Mindful Communication
The topic at a glance
Drugs don’t usually make us better at communicating, these mind-altering substances just give us a false sense of confidence in social settings.
It is irresponsible to just expect people to accept the things we say without taking offence or feeling hurt.
Mindful listening means giving a similar amount of attention to what the other person is saying as we do our own thoughts.
Drugs Don’t Improve Our Ability to Communicate
One of the things that attracted me to alcohol was it seemed to improve my ability to communicate with others. It didn’t do this by magically transforming me into a charismatic speaker and ‘good listener’ – instead it gave me a false sense of confidence (or at least made me numb me enough not to care what other people thought of me).
I never actually developed my ability to communicate, and the same seems to be true for most of us who have used alcohol or drugs as a substitute. This means it is usually something we need to work on in recovery. Mindfulness can be of great help in this regard:
How to Speak Mindfully
In the playground we learn that ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me’. It may be a nice ideal, but for the majority of us, this saying is more like wishful thinking than actual experience. We can feel hurt by what others say to us, and the things we say can potentially cause a great deal of harm to others.
It is irresponsible to just expect people to accept the things we say without taking offence or feeling hurt. A verbal attack can cause as much damage as a physical attack – especially if the other person is vulnerable. Here are some suggestions for how to speak more mindfully:
It is often the stuff we say to break the silence that is most likely to be harmful (e.g. we might use gossip to fill the void).
Observe the person’s body language to get an idea about how our words are being received.
It might be best to avoid conversations when you are overwhelmed by an emotion like anger – get this emotion under control first because otherwise you may say something you later regret.
When we speak from an attitude of openness and authenticity, we are far more likely to communicate skillfully.
Check your motives before you speak (e.g. are you being manipulative or deliberately hurtful?).
Ease up on the self-promotion – it can make people less interested in us rather than more.
Increase your awareness of any patterns in how you speak such as frequent negativity – once we become aware of these habits, we can begin to let them go.
How to Listen Mindfully
I once believed being a good listener was all about keeping my mouth shut until it was my turn to speak. As the other person was talking, I would be having a conversation in my head about what I was going to say. This was a very ineffective way of listening, and it frequently meant I got the ‘wrong end of the stick’ or ended up saying the completely wrong thing. It was probably also obvious to the other person that I wasn’t really listening.
Mindful listening means giving a similar amount of attention to what the other person is saying as we do our own thoughts. It means being genuinely interested in the words of others so we are willing to give the appropriate amount of attention to these words.
In order to listen mindfully, it is suggested that you:
Be aware of your body language (e.g. do you appear distracted or uncomfortable?).
Give your full attention to what the person is saying.
Plan what you are going to say after the person has stopped speaking.
Withhold judgement until you have heard the full story.
Avoid speaking unless it is to demonstrate your attentiveness (e.g. “I see”) or to seek clarification (e.g. so you went there because…).
Try not to speak right away when the person has stopped speaking as they may not have completely finished (this is particularly important if it is a serious conversation).
Was this post about mindful communication useful? If you liked it, you could help us by sharing it on social media.
The Ultrarunner Mindset – Podcast Episode 49
Ultrarunning is all about going beyond our preconceived ideas about what we are capable of doing. Even if we have no intention of ever running an ultramarathon, this mindset of leaving our comfort zone can be of a huge importance for anyone attempting to break free of addiction and start a new life.
How Arrogance Prevents Connection
Surprisingly enough, most people don’t respond well to our attempts to make them seem inferior to us. It can make us hard to be around, and our behavior may even be damaging to others.The first essential step to overcoming arrogance is the recognition of this behavior in ourselves.
Dual Diagnosis: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Addiction
Substance abuse may be a conscious or unconscious attempt to self-medicate for Attention Deficit Disorder. Here we look at some of the reasons for why this happens and what can be done about it.
What is it Like to Work in the Customer Service Team at Hope Rehab Thailand?
Jenny and Sareena work in our customer service team. In this podcast interview, they tell us what it is like to work at Hope, and we learn how being here has changed their view of addiction and addicts.
CBT for Anxiety
Anxiety can be debilitating emotionally, mentally and physically. But it doesn’t have to be. When we learn tools to deal with anxiety, we don’t need to be fearful or overwhelmed by it.
Six Resolutions for a Clean Start to the New Decade
Six Resolutions for a Clean Start to the New Decade by Joel Lewin You want to stay clean in 2020? Here are some resolutions that can help that [...]