3 Ways to Deal With Toxic Family at Christmas
Remember this holiday: if your relatives are toxic, you have every right to not accept bad behavior, excuse yourself, and leave quietly.
The above is a random thought I tweeted out tonight, Christmas Eve 2021. It rapidly got a bunch of likes and retweets.
🤔 Hmm… I must be onto something. Here are just a few of my tips on how to deal with toxic family members during the holidays.
How to Handle Toxic Family at Christmas (or any holiday or event)
I have a *little* experience with toxic family (understatement of the year). I also worked professionally as a para-social worker, aka sober coach, in the addiction field for 4.5 years. (Toxic family central!)
What’s the top thing toxic family members lack 365 days of the year?
Boundaries.
You’re invited to a Christmas dinner or other family event and you’re already dreading it. You need a plan. My biggest mistake over the years was hoping, “Maybe this time will be different.”
But as the years go by and you get some therapy, you begin to realize it’s never different. You can leave the family altogether. Or you can keep trying to interact with them, in which case, you need a plan.
