Once you have assessed the signs of a toxic relationship in your family, how do you deal with a toxic family member? You might want to start assessing your options because you can’t force someone to change. At times you just have to protect yourself emotionally to prevent any sort of emotional draining.
Here are several ways you can deal with a toxic family member:
Confrontation
Depending on your situation and your relationship with the toxic family member you might want to confront them about their behavior. You should be sure to expect any kind of reaction from this conversation. You should consider this option if you’re ready to give it another chance.
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3rd Party Mediation
If you feel like confrontation is not for you and you still feel like they deserve a second chance you can try and work it out with a mediator. This is just one of the ways you can deal with a toxic family member. You can choose a family member who you feel comfortable with and try to talk to this family member. You should go for this option if you feel like confrontation is not an option for you and you still want to salvage your relationship.
Depending on the gravity of the conflict you can even choose to go for family counseling together. Just remember the other party has to be willing to work out the differences between you two.
Set Boundaries
If you want to deal with a toxic family member and confrontation or mediation won’t work. You might want to just set boundaries so as to maintain your peace of mind. Keep your interactions at a minimum just to prevent any kind of unnecessary drama and emotional draining.
You can choose to only meet this family member in unavoidable circumstances such as family gatherings and meetings.
Detach
You can choose detachment as an option of how to deal with a toxic family member. If you think that your relationship would be too draining you can choose to detach. You do not owe anyone your emotional peace. You can start by cutting off all communication with this family member and not even interacting with them at all even during family meetings. Detachment with this family member might even get to a point where you choose not to be in the same space as them.
Cut them off
This is the most extreme way of how to deal with a toxic family member. If you’re thinking of cutting them off it must be serious. You should only consider completely cutting off a family member if the implications of being around them are serious.
You should only consider this option if you’re trying to protect your family. Maybe you’re afraid of exposing your kids to certain types of behaviors. Another reason to cut off a toxic family member is if they’re violent.
Before settling on what to do or how to deal with a toxic family member, you should consult and seek advice before making any decision.
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