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How To Beat Holiday Stress

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-808841.mp3

Kansas City, MO – All around us, we're bombarded with music and images of happy families enjoying holiday festivities. But for many of us, the image of the ideal family enjoying a perfect holiday is far from reality. Racing through malls and grocery stores can be stressful. Single mothers exhaust themselves trying to create the holiday for their children, and often on a shoestring budget. And then long-simmering family conflicts can suddenly ruin the mood at the holiday dinner table. Plus, death, divorce and estrangement from loved ones can make holidays feel sad and lonely.

So, no matter what your circumstance, how can you beat holiday stress? Susan spoke to social worker Joe Beck, director of therapy for Spofford, a child and family treatment center.

This story was produced for KC Currents. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KC Currents Podcast.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
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