EP 12: How Much Should You Care? Ft. Crissle West

What happens when being the person everyone depends on becomes the thing that's breaking you? In this episode, Kier Gaines sits down with media personality, cultural critic, and podcast host Crissle for a conversation about empathy, emotional labor, boundaries, and the hidden weight of being the person everyone turns to when life falls apart.

What starts as a discussion about therapy training quickly becomes something much bigger. Kier and Crissle explore what happens when caring isn't just something you do it's something you're wired for.

Both have spent years studying people, understanding behavior, navigating relationships, and helping others make sense of their lives. But somewhere along the way comes a difficult question: How much responsibility are you supposed to carry for other people's healing?

Together, they unpack the complicated line between support and enabling.Because sometimes caring looks like showing up.And sometimes caring looks like stepping back. In This Episode • Why people with therapy training often see relationships differently • What happens when your identity becomes tied to helping others • Compassion fatigue and emotional burnout • The difference between support and enabling • Being the person everyone calls during a crisis • How to know when someone's problem isn't yours to solve • Boundaries that don't feel like abandonment • Caring for yourself without feeling selfish • The emotional labor expected of Black men and Black women • What Crissle's Couch offers that traditional therapy cannot • Who you are when you're no longer taking care of everyone else At its core, this episode asks a question many people never stop to consider: If being needed disappeared tomorrow...

Who would you be? Connect With Us 🌐 Website: Learned The Hard Way Podcast 🎙️ Leave a Voice Note: Drop Kier a message directly on the site 📧 Email: learnedthehardwaypod@ 📱 Follow the Show: Instagram – Learned The Hard Way Pod 👤 Follow Kier: Instagram – Kier Gaines 👤 Follow Crissle: Instagram – Crissle Tap in: Share your thoughts, leave a review, or send this episode to someone trying to figure out who they are beyond survival mode.

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