Coffee And Good Friends: Problems Go Away

Coffee and good friends and the problems go away. The magic of these cathartic moments is engraved in the simple gesture of conversing with a friend, taking advantage of the moment and giving vent to our tension while we enjoy the ritual of a hot drink, which in turn has a positive effect on our brain.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, one of the best-known psychologists in the field of happiness, says that even though we spend our hours surrounded by people and are in constant contact with technology and thousands of other stimuli, we feel more alone than ever. We have “disconnected” from happiness by forgetting the value of the good times that occur, for example, around a table full of friends and cups of coffee.

The moments of relaxation that we get from social rituals, such as going out for a drink, actually play a very important role: they create emotional bonds. Coffee, tea or a dinner with friends become positive experiences aimed at stimulating our brain chemistry by increasing our communication skills, freeing us from stress and, in short, storing a positive memory in our emotional memory.

We invite you to reflect on this.

Good times are worth more than bad ones

Memories that we store in our memory labeled “emotionally positive” will take longer to fade than those considered negative. Positive moments have the power, transcendence and authentic ability to elevate our self-esteem. It is not us who say it, but an interesting study carried out at the University of Limerick, Ireland.

According to the study, slightly unpleasant events tend to disappear from memory thanks to a simple defense mechanism activated by our brain. To adapt to the changes, we must quickly process the negativity; it is the positive memories that help us move forward, that make possible the positive attitude that drives us and stimulates us every morning.

Well, a phenomenon that happens to us more and more often is that of unplugging from reality, from the here and now. We waste our days with activities that could be defined as “sustenance”: we get dressed, we take the car or the subway, we go to work, we go back … We live in a hurry, but at the same time disconnected from our inner voice and from the reality in which they take it forms the sensations, the emotions.

It’s like trying to catch water with your hands and not feeling it. Let’s find out together how to overcome this condition.

Coffee and good friends …

In the first paragraph we talked about the benefits of the healthy ritual of getting together to have a coffee or tea. The customs consolidated in a society contain in themselves a meaning that sometimes goes unnoticed; in this case, a very simple phenomenon such as finding ourselves with someone over a cup of coffee can make us pass from that aseptic vital flow to a positive and restorative instant.

Well, this habit is just a tiny example of everything we could do to be more present, to “take root” in the here and now and become more reactive both towards our inner world and towards the whole wonderful web of stimuli. , sensations and knowledge that envelop us in the outside world.

The benefits of a cup of coffee with friends

A cup of coffee in good company can bring countless benefits:

• According to an article published in the journal Pshychology Today , caffeine can improve our social relationships by acting as a mild stimulant. Optimizes the functioning of neurotransmitters that facilitate memory, good mood and communication.
• The pleasant sensation that comes from drinking a coffee or tea promotes the release of endorphins.  This inner well-being leads us to relax and enjoy the emotional connections with friends, with people who are significant to us, thus establishing a process of well-being that has a positive effect on our emotions and on our mental balance.

The pleasure of sharing positive moments makes us “more present” ; as already mentioned, every positive experience acts on us by creating a cognitive and emotional reserve that makes us stronger and paves the way for us to authentic happiness – the one that lies in the little things of every day, therapeutic for mind and heart. Put these tips into practice.