Family Thanksgiving gatherings can be stressful. A local psychiatrist says that a “friendsgiving” could help give you a break this holiday season.

“It makes sense that friendsgiving, to me, would be beneficial,” said Sam Schiavone, division chief of inpatient adult psychiatry at Inova in Falls Church, Virginia. “It’s more colloquial.”

He said that the tradition could be a good way to de-stress and center yourself.

“It’s (friends) that you’ve made and sought and get along with and now you’re spending time together, good quality time, and giving thanks to each other. Just celebrating the friendship that you made, rather than celebrating the holiday,” he said.

Schiavone said just being grateful is a good thing for your mental health.

“Being with people that you love and they love you is going to make you feel more connected, more grounded,” he said. “Just by virtue of social connection, that has been shown to improve well being.”

Being grateful actually impacts your mood, which could help when we might be stressed about going to a traditional Thanksgiving with family you haven’t seen in awhile.

“Giving thanks does a trick in our brain where it feels like we’re also getting thanks. So we tend to feel happy and good when we’re praising others,” he said. “A lot of healthy chemicals, neurotransmitters get expressed when we receive things, but even when we give thanks.”

And when it comes to traditional Thanksgivings with family, he said tell them you’re grateful for them, and some physical touch can go a long way too.

“Just hugging family members, hugging friends can release good happy chemicals in the brain, like oxytocin,” he said.