People who constantly apologize for things that are not their fault are usually exhibiting a deeply ingrained trauma response known as fawning, where the brain instinctively…

Fawning is the lesser-known sibling of the fight, flight, and freeze responses. It develops when an individual learns that the safest way to survive a volatile environment is to abandon their own needs and preemptively soothe others. In everyday adult life, this manifests as chronic over-apologizing, extreme people-pleasing, and an inability to set boundaries, ultimately leading to severe emotional burnout.