Learning assertiveness skills after mutism, anxiety and trauma

My name is Xanthe Wyse.
I 'quit' advocacy last year but in a way, I don't think I am finished with it.
Some people have expressed they appreciate my perspective.
I was very conflict-avoidant for most of my life. I had mutism for the first 5 years of my life (occasionally as adult, when very stressed).
Learning assertiveness skills is one of the most important skills I have learned in my lifetime, so far (5 decades).
Assertiveness is not aggression or passive-aggression. It's aiming for a win-win, speaking up (even if in writing), saying what the issue is. It's best to leave emotion out of it and it can be done in a quiet voice.
Assertiveness is often not seen as 'feminine' (which is silly). I don't care for stereotypes of femininity and masculinity.
I could say plenty more about this topic. In my semiautobiographical novel, Pet Purpose: Your Unspoken Voice, I gave the main character the same primary diagnoses as me. She was also learning to be assertive, after having no voice, after trauma.
Link to Pet Purpose:
www.amazon.com...
Learning to speak up, even with an imperfect voice, has helped me to learn to advocate for myself, and others. I went off on a few tangents before I finished what I had intended to say, but that's some of what I have to deal with with my disorders.
I have written a reminder to make a video with some examples of medical dismissal. Most of the doctors and clinicians etc I've had over the years have been professional. Some have been terrible.