This is self-work and I'm Dr. Margaret Rutherford. At self-work, we'll discuss psychological and emotional issues common in today's world

and what to do about them.

I'm Dr. Margaret and self- Work is a podcast dedicated to you taking just a few minutes

today for your own self-work.

Hello and thanks so much for joining me on self-work today. I'm Dr. Margaret Rutherford, I'm a clinical psychologist, and I've been in private practice for 25 years now. I practice here in Fayetteville, Arkansas in fact. And I began

podcasting two years ago because one I wanted to extend the walls of my

practice to people who might be interested in therapy or be in therapy but might want to hear the

opinion of another psychologist or therapist, but also to people who might never darken

the door of a psychologist.

If you've tuned in, you also may have been diagnosed yourself with anxiety or

depression for the first time, or you may be having real struggles in your relationship.

So hopefully some of the podcasts that I've done in the last two years would be helpful

for you. It's quite a diverse bunch of podcasts so I

really try to keep the topics pretty varied. Today we're going to be

focusing on what you have control over when you're with family this holiday season

And I'll offer seven pretty frank and direct tips on how to manage your own emotions, your own responses.

You know, we all hear the same tips over and over about

not forgetting to maintain good self-care,

don't eat every dessert you're offered, and watch your pocketbook so January doesn't

arrive with a tremendous shock. But my suggestions are a little different, I hope. They're

based on things that are going to hopefully work in the very moment you're

involved with the holiday. These tips actually work whether it's the holidays or not, so you might want to listen in even if you're not

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