Week One Assignment
Annette Renee Daggit
Ashford University
COM200
Professor Williams
August 4, 2011
"Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication"
After reading the above article, I felt disappointment, and I do not agree. It is my opinion that my spouse and I communicate very well; I said to my spouse "I'm hot" (from the statement in the article). His response was what I expected, "Do you want me to turn on the AC, …show more content…
or the fan?" "Our problem in communicating with friends and spouses is that we have an illusion of insight. Getting close to someone appears to create the illusion of understanding more than actual understanding." Epley (2011) this statement confuses me, when I looked up illusion (a word I felt did not belong) it started out with "action of mocking," "a mistaken idea," and
"misleading visual image." Webster's Dictionary (2007) to me an illusion is a fantasy.
I do not imagine that my spouse understands me; I feel he knows me very well. He has been taking care of me for five years because of an illness that caused the loss of my right hand and the tips of two fingers on my left hand. Then I had respiratory problems and stopped breathing, I died three times from that. My kidneys failed and I have dialysis three times a week. He has watched me go through a very hard time, he knows me inside and out. Example: I was sleeping too much and not eating, everything I tried to eat came back up, my spouse knew something was wrong and insisted I go to the hospital, I do not like going to the hospital, so I asked him to "Take a ride, drive around for a while, maybe I'll feel better." However, he took me the long way to the hospital and as soon as they got me in there and were taking me to triage, my heart stopped, again I died. This was a very emotional time for us, I was in a coma for several days, when I woke the only person I saw was my spouse, he never left my
side. Communicating with strangers is something I find complicating, and have a hard time because I am an introvert, although that was not always the case, this started when I lost my hand. I am better at reading people by watching them rather than communicating. Maybe I am writing too much about my relationship with my spouse but isn't that what the article is about, communicating in "Close Relationships?" It is my impression that the author of this article may have some issues with close relationships and the research was sparse. I feel a lot more could have been researched, and more information on said research. Have I ever had a miscommunication with someone close to me simply because I assumed that they understood me? Well my attitude about the article has me drawing a blank. I cannot think of a time someone close to me misunderstood me. Anyone close to me is very attentive and seems to know what I want or need. I guess this would be because of my illness; they have to know what is going on with me. I feel that my communication skills are top when communicating with close relationships. I always speak clearly, truthfully, and to the point. I may ask the person I am communicating with if they understand me if I feel that more explanation is needed.
Reference
Anonymous
U.S. News & World Report
Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication
Washington: Jan. 2011 p.1
HealthDay News Jan. 24, 2011 http://health.usnews.com Ashford library