(NORTH CAROLINA NEWS NETWORK) — Family gatherings during the holiday season can be stressful; add in a pandemic and a presidential election, and there is a lot that can get heated during family conversations.

Politics is most certainly a topic of conversation that might come up during the holidays, but experts say it is not always the best conversation at the dinner table.

Licensed Psychologist and ECU professor Marissa Carraway tells WCTI there’s a time and a place for difficult conversations.

Carraway says a happy and warm holiday dinner with family may not be the best time for talking about one’s political views.

At the end of the day, people say, it is important to remember the people at the dinner table are still family.