Student Blog: Dealing With Family Over the Holidays

Halloween is over and it's unofficially officially the holiday season! You know what that means, don't you?

Seeing certain family members you probably haven't seen in a year, maybe even more than that depending on your situation.

In the past few months, my extended family dynamic has changed fairly drastically, so giving advice to people in similar situations was the easiest route for me to go down.

For one thing, no one is expecting you to get along with that one family member (yes, THAT one) if they're detrimental to your mental health. Believe me, I have that one family member myself. Only a few of my extended family members expect me to communicate with said family member, but... I don't. If it's not healthy for you, then just set up boundaries. Keeping yourself mentally healthy is the biggest thing you can do during this time of year.

Also: has one of your extended family members recently gotten married so there's a bit of a shift? No worries! Me too! Luckily, I get along with two out of three of my cousins-in-law, but I will admit that that is not the same across the board. If they're nice enough, get to know them. They may end up being that long-lost cousin you've been missing all these years. Don't get along with them? Take a look back at the last paragraph.

All in all, this time of year is just a time to wind down and reflect. If that means cutting some toxic people in your life out, that's perfectly fine. If it means bringing new people in, that's also great!

Keep yourselves mentally healthy this holiday season! Much love!