Heal Your Family Relationships

On International Families Day, the Reaching India podcast shares 18 tips to heal broken family relationships. Conflict arises from differing mindsets and beliefs, but it can be resolved through acceptance, self-reflection, and slow communication. Understanding each other's perspectives and taking time to heal are important. Initiating the discussion, finding common ground, and actively listening can help in the healing process. It's important to avoid defensiveness and assert oneself respectfully. Letting go and forgiving, even if it means walking away, is encouraged. Therapy and creating a safe space for conversation are helpful. Finding middle ground and celebrating small wins are also important. Family is a vital institution that shapes our identities, provides emotional support, and boosts overall well-being. Let's protect and heal our family relationships. Namaskar, hello and welcome to this very special Reaching India podcast on International Families Day. Every year on 15th of May, the very institution of, the very fascinating institution of family is commemorated and celebrated across the world under the aegis of the United Nations. And on this very special day, we come to you to share with you some 18 tips as to how we can all fix our broken family relationships or heal them, nurture them and further reverberate them. Depending on the person, whether a partner or a relative, broken family relationships, they actually often start due to differing mindsets over a firm belief. A disagreement doesn't need to escalate into something unresolvable. Unfortunately, there are times when the situations grow severe, causing communications to break down and affection to be strained. Conflict strikes every family worldwide once in a while. Now, what is unique is how each of us opts to handle the effects of a broken family relationship. Some families allow emotions to get in the way as problems arise, while others acknowledge healthy boundaries and constructive communication, encouraging healing. So there is no particular way which is necessarily better than the other. It is genuinely a matter of what method helps you repair family relationships. So let's devour through these 18 tips which have been culled by experts and through their years and years of experiences. So first and foremost is acceptance is key. For broken family relationships to heal, the first step is to accept that a conflict is happening, but that you want to repair the damages. That doesn't mean accepting and moving on with no course of action to resolve the disagreement. Instead, working through the reason for the conflict with the optimum goal of finding forgiveness. The second important aspect in healing a broken family relationship is looking within yourself. Before attempting to repair broken family relationships, you need to sit within yourself and consider whether you are genuinely ready to take this step. If you are premature, it could result in more conflict, making it even more challenging to make repairs down the road. The third tip is the approach should be slow and gradual. For those attempting to make the first move, you must take it especially slow and ensure not only that you are ready, but that the family member you are approaching is up for attempting reconciliation. A suitable method for checking a reaction would be to send a short message or email to reach out and see if you receive a response. Don't expect too much. In that same vein, don't hold on to expectations that the other person will be receptive to your first attempt. Ensure that you carry a sense of optimism, albeit with realistic expectations, so no disappointment or possible frustration can seep into your mind if there is no response. It could take some time for a family member to be ready to reconnect. To acknowledge your role in the broken family relationship, this is the fifth tip. If any family relationship where there is a discord, each person is responsible for that outcome. While you see the individual's opinion and behavior as misguided and inappropriate, that is their take on your position as well. It is vital to recognize your role. That doesn't mean self-blame or judging. Merely see each side and understand that you are equally responsible. Do see the other side of the coin. In that same vein, look at the flip side to see your family member's perspective. Taking the time to understand other opinions completely, lets you see that not everything is necessarily as cut and dry as you might have anticipated. That will allow you to identify how you hurt the individual and focus only on the pain you suffered. Putting yourself in other person's shoes can help you in your effort to determine how to deal with having a broken family. Allow yourself time to heal. Broken family relationships, they do take time to heal. Just because you work through the issues and find forgiveness, the hurt take time to heal. Damages or wounds will require sensitivity, understanding and a gentle hand. Some of you might find a faster path to a healthy place before the other. Each needs to be given time and space to find reconciliation. Don't bite off more than you should chew. The problem that brought you to the point of broken family relationships exploded into something massive to break the bond into shambles. It could take substantial time to do what when working through the issue in one sitting. It is wise to break it down into manageable moments with space in between to rejuvenate and consider