Christmas is at the door
For some it heralds the heart and for others pain.
For some, the presence is a challenge in itself.
For others, it is the holiday season that is the challenge.
And for some, both the presence and the holiday are a challenge.
This can create a need for help and support both before, during and after the holiday.
Now it’s the holiday season and we’ll be free soon!
Finally we have time and opportunity to be together, but can we?
Can the situation and the relationship bear it or is there a crunch in the family and the relationship.
Are there dead ends and unfinished situations that stand in the way.
How do we accommodate and handle reconciliation of our differences;
feelings, dreams, wishes, expectations and ambitions.
And how do we harmonize values, norms, thoughts and traditions without things going wrong.
Many questions
Food, money, gifts, activities, norms, traditions… and who is with whom. Inclusion, rejection, speaking up and out, being yourself in the community without losing yourself… This can give rise to many emotions such as joy, disappointment, anger, jealousy, sorrow, sadness, depression…
Private life versus family life
Appreciative presence and dialogue as well as communication, negotiation, problem solving…
If things are difficult or things have gone wrong, there is an opportunity to get help to repair communication and the relationship with the support of a family and couples therapist.
Christmas and alcohol
In Danish culture, it is normal to drink alcohol during social gatherings and holidays.
But how do we feel about alcohol and how do we feel about our loved ones’ relationship with alcohol. For some it is completely natural and relaxed. For others, it is strained, tense, or perhaps downright nightmarish and destructive. If you or someone close to you drinks too much or in an inappropriate way, it is possible to get support – for the drinker and the next of kin as well as the relationship or the entire family system – through alcohol treatment, couples therapy, family therapy and relatives’ work. Parterapi-parterapeut.dk has extensive experience in handling alcohol problems and relationships.
Once the alcohol goes in, the mind goes out!
There are some who experience this during the Christmas lunch. You can have a lovely partner at the same time that it may not be all you are happy with. For some it’s ok to look at the grass on the other side of the fence, but under the influence of alcohol it might turn into more – an affair, sidestepping, infidelity… Where is the line – yours and your partner’s. Some become jealous at the thought and others at a close dance, a kiss or… If jealousy or infidelity has arisen, it is not necessarily too late, help can be obtained through couples therapy. It is natural to try it yourself, but if problems arise, call sooner rather than later.
Are you and your relationship ready for the time of the heart?
If not, call immediately to start the course
or emergency couples therapy around Christmas and New Year.
Alcohol and children
Read more about the consequences of alcohol on the children in the family and about adult children of alcoholics in relationships: www.parterapi-parterapeut.dk/voksen-barn-af-alkoholikere-i-parforhed.html
What now
You can read more about couple therapy at www.parterapi-partterapeut.dk.
If you want couples counseling or a consultation in couples therapy, call 6166 1900.
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