Sorry that I Say Sorry Too Much

Something that has come from my anxiety and affected my life greatly is my tendency to apologize too much, even in situations that do not warrant an apology. I did not realize that I was excessively doing this until my family and a significant other pointed it out to me. The significant other said that it seemed as if I was weak and self-conscious if I kept apologizing for everything. This was a huge wake-up call to me. It made me take a step back and look at the root of the issue.

Due to my anxiety I feel worried that people are mad at me when they may not be, so I apologize as a defense mechanism to avoid any disagreements or hurt anyone’s feelings. Any time I have an argument or disagreement with someone, I feel sick to my stomach and try to always be the bigger person in those situations or avoid confrontation altogether. Apologizing excessively has had the opposite effect, though, because it is annoying those around me.

Something that I am trying to do in order to avoid apologizing too much is replacing the words, “I’m sorry” with “thank you” or “I appreciate it.” For instance, if I am a couple of minutes late to something, instead of saying, “I’m sorry” I am trying to replace it with, “thank you for waiting, I appreciate it.” Some situations do not warrant an apology, and apologizing for it incriminates myself for no reason.

Do you catch yourself apologizing too much in situations that do not warrant an apology? What is an example of a situation where you can replace the words, “I’m sorry” with another phrase?