Don’t Visit as Often and Don’t Stay as Long

Sibling relationships are complex and influenced by a variety of factors. While many people are lucky enough to become best of friends with their siblings, it's common for them to swing back and forth between adoring and detesting one another. In some cases, however, it only intensifies as time passes. Siblings who are treating you badly can put a damper on a lot of things. Depending upon the level of toxicity, it can be hard to engage and can also put stress on you while you try to suppress your feelings for the sake of keeping things civil between you. There are a myriad of factors why siblings may be treating you badly and it’s difficult to change them or even keep them at arm’s length. You’ll often be hearing from them, whether it’s spoken to you verbally or from another person. But acknowledging it for what it is will tremendously help you in shifting your own focus on what’s truly important in your life. We have far too much emotional investment and history with these people to be able to disengage without being deeply wounded in the process. And sadly, these relationships tend to bring out the worst in us, regardless of how evolved and self-aware we might be. So if you don’t like how someone is treating you why not try another strategy: Don’t visit as often and don’t stay as long. It means that you don’t have to burn bridges, but you have the choice on how to respectfully engage and how much time and energy you spend dealing with them. As tough as the situation may be, you may find the need to limit your interactions because you are the only person who can protect your feelings and emotional energy. — ► See what I am working on now: https://neshnikolic.com ► Subscribe to my podcast: https://neshnikolic.com/podcast ► Connect on Linkedin:   / neshnikolic   ► My psychology practice in Canberra: https://strategicpsychology.com.au