Can Dinner Parties Help Depression and Anxiety?

 

Yesterday it hit me. Let me back up for a second. I figured out my purpose a long time ago, that it was connecting people together over food and beverage. For awhile, it felt like this purpose wasn’t grand enough, that it didn’t have enough meaning.

However, as I look at how people are connecting (or not) in our very “social” world. I realize that it’s actually more important than ever. Everywhere I look, I see people more stressed out, more isolated and more in need of genuine connection. Because we live in a world of social media, it can seem like we’re connecting with people, but it couldn’t be any further from the truth. Study after study shows that there is a link between social media and depression and I think we haven’t even really begun to understand how damaging it truly is. As humans, we need authentic human interaction to feel alive and most people aren’t getting it.

As I was saying…yesterday this all hit me. I used to say that at 40, I’d probably go back and get a doctorate in psychology because I’ve always been fascinated by human behavior and I want to help people. However, I realize that throwing dinners and events are a way for me to help solve the problem that I see and that it’s very much connected to helping overcome some of those psychological things (depression, anxiety, isolation, stress, etc.)

Great food is critical to having healthy brains and bodies (and I also believe that alcohol when done in a healthy way can add to overall enjoyment in life). Combine this with meaningful human interaction and we can reduce the risk of depression and live more fulfilled lives.