How do you navigate dysfunctional relationships and still feel free?

As we’ve been celebrating our independence from Great Britain this week, we think a lot about freedom. We think of the sacrifice, and what it has meant for us as people in this nation.

It’s a great time to think of our own freedom as well. While we all have been gifted with healthy relationships in their lives, it’s inevitable that there are still dysfunctional relationships that we’re connected to. Some of us have grandmas who layer on guilt trips as well as they layer on lasagna noodles. There are moms who worry and call us several times to tell us about those worries and our inevitable demise. And others have that sibling who floats from person to person, using them and then moving on.

Maybe a few of these sound familiar. Maybe they all do. Maybe your father left you with emotional scars. Maybe a past boyfriend or girlfriend took too much of you and left you none of them.

These things can act as bars of a prison, links in a chain, and they can keep us bound. We can wake, and live, and breathe in the past. It’s easy. What’s harder is laying those things down, and accepting our freedom.

Don’t shut out Grandma, but don’t accept the “gift” of guilt she’s leaving at your door. Keep loving your Mom, but refuse the “gift” she’s handing to you. Leave it outside your home, and outside of your heart. If it’s the past that holds you prisoner, let it go.

We’d love to give you the tools to do this. That’s why we’re here – to give you the guidance you need for your own personal Independence day – to set yourself free.

At Family Innovations, we want to help you get the most out of every day. We want you to be healthy so that you can be the best possible version of yourself. We’re ready to walk with you toward something better. Schedule an appointment and let us help you!