So this unfortunately happened to my husband. Ryan was having a disagreement with his parents, and a family member he’d ALWAYS been super close with decided to get involved. And here’s the sad part… It’s been several years, Ryan and his parents have healed their relationship after their estrangement, but his relationship with that family member, never bounced back. 💔 Here we had three ADULTS trying to work through a difficult situation: Ryan and his parents. And rather than simply offering his parents empathy and trusting those three ADULTS to work things out, this family member decided to “help.” They ended up damaging a relationship that wasn’t even part of the original conflict. You might wonder why that was so hurtful? It’s the fact that they heard ONE SIDE of the story and came at Ryan as though it was the whole truth. Didn’t care what he had to say, his side, didn’t even ask him his side, just assumed he was the bad guy. When someone you’ve always been close to believes the worst about you without even asking for your perspective…. Yikes… That’s why I think we need to be VERY careful about getting triangulated into someone else’s conflict. When someone you love comes to you upset about another family member, OF COURSE you can support them listen, have empathy, and let them know you understand why they’re hurting. You can even offer another perspective based on what you know about the other person. But you don’t have to jump in with both feet and try to fix the disagreement FOR them. Especially when we’re talking about GROWN ADULTS who can work through their own relationships. Sometimes the original conflict gets resolved, and the person who stepped into the middle is left with a relationship that never recovers. You don’t have to prove your loyalty to one person by damaging your relationship with someone else. Thats just my opinion. Have you ever had a family member get involved in a disagreement that had nothing to do with them, and it changed YOUR relationship with that person? This story was shared for public commentary for educational and reflective purposes only. #boundaries #storytime #familyconflict #relationshipadvice - @mind_yourboundaries