Many women, (and men) have some unique challenges when it comes to taking a stand and speaking up for themselves and others.
Some women struggle with assertiveness, but if they are prone to anxiety and avoidance, it is especially difficult.
When you’re assertive, you’re able to communicate your needs and wishes clearly while respecting yourself and anyone else involved in the interaction. But when you aren’t assertive, you may stop yourself from saying anything when your needs aren’t being met, or end up lashing out in hostile or hurtful ways. People with different attachment styles struggle with being assertive for different reasons, and even women with a secure attachment style may have difficulty expressing emotion when faced with challenging circumstances.
"The Assertiveness Guide for Women: How to Communicate Your Needs, Set Healthy Boundaries, and Transform Your Relationships" by Julie de Azevedo Hanks will help women identify their thoughts and feelings, balance emotions, communicate needs, and set healthy boundaries to improve their life.
Emotions are simply information to help guide your interactions with others and inform you when your need to assert yourself.
Why are emotions so important? There are two primary reasons:
First, they help you develop self-awareness. In short, you cannot assert your thoughts, feelings, and needs until you are aware of them!
The second reason emotions matter is because they allow you to connect with others. They are key to developing empathy, which is the ability to feel with another person so he or she feels understood and valued.
Your emotions are powerful tools to first understand your own self and then to forge relationships with others through exercising empathy.
In The Assertiveness Guide for Women, readers will learn about the three communication stances, and practical examples that demonstrate how to apply the new communication and emotional awareness skills in their own lives.
The three communication stances are:
1. The passive Doormat
2. The aggressive (or passive-aggressive) Sword
3. The assertive Lantern
Reference: Julie de Azevedo Hanks PhD LCSW: The Assertiveness Guide for Women: How to Communicate Your Needs, Set Healthy Boundaries, and Transform Your Relationships.
