Family & Relationships

I have a pit in my stomach over the holidays coming up. My mom's entire side of the family gets together and it's that typical dysfunctional family gathering with too much drinking and snarky comments. I hate it. I've been able to avoid going the last two years (due to COVID) but this year my mom is laying the guilt on thick for me to come. I don't want to go but I don't want to disappoint her. What should I do?

Let someone know you are thinking of them with these printable cards centered around expressing gratitude. These will print with 2 cards on a sheet of paper that you can cut apart and fold.

A list of ideas for finding an item or a gesture to express gratitude to a loved one.

I'm concerned for my family's safety because my 30-year-old son screams, hollers, makes noises and scares all of us, while refusing to talk to anybody. I don't know what to do about it and I am afraid to confront him because I am scared about what he might do. I'm thinking of sleeping with a baseball bat for protection. What should I do?

My husband lost his job at the start of the pandemic. Which was scary but he has since found a new one. My problem is he now works all the time putting in long hours – more than I think he needs to. I don’t mind caring for the kids and managing the house but I barely see him and he’s missing our kids' activities. I think he’s afraid to lose his job again. How can I get him to stop working so much?

When I was young, my uncle died. I was too young to understand but I’m pretty sure he died by suicide. Which I’d like to know more about but I don’t know how to ask because my family doesn’t talk about it at all. How can I broach the subject? And do these tendencies run in families?

My mother passed away last year and since then the relationships with my siblings have been strained. We have squabbled over the smallest of possessions even though we are all adults. Gatherings that used to be fun now make me anxious. Is this still grief over a year later? How do we get back to how things were?

My 3-year-old granddaughter lives with her mom across state lines. She has been taken away from her for a 2nd time and now my granddaughter lives with a foster family. We were her foster family the first time. We are trying to get her back with us because there is no reason for her to be with a strange family. What can we do to help get her back with our family?

Often the fun activities in life get pushed to the bottom of the priority list. When this happens, I encourage caregivers to take a few minutes to complete the following activity adapted from the “Together Facing the Challenge” curriculum.

My teen has no motivation to take care of himself - I have to remind him to shower. He sleeps all the time, and he has gained a lot of weight. How do I know if this is typical teen behavior or something more?