If you're wondering how to stop being a people pleaser, this episode is for you. In this Carpool Confessions conversation, Kate opens up about her lifelong pattern of people pleasing, why it took her years to recognize it, and the small but powerful shifts that helped her start finding her own voice.

We get into the real signs of being a people pleaser (it's not just being "nice"), how chronic people pleasing connects to childhood trauma, fear of rejection, and the fawn response, and why setting boundaries can feel impossible when your whole identity has been built on keeping the peace.

Kate shares the moment she realized she was disappearing in her own relationships, what she did to start saying no without guilt, and how she learned to separate other people's reactions from her own self-worth. If you're a recovering people pleaser, a chronic over-apologizer, or just tired of being the "easy" one, this one will hit home.

What you'll hear in this episode:
- Our personal stories of people pleasing and the impact 
- What the bible says about people pleasing
- How to recognize people-pleasing behavior in yourself
- How to identify the root of your people pleasing
- Changing your thought patterns
- Practicing the things you're most afraid of

New episodes of Carpool Confessions drop weekly. Subscribe so you don't miss our honest conversations on faith, motherhood, mental health, and the messy middle of becoming who God made you to be.

Support the show

Love the show? You can help keep us on the road here. 🤍

🚗 New episodes every Monday at 7AM!
Watch on YouTube and listen on all major streaming platforms.

Subscribe to @CarpoolConfessionsPodcast and come ride with us. 🎙️
Follow us on TikTok: @CarpoolConfessionsPod

💌 Want to submit a confession, burden, struggle, or story for a future monthly episode?
Share it anonymously here: https://forms.gle/XQ24bChBwdATbNzz5

Thanks for riding with us. 🤍
#CarpoolConfessionsPodcast #ChristianPodcast #FaithAndMentalHealth

Kelley was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, and she had a lot of fear regarding the act of baptism because of the fear of "not being good enough." Kelley explains what her fears were founded in, and what moment changed her mind about Jesus and called her to accept him as her Lord and Savior. 

Kelley has been through severe trauma in her life, making this moment even more impactful. 
View Kelley's Story Part 1: https://youtu.be/XU5T3qadVvU
View Kelley's Story Part 2: https://youtu.be/2qWczZVbdSQ

🚗 New episodes every Monday at 7AM!
Watch on YouTube and listen on all major streaming platforms.

Subscribe to @CarpoolConfessionsPodcast and come ride with us. 🎙️
Follow us on TikTok: @CarpoolConfessionsPod

💌 Want to submit a confession, burden, struggle, or story for a future monthly episode?
Share it anonymously here: https://forms.gle/XQ24bChBwdATbNzz5

Thanks for riding with us. 🤍
#CarpoolConfessionsPodcast #ChristianPodcast #FaithAndMentalHealth

Support the show

Love the show? You can help keep us on the road here. 🤍

🚗 New episodes every Monday at 7AM!
Watch on YouTube and listen on all major streaming platforms.

Subscribe to @CarpoolConfessionsPodcast and come ride with us. 🎙️
Follow us on TikTok: @CarpoolConfessionsPod

💌 Want to submit a confession, burden, struggle, or story for a future monthly episode?
Share it anonymously here: https://forms.gle/XQ24bChBwdATbNzz5

Thanks for riding with us. 🤍
#CarpoolConfessionsPodcast #ChristianPodcast #FaithAndMentalHealth

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussions of childhood sexual abuse, trauma, abuse, and foster care experiences. Viewer discretion is advised. This content is not intended for young or sensitive audiences.

For one year, Kelley experienced something she had rarely known before: safety.

After being removed from an abusive home, Kelley entered foster care and lived with someone unexpected: her school principal. What started as a temporary placement became one of the only peaceful and stable seasons of her childhood.

But that peace didn’t last.

In Part 2 of Kelley’s story, she opens up about what it was like returning to family, the emotional confusion of leaving the only safe home she knew, and how she found herself trapped in another unhealthy environment all over again.

This episode is a raw conversation about foster care, trauma, survival, and the lasting impact of childhood abuse, but also the resilience it takes to keep going.

If you or someone you love is experiencing abuse, help is available.

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) provides free, confidential, 24/7 support for survivors and their loved ones:
https://rainn.org/

🎙️ Carpool Confessions Podcast
Real conversations about faith, trauma, healing, motherhood, mental health, and surviving the things no one talks about.

