Episode
You’re Not Broken: Why You People-Please, Feel Anxious, & Never Feel Good Enough – and How to Heal
- Podcast
- The Mel Robbins Podcast
- Published
- May 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4340
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.melrobbins.com/episode/episode-397
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-mel-robbins-podcast-5698881/episodes/you-re-not-broken-why-you-people-please-feel-anxious-never-feel-good-enough-and-how-to-heal/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-mel-robbins-podcast-5698881/you-re-not-broken-why-you-people-please-feel-anxious-never-feel-good-enough-and-how-to-heal.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
If you’re exhausted from always putting everyone else first, people-pleasing, and struggling with anxiety, this conversation is going to change how you see yourself. And if you've ever felt invisible in your own family, like your needs didn't matter, or if nothing you did was ever enough, this episode will finally connect the dots for you as an adult. Today on the podcast, renowned therapist and bestselling author Kelly McDaniel explains that many of your patterns stem from a hidden wound from your childhood. Her work has helped millions of people finally name an invisible heartbreak they’ve been carrying for decades: Mother Hunger. She says Mother Hunger is a primal yearning for a certain quality of love, safety, and guidance that many of us didn’t receive in the way we needed as children, even if our mothers did their best. This episode is not about blaming mothers. It’s about telling the truth, understanding what happened, and learning how to give yourself what you went without, so you can stop proving your worth and start feeling it. In this episode, you’ll learn: -What Mother Hunger is (and why it can feel like you’re searching for love in the wrong places) -The 3 core needs every child requires: nurturing, protection/safety, and guidance -Why women become people-pleasers and emotional “monitors” in their families -How long-term childhood stress can show up as anxiety, emotional exhaustion, and feeling “never enough” -Why addiction and disordered eating can become ways to regulate your nervous system because you never felt safe -Why you can love your mom and still acknowledge: something was missing -How to start healing by learning to nurture, protect, and guide yourself now -Signs of an unhealthy mother-daughter relationship and how to recognize them in your own…