To ignore...or not to ignore; that is the question

This picture seems to adequately show how things have gone in my life thus far. If there's a problem, we don't speak of it to the person involved, see it for what it really is, or hear the underlying truths of the problems. This needs to STOP! No matter how uncomfortable it makes us. Ignoring the issue doesn't make it go away - it just sits there, festering until it finally bursts and then no one can ignore it any longer. That's kind of what's going on in my life; all the issues I've let fester have burst and I have no choice but to deal with them all at once - to the detriment of my own life.

So what's the best thing to do in this situation? Run at it head on? And if so, where to start...
Or, do I just keep ignoring it and let everyone else think all is well when in fact it isn't?