The psychiatrist Ullakarin Nyberg visited TV4 Nyhetsmorgon to talk about the conflicts that can arise during the Christmas celebrations. Christmas is a holiday many people have expectations for. At the same time, family conflicts can come to mind and cause many people to ponder before the celebration. Where there are wounds or conflicts beneath the surface, the Christmas mood can instead be experienced as fake, and Ullakarin Nyberg tells us that you can actually admit this.
“Get the elephant on the table”
– You don’t have to pretend that the elephant in the room doesn’t exist, instead you can bring the elephant up on the table but without explaining, but just clarifying.
In Nyhetsmorgon, Nyberg says that it is important not to ignore the possible conflicts that exist, but to acknowledge in advance that they exist.
– Those conversations should not be swept under the rug, then it will be easy to do the simplest thing: “Yes, but we’ll go so no one gets upset,” says Nyberg on TV4 Nyhetsmorgon.
“The Feast of Compromises”
Maybe you still don’t want to stir up too much in the Christmas holidays, but still clear the air. One way to do this is to hold a small family council before the Christmas celebration.
– You can say: “Can we decide together, for the sake of the children, for example, that we don’t talk about this during Christmas dinner?”
– I think Christmas would feel good if it were a bit more of a holiday of compromises, says Nyberg in Nyhetsmorgon.