How to Deal with Conflict in the Family

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Family conflict is one of the hardest situations to go through in life. Family is a guaranteed life-long social support system. Your family are people who are there for you, cheering on your accomplishments and they are also the people who are there for you when you hit rock bottom or have bumps along the way. However, with people this close (family, or friends), there is also bound to be disagreements, misunderstandings, minor conflicts, and sometimes larger conflicts, as well.

When you run into issues with conflicts - no matter if they are easy to solve, or much harder to solve - it can bring up sadness, anger, resentment, frustration, and so many other emotions, as well, and conflicts have the potential to tear families apart if you let it get that bad. The best way to keep things in check is to address each situation head-on. If you are not sure where to start, here are a few tips about how to deal with conflict in the family when it arises:

Try to understand and acknowledge

First of all, if you run into conflict within your family, try to understand and acknowledge it. Understand where the other person is coming from, if possible. Try to put yourself in their shoes and really think as they would. If you are able to understand where they are coming from, acknowledge that. A lot of the time, conflict can be resolved simply by addressing the issue and trying to understand why someone else feels that way. When you try to resolve the conflict with the person, keep this at the forefront and try to address the situation in a calm and understanding way.

Give a heartfelt apology

If you are able to talk calmly to the other person about the issues going on, give a heartfelt apology, if it is needed. In fact, most of the time (even if you truly did not do anything wrong), you can give an apology for making the other person feel whatever way they felt. Know that just because you did not mean to do anything, the other person might have felt a certain way, and they are not wrong for any of their feelings. When this happens, understand why they felt that way (or try your best to) and if you had any part to do with that, give a heartfelt apology. One way to stir the pot, even more, is by giving an apology that feels forced or not genuine, so try to avoid that, when possible.

Know triggers for the future

Trying to figure out triggers can be beneficial for trying to keep the peace down the road. A lot of the time, there will be something that pulls at the emotional strings of others, so if you are able to realize what has caused conflict in the past and try to avoid it in the future, it’s a great (and relatively easy) way to keep the peace going forward.

Focus on positive traits

Every single family member will not be your favorite person ever. For example, if things are tense with your siblings or inlaws, instead of focusing on the negatives, try to focus on positive traits. Sure, someone might chew with their mouth open or have obnoxious political opinions, but try to put that aside and write out their positive traits. Everyone has some good in them and you can focus on the good by listing out their positive traits!

Set and maintain boundaries

Another great way to avoid conflict in the family is by setting and maintaining boundaries. Does this always work when there is a current conflict? No, because it’s never a good idea to just push things under the rug and run from the conflict, but if you know there might be conflict in the future, it’s a great idea to set and maintain boundaries. Sometimes, all it takes is a little space. If you live too close to family members, consider moving a bit farther away from them, to keep conflict at a minimum. When you do move, reach out to a moving company to help make the process easier. Movin’ is a great option because they go above and beyond for their clients, removing the stress from the move. They do residential moving, packing services, storage solutions, commercial moving, gun safe moving Salt Lake City, and more.

Talk with a therapist

If all else fails, talk with a therapist. Sometimes, conflict is just too big and hard to resolve on your own and that’s okay. Therapists are there to help you through conflict and life changes. It is NEVER a bad idea to talk with someone and see how they can help support you!

Shout out to MoversBoost for collaborating. MoversBoost is a marketing agency for movers offering leads and digital offerings.