It’s no surprise we can feel stressed during the holidays, especially since they come post-election. Dr. Tim Riley from Penn State Health says this is often a hard time for many people.

“First off, there's a lot more that we have to do on top of our already full plates. And then there's also often a lot of expectations about the way things should be. And a lot of family dynamics that get surfaced that have often kind of been in the background and not a big deal during the rest of the year.”

However, Dr. Riley says even though the holidays can be challenging, there’s things we can do to try to limit the stress.

“If we do wind up in a conversation that begins to feel uncomfortable, I think the first step is to identify our own reactions and own them as ours. No one else can make us feel anything. So, the reaction that I'm having about a particular conversation is about me so I can own my feelings as my own.”

For those struggling with grief, Dr. Riley suggests allowing the grieving process to take space.

“I would also say if we're approaching a holiday and we recently lost a loved one, it's just really important for us to give ourselves a little bit of extra tender loving care, give ourselves some extra support. Find things that we know will be supportive for us that will allow us to navigate the challenges of the holiday season with a little bit less turbulence.”

Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.