Even in the best of times, many people tend towards negative thinking. In fact, I would venture to guess that the number of individuals who tend to be negative is so large that this is more of a norm than an unusual circumstance. Right now, with the world feeling so dangerous with COVID-19 and social distancing decreasing the number of outlets we have for stress relief it is so easy to allow our brain to spin itself in a never-ending loop of negativity.

Question: My husband and I have a family event coming up and my 79-year-old father always makes snide, sarcastic comments about my food sensitivities. This triggers me to defend myself and often leads to an argument. It ends up being embarrassing and can really ruin the whole event for me. How can I get my dad to understand his comments are hurtful so he will stop?