Are you carrying emotional bags that aren't yours?
Take the Dog Poo Bag Test to discover whether you absorb guilt, stress, moods, blame and responsibility from other people.
2-minute quiz · Instant results · Surprisingly accurate
What is a dog poo bag?
A small metaphor for a very heavy habit.
Sometimes people don't know how to hold their own discomfort.
So they hand it to someone else.
Emotionally, this can look like guilt, blame, sulking, pressure, helplessness, or stress.
Many caring people automatically pick it up.
Signs you might be carrying bags
Quietly familiar?
You feel guilty easily
You fix everyone's moods
You over-explain boundaries
You feel drained after spending time with certain people
You struggle to say no
Other people's stress becomes yours
What people are saying
The kind of mirror that's hard to look away from.
This is absolutely brilliant! I love it! Well done!
Love the metaphor and the tool. I can see using both with clients. Amazing resource — you have clearly put much thought and love into it!
I think this is fab, as a professional poo bag holder myself. Looks really professional! I've downloaded the resource.
This is great, even if it did hold a mirror up to the amount of other people's dog poo bags I'm holding. The report was helpful too.
What a great metaphor! This is very helpful — thank you for sharing.
Sounds really useful — I like ideas I can imagine.
Go deeper
The Dog Poo Bag Toolkit
Boundary scripts for real situations. A guilt-recovery framework. A 7-day emotional reset. A printable workbook. Everything you need to stop carrying what was never yours.
- 30+ boundary scripts
- Guilt-recovery exercises
- 7-day reset plan
- Printable workbook
- Relationship red-flag guide
- Score deep-dive
Want to go further?
Work with the psychologist behind this quiz
Dr Nicole Harvey is a qualified psychologist with years of experience in the NHS and private practice. She offers one-to-one online therapy for anyone struggling with relationship and interpersonal difficulties, intense emotions, complex trauma, and the patterns this quiz explores.
"I offer a safe, compassionate and non-judgemental space for us to explore whatever you've been struggling with. Together we'll find a way through."
Contact Dr Nicole →Care without carrying.
Some bags were never yours. Awareness is lighter than over-responsibility.
Begin the test →