Honesty and Assertiveness

We have to practice honesty and assertiveness. When someone asks something of us we feel we shouldn't do we can say no. We can also express frustrations we have with others. An important lesson I have learned is to not bottle everything up. In the past I have been very passive in regards to sharing my feelings or expressing anger.
We are often reprimanded or punished for expressing anger when we are children. And many of us learn as we grow up to hide our emotions. It can be difficult to comfortably express to others how we truly feel. However, the benefits of openness, assertiveness and honesty are plenty.
In practicing honesty and assertiveness we learn to accept much of what we may otherwise push down deep inside. When we feel like we are free to express ourselves to others we will see that most often we will not be judged for doing so. In fact we may often even receive positive reinforcement for our honesty. In turn we will learn to be honest with ourselves.
In a person's journey to recovery they should learn to be assertive. A person already burdened with a mental illness really should not bear the weight of emotional exile. We don't always need to please everybody. And if we can take time to consider our own best interests and wishes we can be happier with ourselves. We may even become more confident.