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What this is
Over-responsibility is exhausting — carrying others' emotions, blame that isn't yours, guilt for things done TO you. This tool uses responsibility sorting (Beck 1979) and cognitive defusion (Linehan 1993) to help you see which burdens are truly yours and which were never your fault or your job. You'll visually sort each burden, then release the ones that don't belong to you.
Who it's for
- ✦ You carry blame, guilt, or emotional weight that isn't truly yours
- ✦ You feel responsible for others' feelings or happiness
- ✦ You struggle with boundaries around what's your job vs not
- ✦ Trauma left you believing things were your fault when they weren't
Benefits
See What's Yours
Separate real responsibility from over-responsibility
Release What Isn't
Set down burdens that were never yours to carry
Trauma-Aware
Explicit "not my fault" release for things done TO you
Feel Lighter
Before/after weight rating shows the shift
⚠ Precautions
- A self-help responsibility-sorting exercise, not therapy or diagnosis.
- If sorting brings up trauma memories that feel overwhelming, pause and breathe.
- This tool is a grounding aid, not trauma therapy.
- If you feel unsafe, please reach a helpline.
This tool offers general self-help support only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health advice, diagnosis, treatment, or emergency care.