Depression and Communication Concepts - Essay Example

Depression and communication concepts Listening skills play a great role in group communications. Listening is a crucial prerequisite to communication. Listening skills enables group members to give each other time to contribute to the group sessions. Listening skills enhances group work in the fact that they give each member a chance to give their opinion towards the development of the group. Good communicators are good listeners. There are different types of listening; hearing, analyzing the speaker’s objectives and empathizing which requires concentration and sensitivity. It is important to note that different people process the meanings of messages differently and therefore speakers should take this into consideration. Listening is an active process that entails the listening, attentiveness, processing and reacting to messages. There are many barriers to listening, which reduces an individual’s ability to listen effectively. They include; prejudging communicator, message and rehearsing response. Active listening involves asking questions to clarify the points that have been loosely understood (Donoghue & Siegel, 2005). Listening skills have had negative and positive impacts on the group communication and working. Initial communication in the group was difficult due to poor listening skills, but as time progressed, the group learnt and developed learning skills. For example, the group had conflicts about whose ideas were more superior as others could not give others time to talk. Listening skills are a vital sign that help physicians to identify people with depression. One of the major symptoms of depression is lack of active listening skills and observation skills. Depression impairs cognitive functions, which affect active listening skills. Physicians use open-ended questions to test the mood of depressed patients. Loss of concentration leads to loss of active listening skills. Depression is almost unrecognizable in patients but assessing active listening skills in an individual can confirm the problems. Group performance is determined by the effectiveness of communication. From the expereince gained, it will be important for group members to undergo some training in active listening skills to reduce the time taken adjust to group communication. Further the skills gained will be vital in helping people who are depressed through assessing their active listening skills. The experience gained would be crucial in taking the right steps towards helping group communication. For example, leadership in a group requires an individual with effective listening skills. Future steps will include volunteering to teach group members how to develop effective listening skills. This will enhance that the group communicates effectively, thus producing positive outcomes (Sharp & Lipsky, 2002). Conflict is an inevitable aspect in daily life. Conflict occurs between two people who disagree on a common issue based on their differing ideas, perspectives, goals and methods of execution. Conflict has negative impacts on group productivity. However, the resolution of conflicts determines the extent to which negative effects emanating from the group members can affect the group performance. There are different types of man to man conflicts. Pseudo conflict is a psychological where two people who are in agreement differ due to perceptions and misunderstandings based on their inability perceive that they are in an agreement. Simple conflict occurs due to differences in communication of ideas and goals of the parties involved. Simple conflict requires one party to give in to the other’s goals and ideas. A simple conflict degenerates to ego conflict if it is not resolved. Ego conflict is characterized by clash of personalities and intimate feelings about an issue contested by two or more people. Ego conflict ignores the issue at hand as the parties assume defensive stands and blame games. Although a lot of people do not look for conflicts, friction between people leads to conflict. Poor communication is a major cause of conflicts among people. In group dynamics, conflicts can flare up any time mainly due to communication breakdown. Conflicts in the group were a constant phenomenon and this affected group productivity. Further, conflicts increased tension among the group members and increased mistrust between them. Excessive conflicts among the group members could lead to depression. Conflict can change the attitude people have about life and destroy the nervous system, which leads to depression. Conflicts are a major source of anxiety, which is very destructive to people’s mental processes. Group members are close people to an individual and conflicts among group members can escalate risks of being depressed. Conflicts may hurt the individual ego leading to change of perceptions and meaning of life. This paves way for depression. Conflicts may lead to thoughts of revenge. Revengeful thoughts inhibit an individual’s ability to develop their own life. From the experience gained, several concepts can be used to enhance group integration and avoid conflicts. The first concept is to enhance good communication. Miscommunication is a major cause of conflicts, which eventually leads to depression. Managing conflicts is also another concept that can be used to reduce the effects of conflicts. These concepts can enhance group cohesion, reduce the intensity of conflicts and effects, and influence positively the group outcomes (Beebe and Masterson, 2011). Problems solving in groups is a crucial element that may determine the outcome of group performance. The inevitability of problems in groups necessitates the establishment of problem solving skills and strategies. There are different types of approaches to problem solving; descriptive, functional and prescription approaches. Descriptive approach to problem solving involves use of tools of evaluation, rating and comparing different methods of providing a solution to a problem. Functional approach involves identifying key functional factors that can enhance problem solving. The prescription approach identifies specific strategies that can be used by a group to solve problems. All the three problems solving approaches base their arguments on communication as the major problem solving solution. Problems like conflicts arise due to miscommunication. Problems are inevitable in a group; require group members to come up with amicable solutions to the problems. Initial group activities and decision making were plagued with problems. This was due to miscommunication between the group members. Problems ranged from simple execution of tasks to complex problems that involved collective group decision making processes (Laughlin, 2011). Depression and problem solving are two parallel entities. When problems are not solved, some group members become affected by the problems and this takes toll on their mental processes leading to depression. Depression escalates the extent of problems and makes them appear complicated. Thus, it affects problem solving in a negative way. From the experience gained from intergroup working, it is important to identify problems earlier before they escalate. Further, the identification of root cause of problems is a prerequisite to effective problems solving. Various problems require various approaches to solve them. This concept can be applied to effectively tackle problems within the group and influence the positive outcomes of the group. References Sharp, K., & Lipsky, S. (2002). Screening for depression across the lifespan: a review of measures for use in primary care settings. American Family Physician, 66: 1001-1008. Beebe, S., & Masterson, J. (2011). Communicating in small groups: principles and practices.10th ed. New York: Pearson. Donoghue, P., & Siegel, M. (2005). Are you really listening?: Keys to successful communication. New York: Sorin Books. Laughlin, P. (2011). Group problem solving. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Read More