Great advice, I can relate to a lot of this. I have difficulty asking for help, a lot of the time it doesn't even cross my mind that I can ask for help, it's something I'm working on. My extreme self-reliance is a coping mechanism from childhood neglect I believe.

In terms of personality, I strongly identified with my mum growing up rather than my dad. Watching her be a martyr and supressing her own needs for others really made an impression. It's only through therapy that I realised how much I suppress my own needs in any type of relationship (friends, romantic etc), I find it very difficult to assert myself and set boundaries in the present - in the past, it would just build up and explode out in meltdowns or numbing behaviour such as drinking alcohol. But in recent years, I believe I'm getting better at knowing my needs and asserting them, it's a work in progress!