Handling relationships among family members during this Pandemic

All of us are in a state where we need to stay at home with our families, whether we opted for it or not. Families are not always happy families. Life brings disagreements and differences of opinion among family members. It brings hectic days at times. keeping up with our loved ones and trying to please everyone isn’t possible all the time.

It’s time for us to think about the bond we have with those who share our home and to redefine our relationship ties with our family members by finding some common ground. We need to train our mind to not dwell on the past, but just be in touch with the present.
First of all you need to self-analyse if you as an individual are happy or not. Ensure that the relationship you have with yourself is a positive one. Next analyse if your family is happy with you. Analyse if your relationship with them is successful or not.

If not happy and successful it’s time to fix it now!

Let’s explore how we can avoid conflicts, strengthen our family bond and build a strong family.
The key to such situations is to manage your mental state. Winners rise above the situation and can control their emotions by using Emotional Intelligence- the ability to understand and manage one’s emotions and those of people around us. The most important thing is to acknowledge and value one another. Develop empathy. Be grateful and embrace one another at every opportunity. Let us focus on the good memories and positive side of every individual. Keep destructive emotional memories in check.

Love and relationships need to be constantly nurtured, for a happy family. So focusing on the healthy side of relationships at home first should be your primary goal. Accept the differences and listen effectively to what your people say.

Develop your communication skills. Take responsibility for what you communicate silently. More than what we speak verbally, our body language and facial expressions communicate a lot about what we are feeling. Learn to be assertive. Express your opinion clearly and firmly, without hurting the other person. Treat people as you would like to be treated yourself.

Give people your time. Being a family is all about doing things, enjoying time and just being together. This will promote connections in your home. The key is to make time for one another and when you’re together, actually be together. This means stepping away from the technical gadgets. It is hard but mobiles, tabs and laptops are not favourable to quality family time. Tap into your creative side and build things together, say music or create art together .Even simply playing a game together can strengthen the bond within your family.

Enjoy Cooking family meals together, children often cherish the chance to wash veggies, stir mixtures and decorate puddings so on. Although there might be a little mess, their learning and the fun it brings will all be worth it. Learn to give and take feedback.
Sitting down together to eat at the table offers the chance for healthy conversation and the opportunity to share news, opinions and maybe even guidance to teenagers. Teach them generosity by receiving as well as giving. Don’t try to solve problems for your loved ones. Just be there for them, while they work on solving their problems. Be generous in expressing love.

Exercising together too improves fitness and also helps with relationship building.

These are few ways in which we can take care of ourselves and work on establishing healthy relationships with our members at home.

Take care of your physical and mental health if you hope to take care of anyone else. Thats how we grow together.

Swathi Priya. P
Counselling Psychologist
www.mindmake-upclinic.com