 The Appalachian Wireless Holiday Sale is going on now. Till the end of the year, visit us in-store or reserve online for an unbelievable sale on the hottest devices. We know what you want for the holidays because we are you. We are Appalachian Wireless. During the holiday season, many may find themselves struggling to find joy in the festivities. For many holidays are a time that brings sadness, stress and anxiety. We spoke to Michelle Martel, the Director of Clinical Training Psychology at the University of Kentucky on ways to make the holidays a little brighter. It's always really difficult at this time of year for people who are experiencing acute loss or who have lost someone recently. What I always recommend is while you're waiting for time to do its task, its job and make those memories more bearable. It never hurts to try to make at least some small changes around your typical holiday traditions. It can be something just as small as changing the annual family dinner to lunch and maybe doing it at a different person's house or maybe incorporating some travel or an overnight trip or some kind of other event that you do differently than normal. That will help the memories be a little bit more bearable, especially for the first few years when it's going to be the toughest. Who knows, maybe you'll even find a new tradition that you want to incorporate moving forward. Going to everyday health, getting outdoors, reaching out to friends and family, volunteering and seeking professional help are also great tools to fighting the holiday blues. I think people tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves. I always encourage people to use some self-compassion that the holidays don't need to be perfect. In fact, being more present and being in a better mood with your family is going to go a lot further than getting those extra presents or making sure that everything goes off flawlessly. So I encourage people to consider making similar kinds of changes. You'd be surprised it might be a really big hit. Reporting for Mountain Top News, I'm Brianna Robertson.