BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Thanksgiving dinner can come with sides of celebration and stress.
Nina Mazuzan hits Price Chopper for last-minute Thanksgiving fixings.
She’s cooking with her two sons and visiting home for the holiday.
“They’re young adults, 29 and 26. They’re not going to be around all the time so it’s just nice that we get to hang out together,” said Mazuzan.
Quality family time is arguably the best ingredient to a good Thanksgiving, but one UVM psychiatrist says stress can be on the menu as well.
“I think there’s certainly a lot of love and joy that comes with seeing family, but often there’s some conflict as well,” said Jeremy Dickerson of UVM.
For Kathy Walsh of Winooski, that can look like everything from what people want to eat to politics to the controversial roots of the holiday.
But she takes a deep breath and focuses on the good.
“To face any challenge that comes up and to meet it with the love I know is there,” said Walsh.
If you face family conflict today, Dickerson recommends looking for the similarities rather than the differences.
“Focus on what brings people together, not what sort of drives people apart,” he said.
If the differences become too much to handle, Dickerson says to seek medical help or reach out to a hotline.