Humans have evolved with a drive to develop personal relationships, as this increases our chances of survival. One important influence on our ability to form strong, successful, healthy relationships is communication; good communication brings us together and enables others to understand how we feel and helps support our psychological wellbeing.
We communicate with each other in many ways. For example, we can exchange information verbally through language, or non-verbally with body language and eye contact. This can be as simple as reading the expression on another’s face or hugging someone.
It’s easy to take the ability to communicate with each other for granted and not appreciate its importance unless there’s a problem. However, for many people and for assorted reasons, poor communication can be the source of challenges in romantic relationships, workplace culture, and overall well-being.
Below are common communication issues, how they can affect people’s mental health, and some methods for better communication in daily life.
Poor communication can affect adults and children alike, sometimes temporarily, or as a symptom of a broader mental health challenge.
The following skills that individuals often struggle with may be common workplace communication problems or evident in personal relationships. Especially in our modern workplace with remote employees and video conferencing, often employees feel a disservice without healthy workplace communication. Types of communication issues include:
Empathy is putting ourselves in the shoes of another to understand how they feel. Expressing this understanding underpins effective communication and our ability to build strong relationships. Without it, those around us do not feel understood.
Many people have difficulty asserting their needs. Instead, it’s quite common for people to:
It’s easy to become caught up in strong, negative feelings at times, particularly in the heat of an argument. In this emotional mindset, we might react to others in ways that are unhelpful or upsetting to others. This can damage our relationships.
People are unique; we all learn and express ourselves in slightly different ways. We risk the delivery and intent of our message being misunderstood if we don’t adjust our communication patterns to match our audience, especially in the delivery of bad news. For example, if we use overly complex language when speaking to a child, they are less likely to understand.
It’s easy to make a mistaken assumption about what’s being said, particularly as we use technology and our devices to communicate more by text than by in-person approach. We tend to race ahead in our own minds without really listening, reading, or understanding the message which results in inappropriate information or sensitive information being conveyed.
Active listening involves giving our full concentration to what’s being said and giving responses to show that we’re listening and understanding – this is a pillar of healthy communication. People feel invalidated when we lose attention, get distracted, or interrupt when they are talking. We also run the risk of missing details and not understanding their message.
