Families can deal with unexpected stress from time to time, which can be hard for every family member. Whether it’s about job loss, unexpected financial hardship, illness, or simply chores, stress can impact all of us, particularly families.
While it’s important to manage stress levels on your own, it’s also important that families understand how to deal with it together. That way, you become stronger and more prepared for any future stressful situations. This post will outline what stress is and the ways to deal with it appropriately.
What Is Family Stress?
Stress is a normal psychological and physiological reaction to changes in someone’s environment, which could be emotional, physical, social, or cultural. Stress can be a temporary emotion that lasts as long as a task at hand, a particular day or event, or anything external that’s causing it.
Family stress is something that impacts the family as a whole: whether it be a knock-on effect from a particularly stressed family member or something external that creates a stressful environment for the entire familial unit.
How To Deal With Family Stress
It’s important when dealing with family stress to know how to handle it appropriately. This is because it’s likely that you live with each other, or at least close to each other, and have a close bond that must remain strong. These tips will help you deal with family stress so that it has minimal impact on your relationships.
Leave the stress at the door
If it’s an external reason that’s making you stressed, leave it at work or outside of the family home. It’s important to not let your stress impact others. While you need to share your frustrations and feelings with those closest to you, it’s important not to burden or negatively impact those around you. Try some breathing exercises, meditation, or exercise to clear your head.
Deal with an impactful stressful situation at the moment
If a situation has adversely impacted you or your family, it’s important to deal with it there and then instead of leaving it to get worse. Even taking note that this has caused annoyance or stress will likely make you feel better.
Communicate with each other
Let your loved ones know that it’s okay to share what is going on in their life. If you notice that someone seems out of character, invite them to share what is going on with you. Remember to be judgment-free so that they feel safe talking to you. They'll remember how it felt to speak with you and be able to give you the same support back when you need it.
Have fun together
It’s important to remember to have fun with your family! Quite often a family unit becomes one of familiarity, routine, and struggle. We often forget to take time out and enjoy having fun with one another as a family. So, take some time off the routine and organize a night of fun with each other - it’ll help!
While stress is a real and normal emotion to have, it can have a negative impact on you and the people around you. It’s important that when dealing with stress, particularly when living with, or in close proximity to family, you know how to deal with it properly.
A great way to do this is with our Reflect Orbs. The Reflect biofeedback device measures your physiological signals and reflect them back to you, helping you learn how to control your daily stress. This is a great way to measure your personal stress levels and inhibit them from affecting others.
From adults to the youngest child, every family member will be impacted by a stressful situation, so creating a safe, loving, and fun environment for everyone is important.
