Navigating Stressful Family Gatherings

The Holidays can be a time of such warmth and love. But they can also be a time of stress, drama, and anxiety due to many different circumstances. I know that this time can be especially difficult when we think about family members that we have lost and that in itself makes things all the more difficult.

With that being said, I want to give you guys some really practical, useful, and applicable tools to help guide you during this season so that you can make it as fun, fulfilling, and enjoyable as you would like it to be. Remember, holidays do not HAVE to be fun and enjoyable just because we have the idea of that is how they “should” be. There is no one right way that any family or any gathering has to be, but we are allowed to create and experience them the way we desire to.

I want you to allow this to be a guide for you, as you continue to approach gatherings over this Holiday season. Take these tools and create whatever experience it is, that you want to create for yourself.

In this episode, I’m sharing with you:

• Our expectations around Holidays and family gatherings
• There are MANY different reasons people experience stress, anxiety, and other difficult feelings and emotions surrounding gatherings
• The universal truth, that you CAN NOT control other people
• The issue with trying to control others
• An opportunity for you to grow
• Examples of different things that may be triggering you at gatherings
• Take time to think about your family, and gatherings to identify the things that trigger you
• Subconscious and Unconscious thoughts
• What if we allow people to show up, and be exactly who they are without expectations of anything different?
• We tend to forget, we get to create our own experience
• Shifting your perspective
• By focusing on others individual models and behaviors, you aren’t able to fully experience your own and make your own connections the way you desire to
• Question yourself
• Put the emphasis back on you
• 3 different things you can do as you approach gatherings to prepare
• Prepare & drop expectations
• Noticing the good and bad
• Setting new boundaries, possible just for yourself, but maybe some as a family
• Decide in advance how you want to feel, and how you can make that happen
• A few ways to release the negative energy from your body to keep in your pocket when needed
• Go forward, and use these tools to be proactive, and find enjoyment in those gatherings. Especially through this Holiday Season!

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