361: Why Do I Feel So Uneasy During The Holidays With Family? With Dr. Sharon Martin

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C, revisits a classic Therapy Chat episode with frequent guest Dr. Sharon Martin, LCSW. After the November holidays, as we move into the winter holiday season, we may find ourselves feeling a sense of dread, unease, anxiety, or other feelings that are hard to name.

We might find ourselves fantasizing about making the holiday "perfect" and "magical" either for ourselves or our family. Sharon explains that sometimes we are unaware of aspects of our family of origin's communication patterns and boundaries that don't really work for us. She describes some of the dysfunctional dynamics that can be common in households where there was abuse and emotional neglect.

 

If your family of origin relationships are continuously disappointing you, maybe this episode will help you feel less alone. Tune in next week as we continue our series with Sharon Martin. Next week she'll talk about strategies to get through the holidays when your family relationships are strained or stressful. Then the last episode of December will be about setting boundaries. Sometimes we don't realize how badly we need to set boundaries with our families until we are reflecting on why we feel so stressed after the holidays end. Sharon will give some great tips on why it can be hard to set boundaries, why they're important, and how to do it.

 

Dr. Sharon Martin, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist specializing in codependency recovery with an online practice serving California residents. For the past 20 years, she’s been helping perfectionists and people-pleasers overcome self-doubt and shame, embrace their imperfections, learn to set boundaries, and reclaim their self-worth. Sharon writes the blog Conquering Codependency for Psychology Today and is the author of The CBT Workbook for Perfectionism and The Better Boundaries Workbook.

Resources

 

The Better Boundaries Workbook: A CBT-Based Program to Help You Set Limits, Express Your Needs, and Create Healthy Relationships

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