"It was the best of times, the worst of times...it was the season of light...it was the season of darkness..." quoted from Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities. The holidays often remind us of our best memories and our worst family reunion nightmares. The holiday season alone puts a lot of stress due to high expectations of meeting long-held family traditions and conjures up past resentments and unresolved conflict with family members. So when you add into the holiday mix, an aging parent with care giving needs or a seriously or even terminally ill spouse, sibling or parent, then the stressors intensify.

How do you get ahead of the curve now? How do you plan and prepare to reduce the stress, release the anxiety, and manage expectations? Call in live to speak with Dr. Joe Nowinski, blogger for Psychology Today and past contributor to the Huffington Post to discuss your concerns and learn practical strategies to step it up, without giving yourself all away.

Joseph Nowinski is a clinical psychologist who has held positions as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco and Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Connecticut. He is the co-author, with Dr. Barbara Okun, of Saying Goodbye: A Guide to Coping with a Loved One’s Terminal Illness.

Connect with: Dr. Joseph Nowinski, Twitter