NURTURING ASSERTIVENESS: AN ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR SOCIAL DETOXIFICATION

Contributed by: Council Members Dr. Nabanita Sengupta and Ms. Varsha Mathur

Nurturing assertiveness is a crucial skill for promoting healthy social interactions and fostering a positive societal environment. In our modern fast-paced world, where social interactions can sometimes become overwhelming and tainted by toxicity due to varying communication styles, power imbalances, societal pressures, etc., assertiveness can play a crucial role in getting past these challenges and contributing to the process of social detoxification.

Assertiveness is a skill that dwells between being hesitant to express oneself and expressing oneself in a confrontational and disrespectful manner, involves effectively communicating one's thoughts, feelings, and needs while being mindful of the rights and emotions of others (Samuel et al., 2020).

The 5 characteristics of Assertiveness are:

Focusing on your goal

Being self-aware

Being true to yourself

Building self esteem

Nurturing yourself

The following points elucidate the key facets of nurturing assertiveness for the purpose of social detoxification.

1.Enhancing Communication: Assertiveness facilitates open communication by calmly and confidently expressing one’s thoughts and emotions. Potential misunderstandings are mitigated, thereby fostering healthier relationships.

2.Boundary Establishment: Assertiveness empowers people to define and communicate their personal boundaries. This practice safeguards against exploitation and disrespectful behavior, leading to an equilibrium within social interactions.

3.Conflict Resolution: Assertiveness serves as a crucial tool for resolving conflicts in a non-confrontational manner. Through assertive communication, issues are addressed constructively and mutually agreeable solutions can be reached.

4.Self-esteem: Nurturing assertiveness reinforces self-esteem. This in turn contributes to emotional and mental well-being during social engagements.

5.Empowerment: Developing assertiveness empowers individuals to take control of their decisions in alignment with their values. this newfound self-assuredness can foster increased confidence.

6.Mitigating Toxic Dynamics: Toxic social interactions often arise from passive-aggressive behaviors, manipulation, or dominance. Assertiveness acts as a deterrent and countermeasure to these patterns, thereby nurturing healthier relationship dynamics.

7.Positive Influence: Through modeling assertiveness, individuals encourage open and respectful communication. This influence can stimulate broader shifts toward healthier social interactions.

8.Emotional Regulation: Assertiveness necessitates an understanding and management of one's emotions. This allows for thoughtful responses rather than impulsive reactions culminating in more productive conversations.

9.Respectful Listening: Assertiveness entails not only expressing oneself but also actively listening to others. This balanced exchange of ideas facilitates empathy and compassion.

10. Social Detoxification: Practicing assertiveness contributes to the detoxification of social circles from negativity, passive-aggressiveness, and toxic communication patterns.

Strategies to help promote assertive behaviour for the purpose of social detoxification:

1.Understanding your communication style: Assess if you have a passive, aggressive or assertive style of communication. A passive style would mean needs of others usually comes before your own. In an aggressive style one would express their feelings and opinions in a dominant manner that might violate others. Assertive communication is respectfully expressing your view in a clear and direct manner. Example “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take up any more tasks at the moment”

2.Plan your response: If you often find yourself agreeing to others and are loaded with tasks, here are some planned responses to keep handy. Instead of saying yes you may say “Let me get back to you on that” or “I’ll have to check my calendar/to-do list”

3.Positive Self Talk: What we say to ourselves has a deep connection with how we actually feel about ourselves. Saying positive statements to oneself often reinforces a positive outlook towards self, building self-confidence and self-worth.

4.Take Deep Breathes: When you find yourself feeling breathless or overwhelmed find a quiet place and take deep breathes. Deep breathing helps us calm down and brings the focus back to the task at hand. It is recommended to take a deep breath through your nose, hold your breath and count till 5 then slowly exhale through your mouth. Repeat this a few times or until you feel calm.

5.Find professional help: If nothing seems to work or you continue to find it difficult to be assertive, it might be a good idea to consult a professional therapist. Sometimes the issue is more deep rooted hindering our daily life. When working with a therapist the underlying cause and behaviour can be explored and restructured.

In conclusion, assertiveness is essential for the process of social detoxification. By enabling effective communication, boundary setting, and healthy social interaction, assertiveness empowers individuals to create a positive social atmosphere characterized by mutual respect. Nurturing assertiveness fosters genuine connections grounded in understanding and compassion, ultimately contributing to social detoxification.