Dr. Goble was featured on ABC 15’s popular TV program, Sonoran Living.

Read the transcript from that segment:

Susan Casper (Host): Are you getting more and more anxious as we move closer and closer to the holidays, including family gatherings, office parties, shopping for loved ones?

It’s enough to even make the most organized person a little stir crazy.

Well, we have someone here today to help you and she is Dr. LaDan Goble, a physician and psychiatrist. Great to see you.

It is a busy time of year for you, isn’t it? [laughter]

A lot of people are feeling stress. So, what is anxiety and what are the signs and symptoms?

Dr. Goble:   Anxiety is emotional distress basically, accompanied with physical feelings such as muscle tension, fatigue, and headache.  It is an unpleasant feeling. We all have anxiety at times and during the holidays times especially.

Host: Right, it almost becomes overwhelming for people. Why is this at this time of year? Why do we see these problems spike?

Dr. Goble: That’s a great question. Typical reasons are not just the performance that people expect when getting ready for the holidays, but also the expectations of dealing with family.

I think everyone one of us, at times, can feel a little uncomfortable spending time with family.

Some people can even have fears about not having friends or family around for the holidays and that can create anxiety.

Host: That’s the reverse of that. Yeah, that’s true. The loneliness. Because every commercial is about families, love, and sitting around a tree. If you are on your own that can be rather tough.

So, how can we get through this time on our own?

Dr. Goble: One of the things we mentioned is the performance. People get really elaborate about having these grand ideas for holidays. They want everything to go perfectly and for the family to get along well.

One of the things we can do is recognize that not everything goes as we planned or hoped.  Having realistic expectations can help. Realizing things may not work out as we hoped, and that is okay. Families may not get along, and that is okay too.

Make things simple, not everything needs to be grandiose.

Host: Like putting adults at the kid’s table would be okay too to help cope a little easier.

Dr. Goble: Keep it fun and lighthearted.

Host: Okay, so that is how we do it on our own. What are the signs and symptoms when someone needs to seek a professional like you?

Dr. Goble: In all seriousness, these anxiety symptoms that we all feel can get pretty severe. People can start to recognize that they are not sleeping or eating well. The signs we observe in ourselves or in others is that they get very irritable, edgy, or snappy.

At that point, if things are not getting better then it may a wise idea to consider seeking professional help, a doctor or seeing a counselor. Some types of talk therapy can be helpful.

When talk therapy is not helpful enough sometimes medications are appropriate to prescribe.

Host: I was going to ask you about talk therapy. Thank you for saying it so plainly like that because some people say “there is no way I am going to talk to someone. I am never going to get help.” But, sometimes you do need to talk it out.

Dr. Goble: That’s right. Talking it out with friends and family can even be helpful, but there are specific types of therapies that can really help change our perspectives and create new meanings for the holidays. Really make it less about performance and production and more about caring, patience, and kindness and enjoying what we have.

Host: Right, we have to take the stress out of it. Well, you are giving us fantastic information. If you want to contact Dr. LaDan Goble we have her information on SonoranLiving.com.