Mitigating the Impact
of Emotional Crisis in the Family

The nuclear family is a fundamental unit of society that plays a critical role in molding and nurturing its members’ character and mindset. It lays the cornerstone of a child’s development where they can learn about unconditional love, relationships, respect, acceptance, self-esteem, loyalty, and many other values.  It supports and sustains each individual members’ motivation to keep growing as a person, to build an identity, and to achieve their full potential.

The family can also protect an individual from the “harshness” of the world. An atmosphere of security can comfort a person when they “fall” or experience failures. The unconditional love that binds families can provide the encouragement they can rely on when things become difficult. Therefore, resilience in a family can help its members reach greater emotional health.

Like its individual members, families can be vulnerable to emotional crisis when weighed down and struck with the demands and challenges of life. When a family fails to function as a unit, it runs the risk of losing its nurturing and supporting abilities.  Home life can become a burden, rather than a buoy against adversity. This emphasizes the need to sustain the emotional health of a family. One way is by seeking counseling and therapy when faced with family crisis.

The Family in Emotional Crisis

Early in life, people may have the tendency to believe that their family is like most other families. With exposure outside their home and with life experiences, one may discover that there is something different in the way they were raised or how their family interacts. If a family loses its functionality, its members may also realize that it isn’t the ideal “home” they can count on during trying times.

If your family has immensely suffered from disturbing issues, it can be gripped with emotional crisis. According to Disinherited, a family that has lost its ability to function properly “… is one where the relationships between parents and children are strained and unnatural.”  There are varied reasons why a family may lose its functioning. Often, it involves one or several members suffering from troubling issues and impacting other individuals in the family.

Such issues can intensify atypical roles and responsibilities of certain members. For example, a child can be burdened by a caretaker role to a younger sibling to cover for a sick or substance-addicted parent. A parent can be saddled with multiple roles when a marriage disintegrates. A parent and the children may also become encumbered by stresses as a spouse/parent is gripped by depression, anxiety or other emotional conditions.

These issues can also drain the family’s financial resources, escalating and complicating their struggles. They can impact various aspects of each members’ lives, unduly resulting in more suffering which can contribute to their individual pain, insecurity, or even low self-esteem later in life. These are among the reasons why the emotional crisis in the family must be mitigated.

Is this Your Family?

A family that is in deep emotional crisis and has lost its functioning is one in which conflicts are common. Though conflicts, even in the most loving relationships, can be expected, they usually do not happen with frequency, intensity and without a justifiable reason. Insulting and hurting words and actions, may not necessarily mean that your family is in emotional crisis. It may, however, be wise to seek help without delay because unhealthy dynamics can result in your family becoming vulnerable to emotional crisis.

How do you know if your family is in danger of losing its stability and functioning or that it may need to be helped by a professional family therapist/counselor?

According to King University Online, the common defining characteristics of families in emotional crisis are poor communication, drug or alcohol abuse, perfectionism, lack of empathy, control, and excessive criticism. With communication gaps, an emotional crisis in the family may also lead to poor decisions and avoidance of family dinners, activities and reunions. The members may want to leave home in the hope that they can “abandon” their troubles and have peace in their personal lives.

Addressing Family Emotional Crisis with Family Therapy

 If your family is showing signs that it is weighed down by emotional crisis, seeking the help of a counselor can benefit the whole household. While it may be ideal to seek counseling or family therapy as a proactive measure, it can also help your family at a time when the crisis is hurting relationships or causing damage without meaning to. Family counseling or therapy can promote understanding among its members and help restore lost respect and trust.

What is family therapy? According to the Mayo Clinic, “Family therapy is a type of behavioral counseling that helps family members improve communication and resolve conflicts.”  Its approaches have been designed to help families in confronting and resolving the issues that affect them. These issues could be individual concerns that are impacting the rest of the household, even without intending to, such as anxiety, depression, and other emotional or medical conditions. These can also be challenges that are affecting the entire home, such as divorce, loss of a loved one, grief, or financial concerns.

Family therapy can be utilized as a complementary approach to another primary treatment to address individual concerns. It is facilitated by a trustworthy and neutral professional who has been trained in treating family and resolving family conflicts. It can be used to strategically transform family challenges into opportunities, reinforce relationships and their individual strengths to encourage collaboration, cooperation, unity, and support.

Working on the Mitigation of Emotional Crisis

Despite the unconditional love that may be present, families are not invulnerable to the many daunting conflicts, unfortunate occurrences, or emotional turmoil that can occur. These factors can certainly challenge your family at one time or another, but know you have recourse. Family therapy in the hands of a therapist independently contracted with Carolina Counseling Services – Sanford. NC is a positive step in mitigating the impact of crisis in your family.

So, don’t feel lost in the face of family pain and turmoil. It can be inspiring to look forward to a time when all of you can feel safe, healthy, and flourish as a family. A skilled counselor independently contracted with Carolina Counseling Services – Sanford. NC can help with an emotional crisis in your family. Call today!

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