This post contains some of the best family conflict quotes.
Family Conflict Quotes
1. “A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss… that’s the trade-off. But I’ll take it all.” – Brad Pitt
2. “Conflict is drama, and how people deal with conflict shows you the kind of people they are.” – Stephen Moyer
3. “Don’t waste words on people who deserve your silence. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all.” – Mandy Hale
4. “Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.” – Michael J. Fox
5. “Family quarrels are bitter things. They don’t go according to any rules. They’re not like aches or wounds, they’re more like splits in the skin that won’t heal because there’s not enough material.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
6. “I don’t think anyone has a normal family.” – Edward Furlong
7. “A busy mother makes slothful daughters.” – Portuguese Proverb
8. “A child that is bring abused by its parents doesn’t stop loving its parents, it stops loving itself.” – Unknown
9. “A family ship will never sink until it is abandoned by its crew.” – Wes Fesler
Related: Top 8 Dysfunctional Family Roles
10. “A lot of problems in the world would disappear if we talk to each other instead of about each other.” – Unknown
11. “A psychological study found that people who are generally ‘too nice’ are also the ones to get hurt the most.” – Unknown
12. “Addiction doesn’t kill the addict. It kills the family, kids and people who tried to help!” – Unknown
13. “After every storm the sun will smile; for every problem there is a solution, and the soul’s indefeasible duty is to be of good cheer.” – William R. Alger
14. “All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – Leo Tolstoy
15. “And sometimes family hurts more than anybody else.” – Unknown
16. “Any problem, big or small, within a family, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn’t listening.” – Emma Thompson
17. “As you get older, you can energetically feel the difference between people who love you and those who care at their own convenience.” – Unknown
18. “Being family is determined more by behavior than blood.” – Unknown
19. “Being hurt by someone you love doesn’t mean you have to stop loving, its one way for you to learn not to give up and keep loving.” – Unknown
20. “Being hurt by someone you love is the worst feeling ever.” – Unknown
21. “Being hurt is something you can’t stop from happening, but being miserable is always your choice.” – Unknown
22. “Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reasons and argument… No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
23. “Broken family problems kills the happiness. It hurts more than anything else.” – Unknown
24. “Dear mom, I’m sorry I couldn’t make you any prouder of me. I’m sorry I didn’t turn out the way you wanted me to be. I’m sorry that I’m a disappointment to you.” – Unknown
25. “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive.” – Norman Cousins
26. “Deep inside us, we know what every family therapist knows: the problems between the parents become the problems within the children.” – Roger Gould
27. “Do not kid yourself, a conflict is never about the surface issue. It’s about ones unsaid, untreated, and unhealed wounds.” – Unknown
28. “Don’t ask why someone keeps hurting you. Ask yourself why you’re allowing them.” – Unknown
29. “Don’t worry about the family that ignores you and acts like you don’t matter. Love the ones who are always there for you.” – Unknown
Related: Toxic Family Quiz
30. “Don’t worry, I am not going to make the effort anymore… you know how to find me.” – Unknown
31. “Emotional abuse is just as bad as physical abuse. Worse! You can heal broken bones, you can’t heal a broken mind.” – Unknown
32. “Every family is dysfunctional, whether you want to admit it or not.” – Shailene Woodley
33. “Every relationship goes through a struggle, but only strong relationship get though it.” – Unknown
34. “Everybody has problems. Everybody has hard times. Do we sacrifice all the good times because of them?” – Unknown
35. “Expecting too much from your family can lead to so much of disappointment.” – Unknown
36. “Facing a family problem and not being able to fix it, is the most painful thing one can face in life.” – Unknown
37. “Fake family is like shadows, they follow you in the sun but leave you in the dark.” – Unknown
38. “Families and their problems go on and on, and they aren’t solved, they’re dealt with.” – Roger Ebert
39. “Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we’re related for better or for worse and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.” – Rick Riordan
40. “Family first always, but when family chooses to lie, manipulate and cover up, at my expense, they aren’t family anymore. Blood isn’t everything.” – Unknown
41. “Family is a unique gift that needs to be appreciated and treasured, even when they’re driving you crazy. As much as they make you mad, interrupt you, annoy you, curse at you, try to control you, these are the people who know you the best and who love you.” – Jenna Morasca
42. “Family is supposed to be our safe haven. Very often, it’s the place where we find the deepest heartache.” – Iyanla Vanzant
43. “Family problems are one of the worst problems; try to fix it as soon as possible.” – Unknown
44. “Family problems come in all shapes and sizes; some are short lived and easily managed, while others are more chronic and difficult to handle.” – Unknown
45. “Family quarrels are bitter things. They don’t go according to any rules.” – Unknown
46. “Family quarrels are bitter things. They don’t go according to any rules. They’re not like aches or wounds, they’re more like splits in the skin that won’t heal because there’s not enough material.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
47. “Family quarrels have a total bitterness unmatched by others. Yet it sometimes happens that they also have a kind of tang, a pleasantness beneath the unpleasantness, based on the tacit understanding that this is not for keeps; that any limb you climb out on will still be there later for you to climb back.” – Mignon McLaughlin
