1. Bell Ringer Open your student workbook to page 67.
Under the heading Journal Entry, write a few sentences about a problem or difficulty that you have experienced in a relationship with a family member or friend.
Describe how you felt about it and what you and the other person did to resolve it.

2. Unit 1: Emotional & Mental Health
Lesson 10 – Dealing With Difficult Relationships

3. Healthy Behavior Outcomes
Prevent and manage interpersonal conflict in healthy ways.
Get help for troublesome thoughts, feelings, or actions for oneself and others.

4. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Evaluate effective strategies for dealing with difficult relationships with family members, peers, and boyfriends or girlfriends.
Evaluate when to end an unhealthy friendship or dating relationship.
Demonstrate communication skills to end relationships in healthy ways.
Summarize ways to cope with feelings when a relationship ends.

5. What are the healthy qualities you value most in your relationship with the other members of your family?
What are the healthy qualities you value most in your relationship with your friends?
If you are dating someone, what are the healthy qualities you value the most in your relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend?

6. What are some difficulties teens might experience in their relationships with parents?
What are some difficulties teens might experience in their friendships?
What are some difficulties teens might experience in a dating relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend?

7. Summary
There are times when you may not get along with family members or friends.
The key is to use what you are learning about effective communication and positive emotional health to deal with these difficulties in healthy ways that show respect for both yourself and the other person.

8. Summary
Difficult relationships with other family members can be hard on everyone in the family.
Communicating clearly and honestly, listening, showing care and concern, accepting and respecting each other, and taking personal responsibility for your own thoughts, feelings, and actions can go a long way towards helping you improve your family relationships.

9. What are some unhealthy qualities in a friendship or dating relationship that might make a person think about ending it?

10. Summary
No longer sharing thoughts and feelings with each other, not listening or paying attention, constant criticism, increases in misunderstandings, or unresolved conflict, or no longer wanting to spend time together are all warning signs that a relationship may be in trouble.
You can try to understand why the problem exists, work on your communication skills, and focus on shifting your attitudes and behaviors to help make the relationship better and healthier.

11. What might be some warning signs of abuse in a relationship?

12. Summary
If the unhealthy qualities have become so great that they threaten a person’s physical safety or mental/emotional health, or if the relationship has become abusive, the best option is to end the relationship.
If a relationship has become abusive, the person is usually safest getting help to end it.

13. Who are some people you could go to for help if you were in an emotionally or physically abusive friendship or dating relationship?

14. Summary
Some people you could go to for help in an abusive relationship include a parent or guardian, the school counselor, school nurse, police, clergy or other trusted adults.
If you feel you are in any kind of danger, it is best to ask for help in ending the relationship.

16. How Does It End?
Turn to page 29 in your workbook.

17. What are some emotions you might feel when a friendship or dating relationship ends?

18. Summary
If someone ends a relationship with you, it is normal to feel sad and even angry for a while.
You may also have feelings of hurt, jealousy, confusion, and even relief.
All of these feelings are normal and having healthy ways to express and deal with them is very important.

20. What’s the most important thing you learned today about ending relationships?