How to Recognize Emotional Distress in a Family Relationship

If you’re having a really bad day right now, we’re almost 100% sure that you’re feeling quite anxious and under a lot of stress, right? Well, these are the first two signs of emotional distress, which is quite common for people of all ages. In fact, doctors say that it’s a part of the human condition, as feeling down and experiencing conflict within the mind are actually indigenous to the species. Of course, if this feeling somehow becomes the way of your life, it can get much more serious than just having a bad day. In that case, you should pay attention to how often you feel like that, how long it lasts, and how bad it gets. There are a lot of good ways to recognize emotional distress in your family relationship and deal with it properly, so check out our list and make that happen.

Come up with a brand new family ritual

No matter how tired or down you may feel during those crisis times, you should understand the importance of spending quality time with your loved ones and coming up with your daily and weekly rituals. These planned and purposeful family activities which follow a pattern and happen regularly are shown to improve everyone’s health, well-being, and resiliency while preventing some psychological difficulties at the same time. Besides that, the sense of predictability and safety is likely to result in increased trust, which will help you overcome obstacles together. Eating dinner together as often as possible is a good example of a family ritual, as well as reading aloud every night for 15-20 minutes. Trust us when we say that kids will love it! As for empowering your relationship with your partner, you should try to get up at least 15 minutes before the children, so that you can have a quiet coffee together.

Seek and accept support

We’re sure that you already know that seeking and accepting support during times of crisis is quite logical and normal, but the truth is that a large number of people still do the opposite. Simply put, out beliefs about being strong and independent often don’t let us ask for help, thinking that we can manage everything on our own. Well, that isn’t always the case, which is why you should express your true feelings and reach out for support. First of all, you should never minimize your problems or completely ignore their existence. You shouldn’t be afraid of admitting to people that you’re having a tough time at the moment, or of showing your kids a range of emotions and explaining them properly. On the other hand, if the things get even worse over time, you should definitely seek mediation services from companies like Segal Mediation Group. Mediators provide objectivity and have no bias about your situation, so give them a try and help your family overcome the bad period successfully.

Increase signs of affection

During the times of crisis, everyone in the family can get extremely vulnerable, worrying about how much they’re loved and cared for. This is completely normal once it gets really tough, but you should know that there are ways to efficiently overcome the obstacles and live a much happier and healthier life. Increasing signs of affection on a daily basis is unquestionably one of the best ways to accomplish that, as those small signs of love and kindness can truly make a huge difference. Did you know that just one hug between partners can increase oxytocin, which is also known as the love hormone? This is exactly why increasing physical touch plays a huge role here, and we’re sure that it’ll contribute to everyone’s sense of trust, safety, and connection. For example, offering your kids a warm hug instead of criticizing them when they do something you don’t like is a great way to increase those signs of affection. The same goes for sneaking silly love notes into your partner’s briefcase and kids’ lunchboxes. Just try it no matter how ridiculous it may seem and you’ll see a fantastic improvement shortly!

As you can see, there are a lot of effective ways to recognize emotional distress in a family relationship and deal with it properly. If that’s what you’re looking forward to, all you have to stick to our tips and do your best to make that happen. Trust us when we say that you’re stronger than you think, so be brave and your loved ones – including you, too – will be more than fine!