#FosterCare #TraumaHealing #AbuseSurvivor #HealingJourney #MentalHealthAwareness #ChristianPodcast #SARecovery #CarpoolConfessionsPodcast

Support the show

Love the show? You can help keep us on the road here. 🤍

🚗 New episodes every Monday at 7AM!
Watch on YouTube and listen on all major streaming platforms.

Subscribe to @CarpoolConfessionsPodcast and come ride with us. 🎙️
Follow us on TikTok: @CarpoolConfessionsPod

💌 Want to submit a confession, burden, struggle, or story for a future monthly episode?
Share it anonymously here: https://forms.gle/XQ24bChBwdATbNzz5

Thanks for riding with us. 🤍
#CarpoolConfessionsPodcast #ChristianPodcast #FaithAndMentalHealth

[TRIGGER WARNING]: Due to SA themes, this is not intended for young or sensitive audiences. 

Kelley opens up about her deeply traumatic childhood and the very beginnings of how she and Kate connected early in life. 

If you or a loved one is experiencing sexual abuse, there is help available. Do not suffer in your pain. 

RAINN is America’s largest anti-sexual violence nonprofit, providing confidential, trauma-informed, 24/7 support services to survivors and their loved ones. 

https://rainn.org/

#SARecovery #abusesurvivors #healingjourney #traumahealing

Support the show

Love the show? You can help keep us on the road here. 🤍

🚗 New episodes every Monday at 7AM!
Watch on YouTube and listen on all major streaming platforms.

Subscribe to @CarpoolConfessionsPodcast and come ride with us. 🎙️
Follow us on TikTok: @CarpoolConfessionsPod

💌 Want to submit a confession, burden, struggle, or story for a future monthly episode?
Share it anonymously here: https://forms.gle/XQ24bChBwdATbNzz5

Thanks for riding with us. 🤍
#CarpoolConfessionsPodcast #ChristianPodcast #FaithAndMentalHealth

Welcome to the first of its kind commute podcast, where friends (and former foster sisters) talk about life, trauma, mental health, faith, and whatever else comes to mind. This first episode, we touch on a lot of the topics we'll cover in this podcast, so be sure to subscribe or find us on other major audio streaming platforms to join us on our daily commute each week!

Support the show

Love the show? You can help keep us on the road here. 🤍

🚗 New episodes every Monday at 7AM!
Watch on YouTube and listen on all major streaming platforms.

Subscribe to @CarpoolConfessionsPodcast and come ride with us. 🎙️
Follow us on TikTok: @CarpoolConfessionsPod

💌 Want to submit a confession, burden, struggle, or story for a future monthly episode?
Share it anonymously here: https://forms.gle/XQ24bChBwdATbNzz5

Thanks for riding with us. 🤍
#CarpoolConfessionsPodcast #ChristianPodcast #FaithAndMentalHealth

Welcome to Carpool Confessions Podcast: the place where real women have real conversations about faith, trauma, motherhood, mental health, healing, and everything in between.

Hosted by Kate Shaw and Kelley Bryson, this podcast was born during long commutes and honest conversations that were too meaningful not to share. From childhood trauma and identity struggles to finding God, surviving hard seasons, and learning how to heal out loud.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed, unseen, anxious, broken, curious about faith, or just tired of fake perfection online… this space is for you.

New episodes every Monday at 7AM on YouTube and all major streaming platforms.

Subscribe to @CarpoolConfessionsPodcast and come ride with us. 🚗🎙️ Follow us on TikTok @CarpoolConfessionsPod and listen across major streaming platforms.

We're glad you're here, friend.

Support the show

Love the show? You can help keep us on the road here. 🤍

🚗 New episodes every Monday at 7AM!
Watch on YouTube and listen on all major streaming platforms.

Subscribe to @CarpoolConfessionsPodcast and come ride with us. 🎙️
Follow us on TikTok: @CarpoolConfessionsPod

💌 Want to submit a confession, burden, struggle, or story for a future monthly episode?
Share it anonymously here: https://forms.gle/XQ24bChBwdATbNzz5

Thanks for riding with us. 🤍
#CarpoolConfessionsPodcast #ChristianPodcast #FaithAndMentalHealth