Okay… this week’s confession is that I think I get defensive more than I realized.

I first noticed it in therapy when we were talking about Gottman’s Four Horsemen and defensiveness came up. Since then I’ve started noticing how quickly my brain assumes the worst interpretation of things and immediately wants to defend myself — sometimes even when no one actually criticized me.

In this episode I’m just talking through that realization, where I think it might come from, and the subtle ways it shows up in my relationships and everyday conversations.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly explaining yourself, overthinking what someone meant, or assuming criticism where there might not be any… you might relate to this one.