Why do I feel like I'm always explaining myself to others?

Feeling like you're always explaining yourself to others often stems from people pleaser tendencies and a deep fear of being misunderstood, judged, or rejected. This pattern typically develops when you've learned that your choices, feelings, or behaviors need to be justified to be acceptable to others. You might find yourself over-explaining your decisions, defending your emotions, or providing lengthy justifications for normal life choices because you're afraid others will think poorly of you if you don't. This compulsive explaining often comes from low self-finding identity/building-confidence" class="internal-link">confidence building and the belief that your natural instincts and choices aren't valid unless others approve of them. You might have grown up in an environment where you were frequently questioned, criticized, or made to feel like your thoughts and feelings were wrong or unreasonable. This can create a pattern where you automatically assume others will disapprove and try to preemptively defend yourself. Sometimes the need to explain everything comes from Anxiety disorder about conflict or confrontation - you might over-explain as a way to avoid potential disagreement or to ensure that others understand your good intentions. perfectionism can also drive this pattern by making you feel like you need to have a perfect reason for everything you do. The problem with constantly explaining yourself is that it often makes you appear less confident and can actually invite more questioning and criticism from others. It can also be exhausting to constantly monitor and justify your choices to others. Most importantly, it reinforces the belief that you need others' approval to make valid decisions about your own life. The truth is that you don't owe anyone explanations for your reasonable choices, feelings, or Personal boundaries. Healthy Interpersonal relationship involve mutual respect for each other's autonomy and decision-making. While it's appropriate to explain your reasoning in certain situations - like when your choices affect others or in professional contexts - you don't need to justify your personal preferences, emotions, or lifestyle choices to everyone. Practice giving shorter, more confident responses and resisting the urge to over-explain when you notice this pattern arising.