The Rescuer Trap: Fate Willing, I'll Get Back to You

From The Stoic Question: Philosophy and Psychology by Donald J. Robertson

December 3, 2025 · 48 min

About this episode

This episode discusses how people-pleasing behaviors affect personal autonomy and inbox management, featuring insights from Stoic philosophy and CBT.

This episode features guest hosts Dr. Scott Waltman and Kasey Pierce, authors of the forthcoming book The Rescuer Trap . Scott and Kasey explore how people-pleasing tendencies sabotage effective inbox management and tackling other neuroticisms that have us living for others. Are you the fixer, the over-giver, the emotional first responder for everyone but yourself? Welcome to The Rescuer Trap . We playfully own the labels “Parentified and Codependent” to make a point: these are not identities, but learned behaviors. And what can be learned can be unlearned. Hosts Dr. Scott Waltman and Kasey Pierce use Stoic philosophy and CBT to give you the tools to break the cycle and reclaim your autonomy. Your escape from the trap starts here. Based on the forthcoming book, The Rescuer Trap (New Harbinger). Thanks for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe

People in this episode

Host: Donald J. Robertson

Guests: Dr. Scott Waltman, Kasey Pierce

Topics covered

people-pleasing
Stoic philosophy
CBT
autonomy
neuroticism
self-improvement

Keywords

people-pleasing
inbox management
Stoic philosophy
CBT
autonomy
neuroticism
self-improvement
Rescuer Trap

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Harbinger

Books & works: The Rescuer Trap