1/29/2012

Interpersonal conflict-"Judas?"


The following is a hypothetical story that I was written in the first person narration.

Before entering the Junior College, I knew a pretty girl and fell in love with her. I did believe that she was an essential part of my life. However, there was a secret that I had never told her and never planned to tell her. That was my addiction to alcohol. Sometimes, I even believed that alcohol was as importance as my girlfriend. I did not want to lose either of them. Thus, I enjoined my roommates sincerely to secrecy. However, when I entered the Junior College, heavy academic workload and tight schedule made me feel so stressful that I drunk much to relieve my pressure. As I drunk harder and harder, the trouble became more and more serious.

The conflict arose when my girlfriend received a call from my roommates informing her that they were extremely worried about my well-being in the hostel, because I had drunk too much every day. My girlfriend immediately called me and confronted me about this issue. She asked me what was going on and whether the statement was true. I suddenly realized that it might be my roommates who betrayed me. I replied to my girlfriend in straight denial. After I spoke with her, her tones told me that she did not believe me. She implied that she should not choose a drunkard as her life partner. I was livid, and hung up the phone up on her.

Immediately after talking with my girlfriend, I called my roommates to find out the reason for this. My roommates explained to me that they had been watching me use more and more alcohol, and they said they saw a severe change in my attitude. They wished some sentences from my girlfriend might change my life style. Once again I was infuriated, and hung up on my roommates.

I felt betrayed, how my roommates went parties with me, then turned around and told my girlfriend that I had an alcohol addiction. Since two days, I had avoided all phone calls from my roommates. Finally on the third day, I met my roommates in the meeting room. My roommates explained to me that they had spoken with girlfriend again. I did not pay attention to their explanation and blamed them as Judas. In the next semester, I moved to another hostel and never connected with my roommates since then.

Actually, in my view, communication behaviors are essential in solving interpersonal conflict. In such a situation, since I felt betrayed by some of my best friends, my behaviors were extremely aggressive. There is no denying that being offensive is never a good way for problem solving. So, could you figure out some of my aggressive behaviors during this interpersonal conflict between me and my roommates?

3 comments:

  1. It is an interesting hypothetical story which described an interpersonal conflict may emerge in our real life. Obviously, during the conflict, the boy behaves aggressively towards his roommates by avoiding phone calls from roommates, rejecting roommates’ explanation about the issue, even blaming them as "Judas", and eventually moving out the hostel. All his behaviors, undoubtedly, make the conflict even worse. I think the boy should not behave like that, instead, to change his attitude first and listen to his roommates' suggestion to try not to deeply addict "alcohol". Then, more effective communication is essential among his girlfriend, roommates and him, and by doing those, the conflict may resolve and still, he can maintain the relationship with the girlfriend and roommates.

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  2. Hi Lin Han,

    I really like it how you wrote this story in the first person narration.
    I think it shows in a good way how some people do not recognize how other people care for them and want to help and how they do not want to recognize that they have a problem. In addition it shows in a conclusive way the interpersonal conflicts which occur from this.
    Of course it is not so easy to decide which party is in the right, because both have right arguments.

    Yours Oli

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  3. Trust and honesty are the 2 most important building blocks in any relationship. You can't build any relationship on falsehood- not for long anyway.

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