The holiday season is here and unfortunately that could mean needing to deal with toxic family. You may have even already faced it during Thanksgiving, or you just know that it’s coming. To help prepare you, here are some tips on how to deal with toxic family during the holidays.
- Adjust your expectations. Go into the holiday with neutral expectations instead of all positive ones.
- Don’t try to change anyone. It’s not your job to change your family or their views, they are who they are, remember that.
- Plan neutral conversation topics. If the toxicity happens especially due tough convos, have neutral convo starters to try and center the discussion around those.
- Practice redirecting tough convos. If those tough topics due come up, don’t be scared to interrupt a convo and redirect it. You can simply say “OK, I’d like to talk about something else.”
- Politely decline pointed questions. You don’t need to answer everything they ask you.
- Schedule games and activities. Keep things moving, and keep attention focused on other things, like games and activities.
- Set time limits. If you’re not comfortable, just stop by for dessert instead of a whole meal.
- Check in with yourself. Do this throughout the holiday season to make sure you know how you’re holding up. Know when to take a break from situations.
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Source: Bustle