How To Deal With Family Drama For A Happier Holiday Season
Are the holidays causing you stress? You are not alone!
6 quick tips And A Free Guide to help you deal with family drama For A Happier Holiday Season
Free Mini-Guide Gift:
“A Season Of Wonder"
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Ho-ho-Hold onto your sanity this Season!
So, how can you deflect the tensions, conflicts, and negativity of relatives who strain you, and deal with family drama for a happier holiday season?
1. Realize that you cannot change or fix the person
Accept that you cannot change your mother who constantly criticizes you, your conservative father, your sister who only talks about her baby or your aunt who gossips. The only thing you can control is your reactions. Knowing that alone can help you deal with family drama.
What’s more, avoid acting dismissively toward them since this will trigger feelings of rejection in them and create even more conflict.
“Christmas is more than a time of festivities, family, and friends; it is a season of generosity, gladness, and gratitude”
2. Avoid triggering topics
How do you deal with family drama? Well, politics, religion, and issues related to personal life choices can trigger unpleasant and awkward feelings so they better be avoided. What’s more a conversation between two different minds and points of view can escalate rapidly and become an argument and a real conflict ruing the cozy atmosphere of a family gathering.
So this year, act wisely and decide from the start that you will have a different reaction and won’t succumb to a rather “inconvenient” conversation.
When Uncle John asks your opinion about let’s say the President and his latest decision instead of biting back and starting the familiar feud, change the direction of the conversation to a more neutral one.
You could reply for example like this: “Uncle John, let’s leave the political days as they are. I learned that you had an adventure with your heart and that is more important. What happened; How do you feel now?” See? that’s the spirit!
3. Exit yourself politely when cornered
If you find yourself with a relative squeezing you and you feel like you’re going to explode for a second, you don’t need to torture yourself!
Just walk away from the situation and the person that is stressing you out! So simple! You can simply say to your mother-in-law “Will you excuse me for a moment to go to the bathroom” and get up and walk away. In that way, you stop the climax of the tension and there is no bad continuation.
4. Find an ally and a…rescue code
Best way to deal with family drama? For sure, you’re not the only person who suffers from Aunt Sara’s merciless criticism or nagging. But you don’t have to suffer alone! Notice which other person is suffering accordingly, and ally to avoid the annoying person at the family table.
So, by having a ‘rescue code’ (eg, a hand signal) that you do when the annoying person is cornering you, the ally comes and ‘rescues’ you, saying ‘come help lift the plates to bring the sweets’ or something similar.
“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future.”
5. Avoid too much alcohol
As pleasant as it is, it also increases the chances of you getting out of control, indiscreet, or irritable. Also, don’t force other relatives to give in to the temptation of drinking if they don’t want to. Alcohol can quickly turn into an awful companion.
Another great post on the topic:
6. Set boundaries and stick to them
Ok, this may be the most crucial tip. Setting your boundaries early on and keeping them can help you avoid family drama overall.
This means choosing what gatherings you will take part in, if you will stay in town to be with family or travel abroad with your boyfriend or girlfriend, how much you are going to stay in each gathering, how you will contribute to it, etc.
If you are someone who struggles with saying “no” and want to be accepted and loved by all, you may need an extra helping hand down the road to changing this “bad” and self-negating habit.
My specially designed easy-to-follow guide “No Worries” on how to stop people pleasing and start celebrating your unique self and honoring your wants and needs will help you make that U-turn. You are only a month away from Christmas so why delay it?
Click here for more information and welcome the new You as of today!
“Our culture and television tells us that Christmas is about buying stuff but actually Christmas is about loving others and the promise of love, forgiveness, and grace that the Savior brings.”
Deal with family drama with a gift from me
No worries because you are not alone on this! I have your back.
If you want to deal with family drama during the Christmas holidays even better you can discover more tools and tricks on that in my free guide: “A SEASON OF WONDER. A Mini-Guide to Enjoying the Holidays without Losing Your Mind”. It is my Christmas gift to you because I can completely understand the stress some family members can create within you and deprive you of an otherwise joyous gathering.
Just let the Christmas spirit touch you and offer you immunity from family drama!
