How to Survive the Holidays If There’s a Toxic Person in Your Family, According to 2 Mental Health Experts

In an ideal world, the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s should be full of friends and family, good food and general merriment. In reality, for folks who have toxic family members, the holidays can be rife with tension, stress and general opposite-of-merriment—whether your brother turns everything into a competition (not the fun kind), your mom has not the slightest clue what the word boundaries means or there are always strings attached when it comes to your sister-in-law. If any of those examples ring bells, I’ve got you. I checked in with two mental health pros, Janet Bayramyan, LCSW, and Dr. Lisa Pion-Berlin, ACSW, ACHT, for their tips for keeping it together during this supposed-to-be-festive time of year if it’s inevitable you’ll be dealing with toxic people.