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Thursday December 18, 2008
Holiday Family Angst
I'm getting ready to go on a PBS radio show to talk about being with family during the holidays. For many of you, family holidays are a trip into dysfunction. So how can you survive the holidays and continue to make family work in a positive way?

1) Don't idealize the family relationships. Unless you've all been in therapy, things will be the same as before. Anticipate the issues that usually create problems.

2) Focus on how you can respond to difficulty and not on how crazy people make you feel. You can only control your reaction to others.

3) Set limits. If people drink too much, become verbally abusive or engage in any other inappropriate behavior, leave. Take a walk, go to your hotel room (I strongly recommend you get one if your family is highly dysfunctional).

4) Be gracious and forgiving. It's the season. Dr. Linda

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