Table of Contents
How to deal with family stress
Family stress management
Family stress management includes awareness of the entire family needs, practical communication skills and setting priorities.
Awareness is vital in managing family-related stresses. It roots itself from a sense of self-awareness to the knowledge that we need to take care of ourselves first before tending to others’ well-being. Awareness is one of the protective factors for crisis escalation.
This means understanding what makes us feel good to make those all-important choices when faced with familial responsibilities or decisions. These choices will satisfy your desires as opposed to feeling being compelled.
Effective positive communication skills should be considered, too. These come into play whether discussing complex issues involving children such as study schedules over the summer, vacation or how to handle an elder’s decision to move in with you so that they can be close and cared for.
In discussing these topics, it is essential that everyone feels heard and respected while other points of view are considered.
How much easier do you think a family discussion would go if we all had this understanding?
One way of knowing is by asking the family group: “You tell me – how can I best help with this situation?” You are then allowing others to be heard and respected while also letting them take back some control over the situation.
Dealing with family stress
Some of the best tips to deal with family stress are as follows:
- Learn to communicate. Often, we don’t know how to talk about our feelings. Make a list, and then continue until you can’t add anything more. It’ll be therapeutic.
- Listen without interrupting or trying to make any commentary about what they’re saying. We create these crazy bubbles around ourselves where others can’t connect with us if we don’t allow it.
- Try not to take things personally. This one is tough because when people say hurtful things, it hurts, but that doesn’t mean that we should feel guilty over something someone else did or said in response – only they can control that.
- Express your anger, grief, sadness etc. and let it out. Some people often bottle up their emotions because they’re afraid of how others will react to them. But in reality, once we release these feelings through healthy ways and outlets, like exercise or just talking about what’s bothering us with a trusted friend or family member, then we feel better.
- Allow for mistakes and learn from them. Mistakes are inevitable, but once you realize this, it will be easier to accept when we make one because we don’t fear failure looming over us anymore.
- Look at the bigger picture. Our situation may seem bleak or overwhelming, so people often get stuck on how they can’t control the situation. But what we often fail to see is the bigger picture, which usually has more than one solution for us and other people that may have had a similar experience as ours.
- Take an hour or two to yourself every day. You will need time for yourself after all that you do for your family, and if you plan this, it won’t be as hard to get some time when they are around.
- Find a friend who isn’t part of your family who can offer a listening ear at times when you might need to vent without judgment or bias.
- Get creative with how you spend quality time with your family. This doesn’t necessarily mean going out somewhere; it can be as simple as playing board games or taking a walk together.
- Make sure you have designated time for yourself with each child individually, one-on-one, so that they know how much you love them and care about what is going on in their lives.
- Keep your expectations realistic. Don’t blame yourself if there are still some fights or other challenges in the family. And don’t forget to celebrate the good times!
Family stress and coping – Coping Skills for Family Stress
- Accept that everyone in your family unquestionably loves you; the difficulty is about the different ways of showing it.
- Learn to appreciate individual strengths and weaknesses, rather than criticizing or expecting an impossible perfection from family members.
- Respect your limitations and those of others by not making any unreasonable requests or demands given the circumstances. When one person makes an effort to adjust their lifestyle for another, they feel appreciated rather than burdened.
- Build a routine into the week so that unexpected stressful events will seem more manageable when they inevitably arrive.
- Plan outings several weeks in advance, write up menus for meals, etc.
- Make use of social resources outside of your immediate family- friends, co-workers, community centers etc.
Activities that can help reduce the stress level in a family include
- Fun family outing. Have you all planned a fun family outing? It’s important to have some quality time together, especially when stress is high. Don’t look at it as a chore, but instead, start gearing up for family activities, an adventure that will involve different challenges to play and conquer! Going on bike rides or walks with loved ones can be an excellent way to relieve stress and discover fresh perspectives.
- Exercise. Regular physical activity can significantly improve the body’s ability to handle arousal by increasing feelings of calmness. Even one session can help soothe the mind with positive sensations and make it easier to deal calmly with emotional triggers later on in the day, such as frustrating kids or difficult bosses at work.
- Check your stress level. Check if you’re meeting your needs, and make time for yourself. You need to take care of yourself first before taking care of others. This is a crucial way to keep balance in life
- Create designated tasks among members so by rotation rather than always falling on one person; These should include family responsibilities like cooking, housework, childcare, and cleaning
- Schedule a regular date night for parents to spend time together ‘solo’ so that they can reconnect and have quality time
- Encourage children to help with housework to learn how to be helpful. This will also create a sense of responsibility when they are older.
- Help parents identify sources of parental stress by asking, “What is the most stressful part about your day?” or “Why do you think you are having more trouble than usual lately?”
- Address parenting insecurities, e.g., if a parent feels inadequate because they haven’t spent as much time with their child lately, and improve parenting practices.
- Have a change in the routine. This can be as simple as getting up 30 minutes earlier and starting breakfast before anyone gets up. This little thing can help make mornings run smoother and create less chaos for family members.
- Look at consulting a family counselor or even a therapist if things are getting out of hand.