What is Wendy Syndrome?

Jan 9, 2026 5 min

About this episode

Think back to the story of Peter Pan, and more specifically the character of Wendy Darling, Peter’s friend who accompanies him to Neverland. She’s the eldest and most mature of the Darling siblings, and acts as a mother figure to Peter too. You could definitely describe her as caring, nurturing, responsible and self-sacrificing. Well those may sound like totally positive characteristics, but there is a flipside too. There are a lot of caring, nurturing people out there who just constantly need to satisfy others and tend to neglect themselves as a consequence. Who coined the term “Wendy Syndrome” to describe such people ? Is it a natural inclination? Is it similar to emotional labor ? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here : ⁠Why do players have to wear white at Wimbledon?⁠ ⁠What is second child syndrome, the feeling affecting Prince Harry?⁠ ⁠What is Lima Syndrome?⁠ A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First broadcast: 1/7/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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