I needed to have a difficult conversation with my ex about an important issue, but I wanted to avoid a face-to-face or verbal confrontation because I knew he’d react with hostility, which I couldn’t handle. Instead, I asked ChatGPT to help me craft an assertive and reasonable proposal.
When my ex responded with aggression, I turned to ChatGPT again to analyze his reply. It helped me understand his motivations and recognize potential manipulation tactics.
I was impressed by what ChatGPT picked up on. I knew I was being treated unfairly (my stress response was telling me), but I struggled to articulate or identify the tactics being used against me, like stonewalling, gaslighting, demands, ultimatums, and a false sense of urgency.
It’s in my nature to keep the peace and submit, which is what I would have done, but ChatGPT helped me see the level of poor communication and abuse I was facing.
Having this intelligent assistant—one that knows so much about psychology and communication—gave me confidence. It was reassuring to have someone backing me up without bias, providing support I couldn’t find elsewhere.
I then asked ChatGPT for possible approaches to handle the situation and for assertive responses to choose from. I even asked it to draw from authors on assertiveness mastery, and the results were fantastic.
In the end, I felt bulletproof. I was communicating effectively with a level of assertiveness I don’t naturally possess. I avoided getting caught up in emotional exchanges and stuck to the strategies ChatGPT suggested.
When I drafted my own responses, ChatGPT helped me refine my language to prevent escalating the situation, recommending softer, more neutral phrasing.
Disclaimer: I always made sure my responses sounded natural and not robotic.
Has anyone else used ChatGPT for handling interpersonal conflicts? How did it go, and what tips do you have?
