How People Pleasing Is Ruining Your Relationships

How People Pleasing Is Ruining Your Relationships

In part one of my conversation with Cait Starling, we talked about how to find yourself after getting lost in a relationship. In part two, we go deeper into what happens once you find yourself again. Because finding yourself is one thing, but letting someone actually see you is another. This episode is about self-abandonment, people-pleasing in relationships, dating, vulnerability, and why being the “nice guy” or the “good girl” hurts everyone in the end. Cait beautifully explains how people don’t mean to be dishonest. They’re just afraid that if they communicate who they are, what they need, and what they want, they won’t be met with approval. And sometimes, both people are people-pleasing. One person is afraid to ask for what they need, and the other is afraid to say no. So instead of honesty, the relationship gets built on fear, performance, and resentment. Cait and I explore the question: if we all learned how to be a little more clear with ourselves and with each other from the beginning, would most relationships even happen? If you’ve ever lost yourself trying to be easy to love, this episode is for you. Watch Part 1 with Cait Starling: How to Find Yourself After Getting Lost in a Relationship [https://youtu.be/hGhc6Xuzct0] Join 'Love Dynamics Academy' with Cait Starling on Skool [https://www.skool.com/love-dynamics-academy-9359/about?utm_source=skooldotcom&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=discovery_search_group_link] Subscribe for more conversations about relationships, healing, mental health, creativity, and the question underneath it all: Is there more? #PeoplePleasing #Relationships #SelfAbandonment #InfluencingPeople #HighlySensitivePeople

If Someone You Love Has Dementia, Watch This | Caregiver Guilt, Memory Care, Hard Family Decisions

If someone you love has dementia, this conversation is for you.In this episode of *Is There More?*, Megan A. Tully sits down with Adria Thompson, a speech therapist, dementia educator, and creator behind Be Light Care, for an honest conversation about dementia caregiving, caregiver guilt, memory care, and the hard family decisions that come after a dementia diagnosis.When Megan’s mom was diagnosed with vascular dementia, she started documenting the experience online — not as a medical expert, but as a daughter, artist, and caregiver trying to understand what was happening in real time. After finding Adria’s dementia education content, Megan invited her on the podcast to talk through what families actually need to know when someone they love is living with dementia.In this episode, Adria explains why correcting someone with dementia can make things worse, how to enter their reality instead of fighting it, and why everything a person with dementia does “makes sense to them.” She also shares practical dementia caregiver advice around communication, caregiver burnout, memory care, nursing homes, assisted living, and the guilt that can come with choosing support.This conversation is for anyone caring for a parent with dementia, supporting a loved one with Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia, considering memory care, or trying to make sense of the emotional weight of becoming a caregiver.

You’re Not Creatively Stuck — You’re Waiting to Be Rescued

Have you ever felt like your dream was on pause because you were waiting for someone to choose you?In this deeply honest episode of Is There More?, filmmaker Maris Lidaka opens up about what it takes to build a creative life when no one is coming to hand you the opportunity.After graduating film school, Maris spent years believing he needed the perfect budget, the right permission, or the big break before he could make the work he was meant to make. But after losing his father, moving to LA, struggling to find his footing, and eventually cleaning houses just to get by, he had a wake-up call: if this was what life looked like while waiting, he might as well start creating.We talk about grief, identity, perfectionism, filmmaking, the pressure to be “ready,” and the dangerous trap so many artists fall into — waiting to be rescued instead of making the dang thing.Maris also shares the story behind his upcoming feature film, Concrete River, about a homeless music producer with synesthesia trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter, and how that story grew from real discoveries in his own life.If you’ve ever felt stuck, behind, under-resourced, or like your creative life can’t begin until someone finally picks you, this conversation will remind you that completion is better than perfection — and that your career won’t start itself. Blended Future Project: https://blendedfutureproject.com/ [https://blendedfutureproject.com/] Maris Lidika Substack: https://marislidaka.substack.com/ [⁠https://marislidaka.substack.com/⁠] Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/istheremoreworld [https://www.instagram.com/istheremoreworld] Megan's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganatully [https://www.instagram.com/meganatully]

How to Find Yourself After Getting Lost in a Relationship

Have you ever completely lost your identity while trying to keep a relationship together? In this deeply personal episode of Is There More?, relationship coach Cait Starling opens up about her journey of finding herself after years of chronic people-pleasing, surviving infidelity, and navigating a heartbreaking divorce. Married at just 18 and thrust into the heavy role of a constant caretaker, Cait spent her twenties prioritizing everyone else's needs above her own before finally hitting rock bottom. We dive deep into overcoming emotional disconnection, healing from profound family grief, and navigating the confusing world of dating after marriage. If you've ever felt lonely in a partnership or struggled to set healthy boundaries, this conversation will inspire you to stop abandoning yourself and finally reclaim your true identity. 🔗 Important Links & Resources:☕ Sponsor: Get 10% off your first purchase of Texas Tea!👉 Visit: https://texastea.com [https://texastea.com] (Use Code: MEG10)Connect with Megan & Is There More?:📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/istheremoreworld [https://www.instagram.com/istheremoreworld]If this episode resonated with you, please hit the LIKE button, leave a COMMENT with your biggest takeaway, and SHARE this video with someone who might need to hear it. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and turn on the notification bell for more conversations about healing, relationships, and mental health!

Could Your Art Cost You Your Relationship? | Michael Glover Smith on Hekla

In this episode of Is There More?, Megan A Tully sits down with filmmaker, author, and history of cinema professor Michael Glover Smith to talk about his new indie film Hekla, premiering in Los Angeles at Dances With Films this month! Get your tickets here: https://danceswithfilms.com/2026-hekla/ [https://danceswithfilms.com/2026-hekla/]What starts as a conversation about independent filmmaking becomes a much deeper exploration of art, relationships, divorce, creative identity, and the emotional cost of being an artist.Michael opens up about how Hekla was shaped by his own life — including his divorce, the death and rebirth of identity after a long relationship, and the question so many creative people quietly carry:Can you fully devote yourself to your art without losing the person you love?We talk about the making of Hekla, micro-budget filmmaking, directing actors, collaborating with Elizabeth Stam, giving up creative control, using pain in performance, and what happens when your personal life becomes the material for your work.Michael also shares behind-the-scenes stories he says he has never shared in another interview — including why he wasn’t present for the first two days of shooting, how the fantasy sequences were created, and how walking five miles a day influenced the opening of the film.This conversation is for filmmakers, actors, artists, writers, and anyone who has ever wondered whether their ambition, creativity, or inner world could cost them a relationship.Follow Michael Glover Smith:https://www.michaelgloversmith.com/ [https://www.michaelgloversmith.com/]Follow Megan A Tully / Is There More?:https://www.instagram.com/meganatully/ [https://www.instagram.com/meganatully/]