what was discussed. Take the opportunity to initiate the discussion. This is the ninth important tip. When you care enough to make the first move, that speaks volumes to the family member that you have a genuine desire to resolve. Your idea is to open the line of communication to see where the individual stands with fixing the issue. In some cases, you might be met with obstinance, but most often, when there is conflict, each hopes the other will reach out first to repair the relationship. Find common ground. Find a place where there are comparables to which you can relate. Perhaps there were similar issues with a friend or coworker. Maybe you have things in your life, stresses that are alike you can share. These can act as a safety zone. If problems begin to flare and there's a need to work yourself back into a comfort zone. Active listening is a skill to implement. Studies have shown that actively listening to others can help you improve your relationship with them, including the ones that you may share with members of a family. In hearing someone, you are looking in their eyes, nodding in agreement, saving responses until you take in every word to indicate you are paying attention. The action shows respect and can encourage a faster path to healing. The 12th step we would like to share with you on this International Day of Families is avoid acting from a place of defensiveness. When you present with a defensive demeanor, it can create more significant conflict. It speaks to you still feeling right with no intention of listening to the other person instead of stewing. Your mind is closed, not receptive to anyone else's opinion, nor willing to communicate openly. It's okay to assert yourself. When it is okay to assert yourself, to show your confidence, it shows that you believe in yourself and can find it in yourself to respect the family member and their thoughts. A difference is bashing the other person with aggressiveness. These are two very different approaches. Aggression implies superiority and dominance, while an assertive person is more self-assured, treating those around you courteously, with clarity and respect. Allow yourself to let go, regardless of whether you are unable to work through the problem satisfactorily. To reconnect as a family, it is okay to let go of the anger and forgive, even if you do need to walk away. Acts encouraged so that you can progress forward with closure and be healed and healthy. It is essential to let the person know that you forgive, but that the relationship is toxic for you, and it's time for you to move away from it for your greatest good, and then do that. Therapy, it's a wise choice. When you experience broken family relationships, individual therapy is essential to learn how to maneuver the stages of loss. These can be traumatic depending on the type of relationship and how close the two of you were. Create a safe space for conversation, establishing a safe neural environment where both parties feel secure to express their feelings and thoughts can significantly aid the healing process, particularly when navigating the complex terrain of broken family meaning. It is important that this space is free from judgment, interruptions, and external pressures. This encourages open and honest communication, which is crucial for resolving deep-seated issues and misunderstandings. Recognize and negotiate. Finding a middle ground where both parties can agree is essential in resolving conflicts, serving as one of the effective solutions to broken homes. This doesn't mean one side has to give up everything, but rather, both sides should be willing to make concessions and find solutions that are acceptable to everyone involved. This approach demonstrates a commitment to the relationship and a willingness to work together for the common good. And finally, celebrate the small wins. Recognize and celebrate progress, no matter how small, as this can provide motivation and remind both parties of the progress being made towards mending what is a broken family. This can be as simple as acknowledging a positive change in behavior or successfully having a difficult conversation without escalating into an argument. Friends, family is an extremely important institution for very many reasons, including that it gives us identity. Family can help shape our identities through traditions, values, and beliefs. Family also provides a sense of belonging and identity through love, support, and guidance. Families provide emotional support. They offer a safety net for our emotional well-being. Family provides the first role models in a child's life. Spending time with family builds strong emotional ties that can help you overcome life's challenges. Spending time with family helps construct principles and improves overall mental health. Spending time with family is also known to boost physical health, and it also boosts the satisfaction of life. And family support often starts the financial stability, and family's involvement positively impacts academic performance in a big way. So let's protect our family bonds before they go sour or southwards. We hope that this podcast would be, would come handy in some way to defend, to protect and heal the broken relationships, if at all. So very many good wishes of the International Day of Family, and we hope that this fascinating institution somewhere, it gets resurrected, it gets re-bonded, it gets healed out there. We'll be back again with yet another similar such podcast. Till then, Namaskar.