Happy 8th Birthday to Us!
Happy 8th Birthday to Us! We Celebrate and want to share the benefits of celebration with you!
-Katie Englert, President
God put a dream in my heart over 8 years ago that was never really revealed to me in full, still isn’t. I had a steady job, salary & benefits and potential for growth with a company. It didn’t make logical sense at the time and I was scared. I was scared that I would fail, that we would not have enough money, that I was being selfish for making my husband our sole financial provider (when I had a Masters Degree), that we would have to move into a smaller house. You name it, I probably worried about it. I can’t fully explain the feeling, but 8 years ago this month, with a 4 year old and a 6 month old, and the support of of husband, and our family, I stepped out in faith and rented a small office in Paducah, Ky. God has blessed me through Compass Counseling, and I am grateful. We know that we all have mental health, in my opinion this was by design...like how our bodies work. We know the importance of mental health and its impact on purpose, relationships, and growth. Over the past 8 years, we have grown an excellent team of professionals that have served thousands of people in Western KY and helped them on their path to change. Yes, our team is clinically excellent, but they also care about the people in our communities deeply and they are a blessing to our region and make serving our communities in Western Kentucky possible, I’m incredibly grateful for each one of them. Makes me want to give thanks and celebrate!
There’s a reason why people take the time to celebrate anniversaries, holidays, birthdays, and other important days on the calendar. Not only is celebrating important because of what that event represents, but also because it provides us all with a well-needed break from our typical routine. This, and many other reasons, is why celebrating is good for our mental health. Let’s take a look at more reasons why something as simple as a party can be a healthy part of our mental health routine.
Focusing on the Positive
It is rare for some of us to take a few hours to focus solely on the positive aspects of life. We are so bogged down by stress about finances, work deadlines, or problems with our family and partners, that we rarely take moments to think about the good things in life. For those of us with mental illnesses, it can be especially hard to focus on the positive when negative thoughts, moods, and side effects enter our lives regularly.
Celebrations allow us an excuse, or rather force us, to think about what we love about our family and friends and happiness in general. They are a time to let go and be at ease with ourselves. Celebrations can also allow us an outlet to demonstrate our affection or appreciation via gifts, being social, and eating great food. Focusing on these positive messages and acting on them helps our mental health because we are allowed to reset our thinking to be more positive and affirm what is good.
Reflection on Our Accomplishments
What’s the point of doing something great if we don’t celebrate it? Reflecting on our accomplishments with a celebration is great for our mental health-- we can let go of that stress. It takes a lot of struggle to finally complete something meaningful. For example, training for a marathon can take years of morning jogs in order to work up to being able to run 26.2 miles in a row. If we didn’t celebrate that moment of accomplishment after finishing the race it would not feel as special. Not only that-- all that stress and time of toughing it out before the race would not be released.
By celebrating our accomplishments, we allow ourselves to look back at all we have done to achieve the reward of being celebrated. This is healthy for our mental health because sometimes we get lost in the journey and never stop to think-- did I really do that? We deserve a pat on the back for what we’ve achieved. This is because when you don’t celebrate, you risk the problem of pushing yourself past your limits without stopping to reward yourself. On the other hand, when you celebrate, you mentally receive a stopping and starting point that is healthy to keep your mind balanced.
Celebration is Brief, Yet Everlasting
Just as a celebration is, in essence, compassion towards oneself, the wisdom to practice celebrating seems not only logical but necessary for our mental health. This compassion from celebration is a healing process for everyone involved. Taking the time to celebrate will not only make you happy during the event but will provide you with long-term mental health benefits.
It is my joy to serve at Compass Counseling! After all of this talk about celebrating a counseling practice makes me think of Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.’
Today we Rejoice!
-Katie
If you have any other tips and tricks for celebrating, fire off in the comments. We look forward to hearing from you. If you would like to find support or connect with a therapist connect with our team at www.compasscounseling.com.