Monday, December 20, 2021

How to be There for Your Family When Life Gets Rough


Everyone goes through a rough patch now and then, but when it happens to one or more members of your family, supporting your loved ones during difficult times can extract a considerable emotional toll. Although family therapy represents a highly effective strategy to alleviate the mental anguish associated with a traumatic family event, you can help out as well by being there for your family when life gets rough.

Listen

Your role in being there for your family when life gets rough does not involve putting on a therapist’s hat and trying to resolve the difficulties faced by one or more family members. One of the most important ways to help out when life gets rough is simply listening to the family member who is hurting.

Saying a few empathic words can help improve a bad situation, but the most important thing to do involves activating your listening skills. Make eye contact with your family member and deliver non-verbal cues that demonstrate you understand what the other person is saying. Even if your family members ask you for advice, keep the advice relevant to the issue at hand.

Same Routine

Going through a family crisis does not mean you have to give everything up to fix the problems faced by a member of your family. When life gets rough for your family, it is easy to feel out of control of your life. By sticking to the same routine, you recapture some of the control you had before the onset of the family crisis.

Work the same schedule, eat at the same times, and perform household chores on the same days you typically do. Keeping the same routine, such as coming over for dinner on the same day of the week, also can ease the mind of a troubled family member.

Stay Positive, But Be Realistic

Staying positive during a family crisis can stabilize a volatile situation. Words of encouragement and actions that benefit someone else produce a positive family environment that might defuse tensions or improve morale. The key is not to sugarcoat the issue that has overcome your family with negative emotions. Remaining positive does not mean saying unrealistic things, such as “Everything is going to be alright” after a devastating tragedy.

Instead, you want to say things like “This is how we are going to recover from this.”

Seek Help from an Expert

Despite everything you do to be there for your family when life gets rough, you might fall short of providing the help needed for a family member to rebound. Working with an expert can provide support for all the actions you take to support your family during a crisis. Whether a therapist recommends couples therapy or individual child therapy, you receive the support you need to be there for your family during a crisis.

Providing support for family members during difficult times can make a difference in recovering from a crisis. The same principle applies to whenever you experience one of the curve balls life throws at you.


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Author: verified_user