Celebrating is essential to our mental health.

Humans are social beings and have always gathered to celebrate. To celebrate is as old as human culture. Recent studies have shown that celebrating benefits our mental health significantly. In fact, it provides far more benefits than what we are aware of. Celebrations help the coping process. All cultures have their own ways of celebrating. With globalization, celebration styles and traditions have been exported from one country to another.

As we all know, COVID nineteen changed the way we celebrated. The gathering was forbidden during lockouts. Today, even though we can see the post-traumatic stress caused by isolation, we feel more pressure than ever. There is a strong urge to satisfy the human need to gather. We need and want to go back to celebrating in person.

Neuroscientists, the gurus of today, have proved that celebrations have a positive impact on our brains. Celebrations release oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins, which lower the stress hormone cortisol and give us a sense of “feeling good. “Celebrations increase people’s sense of well-being regardless of education, age, or socioeconomic status.

Celebrating reduces the chances of Depression.

As said above, celebration releases” the feeling-good hormones” called endorphins. Endorphin is a natural antidepressant. When you choose to celebrate you show gratitude to yourself. Celebrating events in your life can put you in a happy mood. Gather with people who care about you. Let those people share that moment with you. Allow them to illuminate your life with their presence. It has that magic effect. It pushes away those blue feelings for a while. Those feelings sometimes just jump up into your lives.

Yes, being grateful is a choice. It is an attitude that is immune to the circumstances of our lives. Celebrating is all about expressing gratitude. Consciously cultivating an attitude of gratitude creates a psychological immune system. This immune system can cushion us when we fall.

Celebrations can Improve your relationships.

Celebrating and expressing gratitude increases your connections in your relationships. That “feeling good” effect that comes from celebrating is contagious. It makes those who care about you also feel good for a while. It shows the people you gather with that you care about them. It also shows you value them. You are grateful to have them in your life. That is why you want to share that special moment with them.

Let us just celebrate!

Celebrations do not make problems disappear. They just make you focus on whatever good things are happening in your life. Personally, I focus on the wonderful experiences and memories I have made up to now. I try hard to do it properly. I also expect the ones that are still to come. I focus on the current moment. I put all my effort into making the best out of it.

Here I am, August 2023, facing my own birthday and wondering how to deal with it. On one hand, there is the stress of getting older. There is also the sadness of missing the people that are not here any longer. On the other hand, I am aware of the benefits it brings to my mental health. If celebrating implies gratitude remember, gratitude can help you through tough times then it is worth the effort. There I go!