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Dear Teentalker,

Thanks for sharing your concern.

You can’t choose your family, which means you may have to deal with difficult family members without having any choice. For that you have to know how to interact with them and not drive yourself crazy in the process. Deal with your difficult relatives by staying calm and being assertive. Follow these strategies to make more pleasant interactions with them. Also, it can help to distance yourself from them when it's necessary to save your sanity.

Strategies that you can follow – 

Controlling emotions – Try to recognize when you are becoming angry or impatient. When you are triggered, step out for some time and count from 100 to1 or practice deep breathing. 

Talk to them assertively – Say what you have to say using ‘I’ statements. This will help you take ownership of your feelings without being defensive. Go through this link to know more about assertive ways of talking  https://www.teentalkindia.com/video/explore/panelists?v_id=59942

Listen to what they want to say - Sometimes all people want is to be heard and maybe a few things what they are saying will be true. Your active listening helps them feel acknowledged and your misunderstanding might be cleared. 

Don’t try to change them – Changing their perspective is not in your control. Try to accept who they are with the difficulties to deal with them. Ignore the judgements and show empathy towards them. Accept and respect them as a person. If you will be able to do this then dealing with them won’t feel like a challenge.

Hope this helps! If you need further explanation, please feel free to write back or you can chat with the Teentalk Experts from Mondays to Saturdays: 11am - 7pm

Regards, Teentalk Expert