How to Be With Difficult Family During Thanksgiving: 4 Ways to Stay Calm and Avoid Getting Pulled Into Conflict
The holidays can bring us together with people we love, people we tolerate, and people who seem to know exactly which buttons to push. A comment about your career, relationship, appearance, or life choices can pull you into defensiveness, frustration, or an argument before you even realize what’s happening.
In this episode, Sandy explores how to stay calm and present when family gatherings get complicated, which Enneagram type's virtue to draw on, and you’ll learn four simple practices for noticing when you’re getting pulled into the drama, including:
• How to use your body to ground yourself when a conversation starts getting heated
• Why using your senses is also a great way to stay present instead of in your head
• How to recognize the comments and questions that tend to “hook” you, and what to do when those come up
• Why taking breaks during family gatherings can help you stay connected instead of running out of patience
• Why practicing these skills before the holidays is important
If you’re tired of finding yourself reacting to the same family dynamics year after year, coaching can help you understand what’s underneath those reactions and what keeps pulling you into familiar patterns.
Sandy works with clients who want to understand themselves more deeply, communicate more clearly, and have more choice in how they respond.
You can learn more about working with Sandy here:
https://www.swansoncoaching.com/work-with-me
Curious about the Enneagram but not sure where to start? Sandy also offers Enneagram Typing Sessions. These sessions are one-on-one conversations where Sandy helps you explore your patterns, motivations, fears, and the type you may lead with. It’s a great way to experience coaching and get a taste of how Sandy works.
More info on Typing sessions here:
https://www.swansoncoaching.com/typinginterview
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