Happy Place Bryony Gordon: How people pleasing fuelled my OCD, alcoholism, and eating disorder
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Apr 13, 2026 Bryony Gordon, author and mental health advocate who writes candidly about OCD, addiction and eating disorders. She explores how people pleasing underpinned her OCD, alcoholism and disordered eating. They discuss fawn responses, perimenopause as a turning point, stepping into confidence, body image, rejecting diet culture, and the freedom of refusing crumbs.
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People Pleasing Fueled OCD Safety Behaviours
- People pleasing underpinned Bryony Gordon's OCD as a safety strategy to avoid upsetting others.
- Her brain used hypervigilant checking and rituals to prove she wasn't causing harm, linking compulsions directly to appeasing others.
Alcohol Used To Numb Workday People Pleasing Pressure
- Bryony linked her alcoholism to numbing the daily pressure of working in a misogynistic media environment.
- She drank to make life feel palatable after tough workdays, then realised in her 40s she needed to stop for good.
Ask Friends What They’d Do If They Stopped Caring
- Ask friends what they'd do if they stopped caring what others think to discover small liberating acts to try.
- Bryony used those answers to write Olivia's bold actions, like spending a day drinking in pajamas.
