 | exhausted from trying to be perfect, keep everyone happy, and never disappoint anyone. |
| 0:17.9 | In today's podcast episode, I'm going to break down the three heavyweights that weigh you down |
| 0:24.1 | and quietly fuel more anxiety. |
| 0:27.8 | And I'm going to show you how to start putting them down without your life falling apart. |
| 0:34.4 | Let's dive in. |
| 0:40.8 | Welcome. apart. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Anxiety Guy podcast where we delve deep into the heart of anxiety, providing you |
| 0:48.2 | with the tools, insights, and inspiration to reclaim your life from the grips of fear and uncertainty. |
| 0:57.0 | I'm your host, Dennis Simsec, a former anxiety sufferer turned anxiety healer, |
| 1:03.0 | and each week we will explore proven strategies, share personal stories, |
| 1:09.0 | and create more than anxiety moments towards inner peace and empowerment |
| 1:14.6 | Get ready to break free from the chains of anxiety and step into a life filled with purpose, joy and unshakable confidence |
| 1:25.6 | This is the Anxiety Guy podcast and your path to liberation starts now. |
| 1:37.6 | If you're ready to put the confusion behind you, the frustration of recovery, head over to Anxiety Guy Programs.com and find |
| 1:48.2 | the right path for you. Or click the link in the description of this podcast episode and start |
| 1:54.1 | your healing journey with me by your side every day. Now friends, today we are discussing three, well, I guess I could call them |
| 2:07.0 | heavyweights, right? Heavyweight, things that we carry unknowingly, that become who we are, |
| 2:15.1 | because they are so set in their ways, They've become patterns. And they fuel anxiety. |
| 2:22.0 | You know, often we use the word anxiety very often. I have to, you know, heal my anxiety. I have to |
| 2:28.4 | stop anxiety, you know, these sorts of things. But underneath the anxiety, there are things that we are doing |
| 2:36.5 | amongst people when we're alone. And these are the things we have to really pay attention to, |
| 2:44.3 | these three heavyweights, because they get really heavy, right? And after a certain time, |
... |
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