Celebrate Every Day to Boost Your Mental Health

• Read original article here

Celebrating is fun, and it’s much more than fluff. Celebrating things big and small has a substantial impact on the brain and overall mental health. When we celebrate here and there, we experience temporary boosts in mood and mental wellbeing. When we celebrate little things in little ways as a daily habit, we make those mental health boosts long-lasting.

The act of celebrating teaches your brain to think and pay attention differently. The human brain has a built-in negativity bias that causes anxiety. It’s constantly scanning for danger, ready to activate the flight-or-fight (stress) response at a moment’s notice1. While designed to keep us safe, if we don’t purposely override it, it makes us prone to anxiety, depression, and overall reduced mental health. The human brain, however, is also able to learn and adapt throughout life (this is known as neuroplasticity). Not only that, it’s hard-wired to learn to override its own negativity bias.

When we celebrate something, anything, the brain responds with a flurry of chemical activity2. Cortisol and other stress-related neurotransmitters are replaced by feel-good hormones such as oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. Celebrating, no matter how we do it, is a reward in and of itself that teaches the brain to notice and respond to positive things in our lives rather than constantly gravitating to the negative. Find little reasons to celebrate daily, and spend a few moments in celebration throughout your day, enjoying something simple to boost your mental health.

Marano, H.E. (2015, June). Our brain’s negative bias. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200306/our-brains-negative-bias

Dr. Sydney Savion explains how brain health and happiness are connected and, used properly, can create a beautiful mind. Watch now.

Today's Question: Research shows celebrating everyday can boost your mental health. What little reasons do you have to celebrate, and how do you do it? We invite you to participate by sharing your thoughts, experiences, and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page.

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

It can be uncomfortable to enjoy your favorite treats while recovering from binge eating disorder. Here, Emma shares her tips on how to enjoy treats without binge eating. Take a look.

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

If you haven't already, I hope you'll like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

“Sociopaths do not care about other people, and so do not miss them when they are alienated or gone, except as one might regret the absence of a useful appliance that one has somehow lost. ” ― Martha Stout

Read more quotes from and about sociopaths.

That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. Please share the newsletter on any social network you belong to. For updates throughout the week, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel, or follow us on Instagram.

Community Partner Team HealthyPlace.com - America's Mental Health Channel "When you're at HealthyPlace.com, you're never alone." http://www.healthyplace.com