Hi Lauren,
Good input here - I can identify with where you're at post-JW, and have been doing lots of my own inner work toward being more assertive about my own needs and standing strong in my own space. Wanting to be liked by others is natural, and as mentioned above, understanding the limits to that will work to your advantage on how much investment you put into others over yourself.Up thread, self-esteem and people pleasing was mentioned. JW hierarchy and forcing the role of the submissive woman definitely shapes and molds the female identity. Couple that with personality type and temperament in women who are more sensitive and facilitating/cooperative in their core means a lot of variations on this theme exist.
Your biggest strength is in recognizing what's currently going on with you. Now you can acknowledge where some of that came from and work towards changing patterns that no longer fit. We're all beautifully complex human beings and one size doesn't fit all in the way we work our way through these things.
Thank you for posting this.