48. “Family… no one can hurt you as bad as they do.” – Unknown
Related: Top 10 Signs You Grew Up In A Toxic Family
49. “Forgiving someone is easy, but being able to trust them again is a totally different story…” – Unknown
50. “God, give me strength to solve my family problems, even at times when my whole family is standing against me.” – Unknown
51. “Happy outside but inside: problem, pain, stress, sadness, crying, family problem and many more.” – Unknown
52. “Have you ever been hurt so bad that your whole body is crying. Your heart is aching so much, you can’t take a breath. You can’t say a word. You can’t make a move. Your mind is set on your pain. You just feel the burning heavy tears streaming down your cheeks. Words hurt more than actions.” – Unknown
53. “How many solutions are found to family problems if we take time to reflect?” – Unknown
54. “How many solutions are found to family problems if we take time to reflect? If we think of a husband or wife and we dream about their good qualities that they have? Don’t ever lose the illusion of when you were boyfriend and girlfriend!” – Pope Francis
55. “I am not walking away because I have given up, it’s because I am the bigger person and deserve better.” – Unknown
56. “I believe that thinking about the problem…. Is your problem.” – Dan Brown
57. “I can’t say it’s not painful being estranged from most of my family. I wish it could be otherwise.” – Unknown
58. “I cry silently at night whenever I’m not okay. I grew up not telling my problems to my parents.” – Unknown
59. “I don’t think a female running a house is a problem, a broken family. It’s perceived as one because of the notion that a head is a man.” – Toni Morrison
Related: Am I The Scapegoat Child Quiz
60. “I don’t understand how family can hurt you more than a total strange could.” – Unknown
61. “I finally realized that the reason for my depression and anxiety is because of my parents that pretend they care.” – Unknown
62. “I grew up in a family in which political issues were often discussed, and debated intensely.” – Unknown
63. “I hate that adults can yell horrible things at their children, making them feel like crap, yet when they try to defend themselves, its disrespectful.” – Unknown
64. “I hate that my family can always make me cry, but if I say one harmful thing, I feel like a monster.” – Unknown
65. “I know every family has its problems. But I admire those that stick together.” – Unknown
66. “I may be the black sheep of the family, but some of the white sheep aren’t as white as they try to appear.” – Unknown
67. “I want to spend more time with my family, but I’m not sure they want to spend more time with me.” – Esther Rantzen
68. “I wanted to write down exactly what I felt but somehow the paper stayed empty and I could not have described it any better.” – Unknown
69. “I was the black sheep of the family, and my mother never really understood me.” – Andre Rieu
70. “I will never force my kids to love relatives that don’t see or ask about them. Period.” – Unknown
71. “I wish I could give you my pain just for one moment. Not to hurt you, but to make you understand how much you hurt me.” – Unknown
72. “I wonder why I feel I am treated like an enemy in a place where I am supposed to be welcome.” – Unknown
73. “I wonder why I feel treated like an enemy in a place where I am supposed to be welcome.” – Unknown
Related: What Happens When The Scapegoat Fights Back?
74. “I’ll never stop dreaming that one day we can be a real family, together, all of us laughing and talking, loving and understanding, not looking at the past but only to the future.” – Unknown
75. “I’m not crying because of you, you’re not worth it. I’m crying because my delusion of who you were was shattered by the truth of who you are.” – Steve Maraboli
76. “I’m sad, hurt, angry, mad, and disappointed. But you know what? I’ll put on a smile and move on. It will hurt, but I will survive.” – Unknown
77. “I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.” – Unknown
78. “If I cut you off, chances are, you handed me the scissors.” – Unknown
79. “If we’re sitting at dinner and there’s no conversation going on because everybody’s got their head someplace else in their iPhone, that’s a family problem that needs to be solved.” – Ross W. Greene
80. “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” – George Bernard Shaw
81. “If you have issues with family, friends, and people at work, try and solve these issues head on so you can move on and concentrate on having the life you want. Think about what you can do so that you are happy with yourself – for instance, eating right to feel great and energetic.” – Heidi Klum
82. “If you’re struggling and your people are just sitting there watching you struggle, they’re not your people.” – Unknown
83. “In every dispute between parent and child, both cannot be right, but they may be, and usually are, both wrong. It is this situation which gives family life its peculiar hysterical charm.” – Isaac Rosenfeld
Related: Am I The Black Sheep Of The Family Quiz
84. “In modern life, we tend to forget family values because of the hectic schedule.” – Mahesh Babu
85. “Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children.” – Sam Levenson
86. “Isn’t it sad when even your own family doesn’t really know who you are.” – Unknown
87. “Isn’t it sad when you get hurt so much, you can finally say “I’m used to it”.” – Unknown
88. “It doesn’t matter what kind of problems a family is having; it should always stay in the family.” – Scott Weiland
89. “It doesn’t matter who hurt you, or broke you down, what matters is who made you smile again.” – Unknown
90. “It hurts the most when your own family betrays you…” – Unknown
91. “It is so sad and painful when you are rejected by those who are closest to you.” – Unknown
