How is it that Thanksgiving is next week already!? With the holidays, that usually means a lot of quality time with your family, even if you have an aunt or uncle or cousin that you may not always get along with. Bustle asked a few women how they deal with toxic family members around the holidays.

  • Doubling up on therapy before she goes back home for Thanksgiving is how one woman named Chanel gets through the long weekend with her family. If you currently see a therapist every week or month, make sure that you see them the day or two before you go and visit family and work with your therapist to develop language that is non-combative for if your mother or father say something that presses your buttons.
  • Set boundaries like Josie does with her family to keep yourself feeling as though you're in control of the situation if that uncle or aunt brings put politics and you don't see eye-to-eye with them. Make sure you stay only as long as you feel comfortable staying, and if you need space try to get a hotel instead of staying with your parents if you can.
  • Journal about it when things start to get out of hand with your family like Melanie does as a way to process her feelings instead of saying something to her cousin or sibling that she might end up regretting.

If things are truly toxic for you when you go home for the holidays, you might want to consider having a conversation with your family about not going home any more, but if these visits are more like headaches than try to develop a strategy that works best for you in order to get through the holidays this year.

(via Bustle)

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