Sorry for the late reply. Sorry, could I just ask. Sorry, I know you're busy. Sorry — when someone else bumps into you.
You notice yourself doing it. People have pointed it out, sometimes with irritation, which produces another apology. And underneath the habit is something that is not really about politeness at all.
It is not manners
Ordinary politeness is directed at something you actually did. Compulsive apologising is directed at your presence — for taking up time, for having a need, for existing in someone's day.
The word is doing a different job. It is not repairing anything; it is trying to make you smaller so that you are less likely to be a problem for whoever you are speaking to.
What it is protecting against
Almost always, this is a strategy that once worked. It is worth finding which one applies to you:
A household where someone's mood governed everything
If a parent's temper could turn without warning, apologising early was intelligent. You learned to defuse before anything happened. The habit remains long after the danger is gone.
Being told you were too much
Too loud, too sensitive, too demanding, always asking questions. A child who hears this concludes their ordinary needs are an imposition, and starts pre-apologising for having them.
Being responsible for other people's feelings
Where a child was made responsible for keeping a parent happy or calm, they grow into an adult who treats any discomfort in the room as their fault and their job to fix.
Shame rather than guilt
Guilt says I did something wrong. Shame says I am wrong. Someone carrying shame apologises for their existence because that is what feels defective — not any particular action.
Also read: Why do I feel ashamed of things nobody else remembers? →
In the Nepali context
Deference is expected here — towards elders, in-laws, seniors at work — and self-effacement is often a virtue rather than a symptom. That makes this harder to see clearly.
The distinction worth drawing is between deference you can switch off and deference you cannot. Speaking respectfully to an elder is appropriate. Apologising to a shopkeeper for asking a price, or to your own family for wanting something, is a different thing.
It is also more heavily trained into women here, which does not make it healthy — only more invisible.
What it costs
- People start treating you as though you have less standing, because you announce it first
- Your actual apologies lose weight — if everything is sorry, nothing is
- You accept blame for things that were not yours, which accumulates
- You avoid asking for things you need at work and at home
- It reinforces the belief underneath: each apology is a small confirmation that you are a problem
How people actually stop
Not by simply deciding to stop saying it — the word arrives before thought, so willpower gets you very little.
- Substitute rather than delete: thank you for waiting instead of sorry I'm late. It converts an apology into an acknowledgement without requiring silence
- Notice which apologies are for actions and which are for existing. Keep the first kind
- Let the pause be uncomfortable when you would normally apologise for it
- Ask what you fear would happen if you did not apologise. The answer is usually specific and usually old
- Expect discomfort. Taking up ordinary space feels rude at first when you have spent years not doing it
When it is worth getting help
- It happens dozens of times a day and you cannot stop
- You apologise when someone treats you badly
- You cannot ask for anything without an apology attached
- It comes with persistent shame, low mood, or anxiety
- It traces back to a household where you were managing someone's temper
This responds well to therapy, because the habit is a symptom rather than the problem. Working on what it is protecting against tends to reduce the apologising without needing to police the word itself.