3 Effective Hacks to Handle Difficult Family Members

While some families may look perfect from the outside, the truth is that perfection is hardly ever the case. Whether you rarely encounter challenges with family members or suffer on a daily as personalities collide, the good news is that there are strategies you can use to overcome these difficulties effectively.

If you’re always stressed out when dealing with individual family members, it’s essential to realize that you ultimately can’t change them. The best thing you can do for yourself is to work on your issues and help yourself deal with situations that may arise. This way, you’ll be happier in the long run.

Acquiring Understanding

Everyone can benefit from strengthening their understanding skills. Understanding is a difficult skill to acquire because it may not be easy to put yourself into another’s shoes. After all, if you don’t feel a certain way, how can you know what it feels like to be in that situation?

One fact that can help you develop a greater understanding is that different people have different needs. Sometimes, when you’re trying to get your needs met, you may ignore the needs of someone else. Ask yourself if your conflicts arise from differing needs.

When you face disagreement with a family member, instead of reacting in anger, take a step back to evaluate the situation. See if you can figure out why the other person feels the way they do.

Maybe you’re worldlier, and the other person just hasn’t encountered all of the life lessons that you’ve experienced. Perhaps you aren’t aware of what they’ve gone through, and you could give them the benefit of the doubt.

It’s tough to be understanding when you know you’re the one reacting with logic and kindness. In this case, you may feel that you must prove yourself right and keep fighting until the other person understands your perspective. However, when you’ve mastered the art of understanding, you’ll realize when you should stop and try to find peace between you.

Keeping the Peace

A part of understanding is learning how to keep the peace. If you’re dealing with a problematic family member you only see once in a while, it should be relatively easy for you to find that peace temporarily. Go into the situation with a positive mindset, you’ll be better able to put your differences aside for the duration of the visit.

If you would ordinarily react in anger, remember to take some deep breaths before you say anything. If you’re too tempted to fight back, remove yourself from the situation altogether and go outside to calm yourself.

It’s more challenging to keep the peace when you have conflicts with a family member whom you see with regularity. These challenges may be causing you a great deal of stress. Instead of continuing to fight about who’s right, it may be best to agree to disagree and understand that the other person has a different perspective.

You can also achieve peace by compromising. For example, if a family member gets what they want one time, a fair compromise may be that you get your way the next time. The best settlements are win-win solutions where everyone walks away satisfied. Be creative in seeking agreeable solutions, and you may find that your conflicts no longer exist.

Sometimes you may feel like nothing can be done to mend your relationship with the problematic person. Many times, though, once you start trying to resolve the situation peacefully, your difficult family members begin to make an effort. After all, you are family, and the ties that bind you together are more reliable than the forces that try to pull you apart!