Inner Work With MaryAnn Walker: Stop People Pleasing and Start Honoring You!
Welcome to Inner Work with MaryAnn Walker—the podcast for recovering people pleasers (many of whom are also highly sensitive) who are ready to stop living on autopilot and finally start honoring themselves.
I work with those who feel emotionally drained from saying yes when they want to say no, from carrying everyone else’s emotions on their shoulders, and from constantly showing up for others while quietly abandoning themselves.
You’ve spent years being the dependable one—the caretaker, the partner, the parent, the professional—and now you’re realizing you’ve lost touch with who you are outside of those roles.
You may feel:
- Burned out from trying to make everyone happy
- Anxious about disappointing others
- Unsure of your own needs, wants, and boundaries
- Overwhelmed by the pressure to keep the peace, even when it costs you your own
If this sounds like you, you’re not broken—and you’re definitely not alone.
As a certified life coach who specializes in supporting recovering people pleasers and highly sensitive souls, I’ll guide you through tools and practices to help you:
- Set guilt-free boundaries that stick
- Reclaim your time, energy, and peace of mind
- Build authentic connections without self-abandonment
- Process emotions in a healthy, empowering way
- Reconnect with who you really are—not just who others need you to be
Each week, I’ll share personal stories, practical strategies, and mindset shifts to help you move from over-giving and burned out to clear, confident, and deeply connected—with yourself and with others.
If you’re ready to stop people pleasing your life away and start living it fully, hit subscribe and let’s do this inner work together.
https://www.maryannwalker.life
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- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 21 minutes
- Episodes
- 178
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
136: The Power of AND: Transforming Negativity Into Gratitude Through Radical Acceptance
Our brains are wired with a negativity bias, constantly scanning for threats and challenges to keep us safe. While this survival mechanism has its benefits, in modern life, it can trap …
135: 10 Tips for Navigating Political Differences During the Holidays
With family gatherings just around the corner, it’s not uncommon to feel anxious about conversations with loved ones who may hold opposing views.
MaryAnn offers 10 actionable tips to hel…
134: Layer by Layer: Emotional Renovation
Personal growth often uncovers more work than expected. Through tears, challenges, and breakthroughs, MaryAnn offers guidance on how to approach the overwhelming process of healing with…
133: Unmet Needs: When Others Don't Reciprocate
How do you navigate it when you invest a lot into other, but they are unwilling or unable to fulfill your very valid needs? Many empaths and highly sensitive people find themselves stru…
132: Empaths vs Covert Narcissists: Recognizing Energy Vampires
Exploring the often misunderstood overlap between covert narcissists, who often masquerade as empaths, and truly empathetic highly sensitive people:
Covert narcissists use their heighten…
131: Building Healthy Relationships as a Highly Sensitive Person with Kellyn Legath
Today we explore how to build healthy relationships as a highly sensitive person. Join me and fellow coach, Kellyn Legath, as we explore both the challenges and the strengths of buildin…
130: Prioritizing What Matters Most: Strategies for Simplifying Your Life
Are you living according to YOUR value system? Or someone else's? Join MaryAnn as she walks you through how to identify and prioritize what truly matters in your life and take practica…
129: Navigating a Chaotic World: From Empathic Overwhelm to Empowerment
Managing Sensitivity in a Chaotic World: Empowering Empaths
As empaths and highly sensitive people, external events such as wars, political unrest, natural disasters, and even the emotio…
128: The Art of Showing Up: Measurable Ways to Boost Your Self-Worth
Focusing on how to define success based on your actions rather than external outcomes can help to minimize people pleasing and placating others while also increasing self confidence and…
127: When Someone Makes You Upset: How to Take Control of Your Feelings
Do you ever feel like someone else has the power to ruin your entire day with just a word, a look, or a tone of voice? If so, you’re not alone—but here’s the truth: other people can inf…
126: Owning Your Peace by Owning Your Piece: Identifying Your Role in Healthy Relationships with Kellyn Legath
In this episode, we sit down with Kellyn Leggath, a relationship coach and close friend, to explore how imbalances in relationships can affect highly sensitive people and empaths. Toge…
125: The Empath Abyss: Symptoms, Triggers, and Solutions (Practical Tips for Empaths & HSP's)
The "Empath Abyss" is the emotional state where empaths and highly sensitive people feel disoriented, overwhelmed, and overly accommodating due to heightened emotions and reactions from…
124: Less is More: Simplifying Communication for Better Understanding
Sometimes we think using more words and more context will get our point across. But many times our message is lost in the story. Here are some practical tips on how to communicate more …
123: The 3 Kinds Of Empathizers: How Cognitive Empathizers, Highly Sensitive People (HSP's) & Empaths Empathize with Others
Understanding Your Unique Empathy Style and Its Impact on Relationships
Your unique form of empathy might be why you're experiencing disconnect in your relationships. It’s easy to assume…
Bonus: How Stories Can Help Children Manage Their Emotions: CBT in Story Form with Chantelle Wood
Chantelle Wood, author of the new children's series, "Mind City Heroes," teaches kids and parents how to talk back to their negative thoughts.
What You'll Learn:
- How stories can teach ch…
122: Boundary Setting as a Highly Sensitive Person
There are particular struggles that highly sensitive people (HSP's) might experience as they work towards balance and boundary setting.
What You'll Learn:
- The unique challenges of boundar…
121: Breaking Free from False Narratives: The Stories We Tell Ourselves (And How to Choose Better Ones!)
While highly sensitive people's ability to read others emotional state is exceptional, the stories they tell themselves about those emotions can often be inaccurate or self-critical. Th…
120: Throwing Out the Manual: How Expectations May be Sabotaging Your Relationship
Are you sabotaging your relationship by expecting your partner to think, act, and behave like someone different than who they are? The unspoken expectations we have for others can lead …
119: The 5 Most Commonly Asked Questions by Empaths (What You Really Want to Know!)
Exploring why empaths often attract confessions from strangers, how to ground and center after holding space for others, and more. Through this discussion, MaryAnn offers practical tips…
118: Stop People Pleasing and Start Loving: How to Tell The Difference
Understanding our motive behind why we do things for others can help empaths, highly sensitive folks, and people pleasers tell the difference between real love and just wanting approval…