When something great happens in your life how do you celebrate?

Here are a few things I do:

  • buy a bouquet of flowers for my partner
  • go to a nice restaurant
  • bake or cook something special, esp. a sweet treat like cake, cookies, etc.
  • LadyButterfly@lazysoci.alM
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    1 day ago

    It depends how big it is. If it’s something huge I might buy myself a cuddly toy, medium I get myself a nice box of chocolates or go out for lunch. Small I might buy a couple of individual chocolates from a fancy shop.

    As you can tell I like chocolate

    • foxglove (she/her)@lazysoci.alOPM
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      3 hours ago

      I had to look up dysthymia, but it sounds awful, I’m so sorry 🫂

      I don’t have PDD, but I do have a variety of mental health symptoms that overlap with the symptoms of PDD, and while I’m doing a lot better these days, I have previously suffered decades of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation that I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through. 😅

      If not celebration, what are ways that you cope or find joy?

      I remember through those times rewarding / tasty food became a bit like a lifeline. I do not know your depression, but my depression was very anhedonic, so as a baseline everything was less enjoyable.

      So I had a lot of “craving” behavior, seeking easy and quick rewards because I couldn’t motivate myself to do much else and nothing was enjoyable anyway.

      Cooking for others became a major coping strategy, as cooking for others triggered my sense of responsibility, which helped with the depressive / motivation issues.

      Basically I could leverage stress to animate my unwilling flesh (even though it was, you know, stressful and awful), and getting good enough at cooking then setup a reliable pattern of rewards.

      Eventually I noticed if I ate at restaurants too much or outsourced my cooking to something like prepared or frozen meals to save time, I became much more miserable and sank more into my depression - honestly cooking kept me alive in multiple senses.

      Anyway, I wonder if you have something like that, not necessarily celebratory - but like a spring bubbling up from the ground that sustains you.

      • TotallyNotSpez@startrek.website
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        2 hours ago

        Short answer: I drum a lot in my session room.

        But joy? That word is weird to me. I just do music nonstop these days and I hope I don’t happily walk in front of a train. That’s basically it.

        I find a little “joy” whenever I listen to certain music, or I’m playing certain music.

        That’s it. Sorry my response isn’t a lot more happy than you hoped for.

        • foxglove (she/her)@lazysoci.alOPM
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          2 hours ago

          lol, I borderline worry I shouldn’t talk to you because I think we have some similar afflictions and perspectives, and usually I steer things right into “yeah, why even be alive” territory … that’s not gone so well with some other folks so I try to be more ethical and aware about that potential now.

          so yeaah, didn’t expect happy - but I might have been trying to steer myself away from the dark places I typically would have gone, and it seems you got what I meant - the things that keep you alive. 😅

          Music can be great, I taught myself the electric bass a couple years ago - that can be fun 😁

  • LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    1 day ago

    Nap.

    Honestly I’ve not celebrated anything in a very long time. I’ve not been hitting any big milestones so not got anything to celebrate.

    I think I’ve achieved lots of little things though like a small 4% raise, learning things I always wanted to but thought I never could, improving my life in little ways like keeping my place clean (hard with ADHD), not ordering takeaway and doing proper savings and budgeting.

    I could do with a non-matetialistic treat, so is love to hear some ideas in that vein.

    • Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 day ago

      Shit I’ll celebrate a sunny day when my whole family is home by simply preparing a nice dinner for us and spending time together, happy and joyful. I’ll sing until I’ve annoyed everyone and we laugh, just because the sun is out and I’m in a good mood. Good moods are worth celebrating as they don’t come everyday

      Plenty of things to celebrate if you look small. I hope you find something small to celebrate soon!

    • foxglove (she/her)@lazysoci.alOPM
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 day ago

      Making myself a fun coffee drink then putting on loud dance music and dancing in my kitchen is a low-materialistic treat I’ve taken.

      Taking a bath can be, too.