92. “It is very sad that members of the same family do not talk with each other. The children suffer for the adult ego. Cousins miss the wonderful opportunity to be together, and all due to a bruised adult ego. Stop getting offended. Reunite with your family members. One day, your imaginary conflict with all come to an end… with or without you. Don’t wait until its too late.” – Unknown
93. “It only takes a few seconds to hurt someone. But sometimes it takes years to repair the damage. Cherish the hearts that you love…” – Unknown
94. “It would be too easy to say that I feel invisible instead, I feel painfully visible, and entirely ignored.” – Unknown
95. “It’s better to cry than be angry, because anger hurts others while tears flow silently through the soul and cleanse the heart.” – Pope John Paul
96. “It’s frightening seeing in ourselves the same ingredients as dysfunctional members of our families. Fortunately, as it is with baking, the proportions, mix, and temperature of the exact same ingredients can yield anything from burnt cookies to elegant soufflés.” – Alan Robert Neal
97. “It’s not love that hurts. What hurts is being hurt by someone you love.” – Unknown
98. “It’s sad when certain family members cause nothing but trouble in your life and then they get mad when you decide to cut them off completely and then they make you the bad one.” – Unknown
99. “It’s very sad when family members stop speaking to each other. The day will come when you will regret it. That day is called “the funeral”.” – Unknown
100. “Just because someone is ‘family’ doesn’t mean you have to tolerate lies, chaos, drama, manipulation and disrespect.” – Unknown
Related: Adult Child Syndrome: 3 Steps To Break Family Cycles
How to Deal with Family Conflict?
Family conflict is a common occurrence, but it can be stressful and emotionally challenging to navigate.
Fortunately, there are evidence-based strategies that can help you effectively manage and resolve conflicts within your family.
1. Understand the Source of Conflict
a. Identify Underlying Issues: Take time to understand the root causes of the conflict. Often, conflicts arise from miscommunication, differing values or expectations, or unresolved past issues. Reflect on your own feelings and motivations to gain insight into the underlying causes of the conflict.
b. Foster Open and Honest Dialogue: Create a safe space for open communication by encouraging family members to express their thoughts and emotions. Active listening, without judgment or interruption, is crucial in understanding each person’s perspective and facilitating a respectful exchange of ideas.
Related: 4 Essential Keys To Effective Communication
2. Manage Emotions
a. Emotional Awareness: Recognize and acknowledge your own emotions during family conflicts. Take a moment to understand and validate your feelings before responding to others. By doing so, you can avoid impulsive reactions driven by intense emotions.
b. Emotion Regulation Techniques: Employ various techniques to manage strong emotions, such as deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, or engaging in activities that promote relaxation and self-care. These strategies can help you stay calm and composed during challenging conversations.
Related: Best 8 Mindfulness Exercises For Adults That Will Help You Regulate Your Emotions
3. Practice Effective Communication
a. Use “I” Statements: When expressing your thoughts or needs, use “I” statements rather than accusatory language. For example, saying “I feel hurt when…” instead of “You always make me feel…”. This approach promotes understanding and reduces defensiveness.
b. Active Listening: Show genuine interest and attentiveness when others speak. Avoid interrupting or formulating responses in your mind. Instead, focus on understanding the message being conveyed. Paraphrase and ask clarifying questions to demonstrate your comprehension and encourage further discussion.
c. Non-Verbal Communication: Pay attention to non-verbal cues such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. Remember that your non-verbal signals can impact how your message is received. Maintain a calm and open demeanor to foster positive communication.
Related: How To Validate Someone’s Feelings Without Agreeing? (+Examples of Validating Statements)
4. Seek Common Ground
a. Find Shared Interests: Focus on identifying shared goals or interests that family members can rally around. This can facilitate cooperation and a sense of unity, reducing tension and promoting collaboration.
b. Compromise and Flexibility: Be willing to negotiate and find mutually beneficial solutions. Both parties may need to make concessions to reach a resolution. This approach cultivates a spirit of fairness and encourages cooperation.
c. Focus on the Present: Avoid bringing up past grievances or unresolved conflicts during the discussion, as they can hinder progress. Stay focused on addressing the current issue at hand and work towards resolution without getting caught in a cycle of blame or resentment.
Related: How To Respond To Invalidation? Top 7 Things You Can Do
5. Seek Professional Guidance
a. Family Therapy: In some cases, seeking the assistance of a trained family therapist can be beneficial. A therapist can provide guidance, facilitate effective communication, and offer neutral perspectives that can aid in resolving long-standing conflicts.
b. Mediation: Consider involving a neutral third party, such as a mediator or counselor, to facilitate discussions during particularly challenging conflicts. These professionals can provide structure, ensure fairness, and help guide the conversation towards constructive resolutions.
Conclusion
While family conflict can be challenging, employing these strategies can help you navigate and resolve conflicts in a healthier and more constructive way.
It is important to remember that resolving family conflicts requires effort from all parties involved.
By fostering effective communication, managing emotions, seeking common ground, and, if necessary, seeking professional guidance, you can strengthen family relationships and create a more harmonious and supportive environment.
