Dr. Chloe Carmichael Blogs

The holiday season is here, and while this can be a wonderful and joyous time it can also come with plenty of stress.  If you’re lucky enough that your entire family is full of nothing but warmth and kindness (or at least courtesy), then you may not even need to read this blog- congratulations!  However, many people who enjoy a larger extended family find there may be one person in the mix who maybe is “more difficult”.  Even if you really love the person (in fact, sometimes especially if you really love the person), even minor conflicts can seem stressful.  For many people, family dynamics can contribute to anxiety about holiday gatherings… but the beauty of this type of stress is that it can be planned for. Family pattern stressors are, by nature, predictable stressors allow us to fill our tool belts with the necessary items for managing holiday interactions before any difficulties are met.

What if you had made that one career move you’ve always wondered about? Spoken up more at last week’s meeting? Been less critical on that first date? Waited for him to initiate the relationship talk?