Mitigating holiday stress, psychiatrist says to plan ahead

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – This time of the year can be stressful for a variety of reasons, but maybe some are avoidable.

News 40 spoke to Dr. Shawn Brown, an attending psychiatrist with Med Center Health that sees all kinds of clients. Dr. Brown said a big part of holiday stress is poor planning or avoidance.

In the instance that it may be family members at odds, Brown suggests planning for how long your holiday engagements last.

Dr. Brown said grief is different for everyone, and not all loss looks the same but you can still have loved ones included. Brown told us even if someone isn’t around, maybe set a place for them still or let go of the holiday all together.

Brown said if the holidays are hard for you, “that’s fine, don’t make it about Christmas, but still celebrate something.”