How To Mend Family Relationships

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There are a lot of relationships you’ll make along the way, but there are few which can compare to your family. Contrary to popular belief, family isn’t only the one that binds you by blood – it’s also the family you choose, such as a partner or your closest confidant.

These are the bonds you can rely on through thick and thin and the people you’ll turn to in your happiest and lowest moments. Even though they are close, these relationships require care and attention to grow.

At times, knowingly or unknowingly, we can set ourselves on a path where we end up hurting the ones that mean the most to us. It can seem like undoing this damage is impossible, especially if the pain we’ve caused has been immense. However, recovery is always possible.

Mending family relationships isn’t easy, but you can set things right again with a little love and dedication. If you’re interested in learning more, keep reading below.

Seek professional help

The people you care about the most may suffer if you choose a destructive life path. Without support from an expert, it can be difficult to change your habit permanently. Any individual action you take could lead to relapse, further separating you from your loved ones.

The best thing you can do for your family is to get professional help if you want to demonstrate that you’re devoted to healing for everyone’s benefit. If your family relationships have been damaged by drug addiction, heading to rehab is often the only way to recover. Without rehab, the emotional and physical withdrawal symptoms can be too intense and force you back into relapse.

This constant cycle of staying clean and then relapsing can immensely damage your family relationships and cause irreparable strain. Heading to the Delphi Health Group can help you recover in a safe, understanding environment without hurting your family’s feelings further. With their help, you can break free from your addiction and mend your relationship with your family.

Seek forgiveness

Asking for forgiveness and admitting mistakes is often one of the hardest things people have to do. If you don’t actively show remorse and admit your wrongdoing, it can be challenging to move forward. Instead, you might make them feel consistently invalidated, and it can look like you don’t recognize the hurt you’ve caused.

Something as simple as sitting down and admitting to all the pain you’ve caused can make a huge difference to your relationship with your family. Asking for forgiveness can show that you’re not holding your ego in higher regard than your relationships.

It doesn’t matter who you’re apologizing to – whether it’s a parent or a child, everyone is equally deserving of an apology if you’ve hurt them. Additionally, your actions and words are important to express your remorse. It’s not enough to apologize verbally but continue with the same behavior.

Recognize that it takes time

Even if you’re committed to changing, your family members may not be ready to accept it immediately. They can even be mistrustful and continue being cold or distant after expressing remorse. In such situations, it is important to recognize that healing and rebuilding trust takes time.

The first step is consistently showing your family that you’re devoted to changing. They may unconsciously be waiting for you to slip up again and can lash out if you do. However, if you stay on the right track, they can soon start to accept that you might be serious this time around.

Therefore, you must not take their lack of trust and anger personally. Their reactions have developed as a defense mechanism to keep them from getting hurt anymore by your actions, and it’ll take time to break down those walls.

Invest in your relationships

If you’ve continually neglected your family, you might discover how much suffering you’ve brought onto them too late. Whether you’ve been generally distant from them or have been prioritizing other things, like a job, over them, the outcome can cause you to become estranged from the people you care about the most.

Family relationships require a certain amount of ongoing investment on your part. It can be done both physically and emotionally. Simple actions like picking up your children from school, asking them about their day, checking in with your partner, and simply showing up and being supportive may have a significant impact.

Being available to share in their difficulties and lend a hand whenever you can demonstrate to your family members that you are also someone they can rely on, fostering stronger, more meaningful ties.

Express your emotions

When you first begin the healing process, there can be a lot of baggage to take care of. Family relationships are incredibly sensitive; often, experiencing hurt or betrayal from them can hurt the most. Everyone in an estranged or damaged relationship can experience a host of emotions. There can be a lot of history to unpack before you’re ready to move forward and heal.

Thus, expressing your emotions – the good and the bad – is imperative to heal your relationship with your family. Moving forward with a clean slate can be challenging without getting over the past baggage. Discussing past events that caused pain and asking everyone to be open about their feelings can be cathartic.

Expressing emotions can help you develop greater empathy and help every member understand how the other feels. Through honest, open communication, you can start understanding each other better and can develop better problem-solving strategies for the future.

Conclusion

Nothing can be better than knowing your family has your side. Having an estranged or embittered relationship with our family members can take a heavy toll, and it can often feel like the hurt is too much to overcome. However, following these tips can help you start with a clean slate and improve your relationships with the ones who matter the most.

*This article is based on personal suggestions and/or experiences and is for informational purposes only. This should not be used as professional advice. Please consult a professional where applicable.