Looking back to fond memories with our high school/college classmates, friends, and loved ones — as we do in reunions, on holidays, or during Silliman Founders Day celebrations — not only brings people together but also helps keep our brains sharp.
In fact, studies have shown there are many benefits to regularly sharing with others one’s life stories, such as recalling childhood experience, teenage/college years, first love, career achievements, and the joys and pain of raising a family.
Researchers refer to the act of intentionally recalling shared memories or looking back on past events with people they loved or cared about as ‘reminiscence therapy’.
There is ample evidence that shows how ‘reminiscence therapy’ can have a positive effect on one’s brain, said geriatric psychiatrist Dr. David Merrill, director of Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Pacific Brain Health Center in Sta. Monica, California.
According to a review, immediately after reminiscence therapy, older adults showed fewer signs of depression, as the way of “thinking back” is used to care for people with certain types of dementia such as Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Merrill noted: “You may not be able to form new memories with advanced Alzheimer’s but you can remember periods of your life where you were growing up, or younger times in your life, and that can be very comforting psychologically”.
Sharing memories can be uplifting and calming. It can boost a person’s mood, and counteract feelings of physical weakness or even depression.
Feeling joyful when reminiscing makes our brains function better, says Dr. Merrill. As our mood perks up, so does our brain. The result: We become more aware, alert, and better able to enjoy life. Thus, making reminiscence therapy a part of our everyday routine is a good start to promote mental health.
Mental health refers to an individual’s psychological and emotional well-being, a state of psychological and emotional well-being where an individual is able to use his cognitive and emotional capabilities, meet the ordinary demands and functions in the society.
In most dementia cases that are progressive, degenerative and irreversible build-up of toxic proteins is a key part of brain degeneration. This causes a loss of the contact points between neurons (known as synapses), as well as a loss of the neurons themselves.
A range of theories have been put forward to explain what happens when a person reminisces about pleasant past experiences which are stored in the brain memory banks. It is surmised that when recalling high school life/college years with old friends, these memory banks are activated, thus, sending positive effects on the synapses, keeping this part of the brain activated.
Hence, the release of endomorphins which give a person pleasant feelings.
Reunions reinforce our common bonds, regenerate our friendships, and reinvigorate our spirits in appreciation of life’s different but parallel journeys. They are the perfect opportunity for reinforcement, and a win-win scenario between the past, present and future.
So if you have never attended a reunion among classmates or old friends, you are highly encouraged to do so. At a certain stage of life, it is all about having the chance to celebrate life.
See you all, same time next year!
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