Navigating holiday conversations with family
AP Photo/Matthew Mead
The holiday season is beginning to kick into gear with Thanksgiving on Thursday, and the beginning of Hanukkah starting early next week. While the season can be a time to celebrate and bond with family, family dynamics can also sometimes be complicated. And while some may feel the excitement, it’s also natural to feel stressed or anxious about time with family, especially in a time of political polarization and another rise in COVID-19 cases. You may be struggling with questions like How do you communicate your comfortability sharing space with non-vaccinated family or friends? How do you keep family dinners from turning into heated political arguments? And should you not invite certain family members to your holiday gathering? To talk about it, we were joined by a professor of clinical psychology and a licensed clinical social worker.
GUESTS:
Cynthia Lubin Langtiw, Psy.D.
Professor of Clinical Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and Associate Editor, The Qualitative Report
Margaret Grau
LCSW, Therapist in Park Ridge
Bonus audio, cut for time, from today's @21stshow conversation about navigating holiday dinners → I ask Dr. Cynthia Lubin Langtiw (@GradPsychology) and Margaret Grau about families that *want* to have conversations about politics at the dinner table.https://t.co/uQ1JZHUgvf pic.twitter.com/sNNW92Tren
— Brian Mackey (@BrianMackey) November 23, 2021
There’s a reason why these visits home trigger old memories and regressive behaviors. Psychological defenses are like emotional armor, says @dr_fraga https://t.co/7e3zykM6Up
— NBC News THINK (@NBCNewsTHINK) December 22, 2018
And just for laughs, here's the SNL skit Brian referenced in the opening.
Prepared for web by Owen Henderson
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