Four ways to ease family life
You won’t see it splashed across social media but, behind every closed door, everyone you know is dealing with issues arising from difficult family relationships. From the sibling who always has to outdo you, to that disrespectful teenager who shouts and swears, or the parent who can shatter your self-esteem with one misplaced remark, there are few of us who don’t have at least one relationship that could be improved.
But family ties are strong, so we keep circling back to the people who share our DNA. Little wonder, really. We all want to get on well with our families, and not doing so is detrimental to our mental health. A recent study* found a link between depression in women and their relationships with their siblings and mothers. Even as adults, these dynamics have the power to derail our health and happiness.
You don’t have to be Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, to know that families are messy and relationships with loved ones can be painful – but that needn’t mean you’re consigned to a lifetime of either avoiding your relatives or enduring awkward encounters that leave you feeling hurt and disappointed. There are common mistakes that many of us make around family. These simple changes could make relating to your nearest and
