The related skills of assertiveness and boundary-making can help bestow feelings of self-confidence, can support the creation/maintenance of more fulfilling relationships with oneself and with others, and add to a general sense of ease, safety and comfort as we navigate our way through life. The act of teaching oneself how to assert needs and boundaries better, can essentially be viewed as an act of self-care, and hence is known to relieve stress and anxiety in the bodymind.

Not recognizing and/or respecting our own boundaries can lead to a host of different health concerns, both psychological and physical. These include the appearance of symptoms of exhaustion/burnout (which in turn could be due to a difficulty in saying ‘no’ when needed), emotional outbursts (in terms of anxiety, anger, frustration etc.) that may spill over to my relationships, indecision in various situations across the board, feeling self-conscious, overwhelmed, anxious or panicked in social situations, general communication issues, among other concerns.

From a trauma-informed perspective: we understand that difficulty in being assertive can often be related to a form of trauma response, called ‘fawning’, which essentially consists of people-pleasing behaviours directed towards easing a perceived tension or threat in any situation. These behaviours and related patterns often tend to be automatic/unconscious and thus quite resistant to change, particularly if we’re trying to change by way of ‘powering through’ our discomfort without noticing how this affects our selves.

If this description feels familiar to you: you needn’t go through this process alone – reach out to us to schedule a free call to a therapist for professional assistance on your mental health journey ~