It's time to reunite and enjoy the food, ambience and atmosphere. A display of emotions is expected and appropriate. It’s crucial to reflect, release and respect not only on the good times but having hard discussions to unravel what caused the rift, tension, disintegration, hurt, anger, disillusionment, betrayal, hypocrisy and lies.

Struggling with unresolved feelings during Christmas, we get the sensation that we’ve been plagued by a series of events and adversities. These setbacks result in enormous, unprecedented destruction, frozen cold feeling like thunder. We see a dark, loveless cave with no light, no hope anywhere and not even the faintest crack. Hurt people, hurt people. It’s a vicious circle and it can be broken.

It’s difficult to facilitate positive change in the family system where unresolved feelings remain. It is important to exhibits a variety of truths while exploring behavioural patterns and family dynamics. Understanding patterns that seed the problems of roles within the family, interactions, communication and language used to discuss the problems when allowing the family to challenge perceptions of events. The behaviour may be in response to the unconscious anxiety about family breakdown, conflict and indifferences

Family Dynamics Influences:
Personalities of family members
Parental relationship
Events such as divorce, trauma, grief, unemployment, homeless and more
Family values, culture, ethnicity, hierarchy, power, status,
Family violence, abuse, alcohol, drug use, mental health difficulties, disabilities and illness

What to do:
Seek professional advice (therapist, social worker and physicians)
Effective communication, sharing and supporting each other in decision making
Reflect healthily, Release positively and Respect our differences

Marching Ahead
The courage to rise above the suppressed, repressed emotions and feelings is remarkable

Guest on this episode: Thenjiwe Mamane