AK Psychotherapy

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New York, NY
AK Psychotherapy

Therapy for anxious over-givers, self-abandoners & hypervigilant people-pleasers ready to build self-trust, healthier boundaries & more mutual relationships.

Serving NY, NJ, MD & DC. Individual therapy, groups & workshops. ✨ bio.site/alyssakushnerlcsw

06/07/2026

Why do we make letting go of carrying everyone else’s emotions so complicated?

When truly, if you want to stop feeling responsible for every mood in the room, you have to start with some big reminders.

Here’s what I come back to:

1. You learned this. You weren’t born responsible for the room. That means you can unlearn it.
2. Someone being upset is information. NOT an emergency. And not your issue to fix.
3. You can witness someone’s pain without believing it’s yours to take away from them.
4. They may just want you to listen - not rescue them.
5. Your nervous system is not a regulation tool for other people. It’s for you.

Their feelings belong to them. Yours belong to you.

Educational content only - not a substitute for therapy.

Follow for nervous system education and real talk on people-pleasing, hypervigilance, over-giving, hyper-responsibility and self-trust.

06/05/2026

A lot of people I work with describe themselves as “the empath.”⁣
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And sometimes that’s true.⁣
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But sometimes what looks like empathy is actually a nervous system that learned to stay hyper-attuned to everyone else’s emotional state.⁣
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You notice the shift in someone’s tone and immediately know when someone is frustrated.⁣
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You can feel tension the second it enters a room. You know who’s uncomfortable, disappointed, overwhelmed, or upset before they say a word.⁣
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The question is: what happens next?⁣
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Because empathy allows us to understand someone’s experience and be there compassionately but WITH boundaries. ⁣
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Hyper-responsibility convinces us it’s our job to manage it, smooth it over, fix it, prevent it, to absorb it.⁣
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To make sure everyone is okay. Over time, that can become sooooo exhausting.⁣
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You can care deeply about people without making yourself responsible for their feelings.⁣
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You can stay compassionate without abandoning yourself.⁣
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You can let someone be disappointed, uncomfortable, frustrated, or upset without immediately rushing in to regulate the situation.⁣
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As hard as that is!⁣
A small practice:⁣
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The next time you notice someone is struggling, pause before you respond. Take 2-3 deep breaths. ⁣
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Instead of asking,⁣
“How do I make this better?”⁣
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Try asking,⁣
“What actually belongs to me here?”⁣
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Sometimes healing looks less like fixing and more like staying grounded while someone else has their own emotional experience.⁣
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Does this resonate? I’d love to know! 💕⁣
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For educational purposes only and not a substitute for therapy or mental health treatment.⁣
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Follow for insights, tools, and support around nervous system regulation, hypervigilance, over-giving, self-trust, codependency, and relational anxiety.

06/03/2026

Tomorrow!!!! Last chance to join if you’re hoping to feels shift in your body. ⁣
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An exhale to the nervous system.⁣
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And some tools to let go of all of that responsibility that you carry that’s not actually yours.⁣
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Plus scripts and tips and pause before you say yes to others, skills to tolerate that icky guilt, and some self compassion you deeply deserve 🫶⁣
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Comment workshop to join us tomorrow June 4 from 6-8 pm est via zoom ⁣ (btw no location restrictions- you can be from anywhere!)
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Or link in bio id looooove to see yah there!!!

06/01/2026

Happy June 🌸⁣
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What are your intentions?

05/29/2026

Self abandonment looks like overriding my own needs, instincts, exhaustion, resentment, and gut feelings because keeping the peace felt easier than listening to myself.⁣
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And honestly, a lot of the women I work with don’t struggle because they aren’t self-aware.⁣
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They struggle because awareness and action are two very different things.⁣
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Knowing you’re people-pleasing is one thing.⁣
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Tolerating the guilt that comes with doing something different like choosing yourself is another.⁣
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Relearning how to trust yourself is slow deep work.⁣
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But it’s worth it!⁣
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Which slide hit you the hardest?⁣
Comment “workshop” to join my live 2 hr experiential and somatic workshop for women.⁣
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Educational content only. Not a substitute for therapy or mental health care.⁣
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Follow for more on people-pleasing, self-trust, boundaries, and nervous system healing.

Address

New York, NY
10006

Website

http://www.ak-psychotherapy.com/, https://alyssakushnerlcsw.myflodesk.com/subscribe, https://alyssakushnerlcsw.myflodesk

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