The Power of Rituals for Wellbeing

It’s a busy day ahead, and I can feel the stress, as well as anxious anticipation, rising in me the moment I wake up. Today is the last day I have to prepare for upcoming music festival this weekend, one of my partner and I’s bi-annual rituals to get away into nature for a while, and surround ourselves with good music and good company. I steady myself over a bowl of porridge, writing out all the last minute food items I need to pick up from the supermarket, essential camping gear still hiding in deep dark corners of the shed waiting to be plucked out, and toiletries I’ve not yet been able to fit in my backpack. The festival only goes for a couple of nights, but the preparations for this ceremonial event seem to have taken weeks. These preparations, too, are by no means relaxing, easy or cheap. It begs the question – are these elaborate arrangements really worth it?

What are Rituals (and do Music Festivals really count?!)

Rituals come in many forms, and have been practiced widely around the globe for thousands of years. Some such examples include, but are by no means limited to: religious events such as christenings or weddings; cultural traditions like coming-of-age initiations or tea ceremonies; or even sport team anthems played at the end of a winning match. Or, in my case, donning some sparkles, gathering camping gear, and getting out to listen to music in nature for a weekend with friends twice a year. Although the content of rituals may vary, they are generally said to have three main things in common – that is, rituals typically involve:

1. Repetition, or consistency of behaviours during the ritual, and across time
2. Symbolic meaning, that goes beyond the actions practiced during the ritual
3. Non-functional behaviours – that is, the actions involved in a ritual are not “causally linked” to the ritual’s main purpose

This last point of non-functional behaviours is particularly important, as it distinguishes ritual from mere routine (which for the record – is also good for wellbeing!). For example, stretching before a big running race may be considered a helpful routine, with the direct intention of improving performance in the race. Whereas wearing your lucky scrunchie, putting on a specific warmup song and doing 3 lunges on both legs may be considered more of a ritual – the specific actions may inspire confidence, yes, but they are unlikely to have direct functional impacts on the speed or efficacy of your running.

And yet, although rituals may not have many obvious or ‘logical’ connections to our desired outcomes, it is clear that what they offer us as human beings, must be pretty special for us to want to keep doing them!

Rituals can reduce anxiety and stress, and help us connect to our values

Research suggests that rituals can help to reduce anxiety symptoms and stress associated with uncertainty. Having rituals to look forward to can be grounding and reassuring in turbulent times, by providing us with a sense of predictability and consistency. Rituals are also often said to be tied to our values, and as such, can help us connect back to our sense of self, and what is meaningful in our lives. Moreover, studies show that even rituals without direct connection to our deeper values can be soothing and helpful in nerve-wracking situations. One such study collected a group of people and asked them to sing a popular song in front of strangers – no easy feat! The researchers then instructed half of the group to engage in ritualistic behaviours involving sprinkling salt onto some drawings prior to their singing performance, and the other half to sit quietly with instructions on how to perform the song. Fascinatingly, participants who performed the salt-throwing ritual prior to singing reported lower levels of anxiety, than when compared to the participants who did not perform the ritual.

Rituals and ceremonies promote social connectedness

Rituals also have been shown to improve social cohesion and connection, helping to improve trust among ritual group members. One study suggests that on days of social, ritualistic festivals such as Diwali, the Indian Festival of Light, people tend to perceive not only improved social bonding and affection, but even improved health. Importantly, this same study found that up to 500 minutes (or just over 8 hours) of festival preparation per day, and even Diwali-related activities post-festival, was associated with increased feelings of family connectedness. This indicates that the positive effects of rituals, may extend far beyond the act of ceremony itself.

Common ritualised customs can assist with grieving and processing loss

It is understandable then, that rituals can increase feelings of happiness and joy. By boosting our ability to experience positive emotions, these ritualistic behaviours have even been shown to increase pain thresholds under the right circumstances! Moreover, they may even offer us comfort in times of grieving or sadness. It is well known that end of life rituals, though varying significantly from culture to culture, appear to have at least one thing in common: a sense of community, and a chance to share grievances. No, funeral rites may not bring back our lost loved ones, but they can help us understand, experience and process emotions related to our losses. Processing grief and having safe spaces to share our experiences of loss, can be incredibly important for our mental health.

It is important to maintain awareness of your own needs, safety and comfort in group settings

Of course, with all of the excitement of social bonding involved in rituals, it is important for us to remain aware of our limits and boundaries when it comes to engaging in large group activities. We should never feel pressured to engage in activities we do not feel comfortable in. It is also important that we are aware of how flexibly we engage in our rituals. If you feel pressure to engage in rituals you have no wish to engage in, or if you are having difficulty stepping away from certain rituals that may not be helpful or health-promoting, consider reaching out to discuss how to say no with someone, be a close friend, or a professional (read more about when daily rituals become a serious problem here). When practiced safely, flexibly, and with respect to all participants’ needs and personal boundaries, rituals can be fantastic ways to boost joy, improve wellbeing, reduce anxiety and increase connectedness and hope.

The benefits of rituals extend beyond the ceremony itself

When I return from my weekend music festival, I feel exhausted, spent, and a little bit down. The same kind of sadness that inevitably follows the end of any good holiday, party, or season. But this time, the gentle melancholy is mixed with a strong sense of joy, a kind of happy nostalgia, and strong affection for my fellow music festival attendees – my ‘tribe’. I feel deeply grateful for my bi-annual weekend ritual. I danced and let go of the idea of how I ‘should’ look when moving my body. I talked about deeper hopes and dreams with my peers, not because we had to figure out what steps to take next in our career or personal life goals, but because it contributed to the shared experience of the ritual. I dressed colourfully, not because I wanted to win a costume prize or get my photo in the local paper, but because it’s fun and part of my ritual. Part of our ritual. I feel exhausted, yes, but also happy, and ready to start planning for the next ritual weekend.

Rituals are worth the stress (and joy, anticipation and connectedness) involved in their preparations

So I suppose, when faced with the question – is all the preparation for these music festivals, these elaborate ceremonial music events, worth it? My answer is always, overwhelmingly, YES. Because somehow, amongst all the stress of planning, the nervousness around forgetting something, or the worry about something going wrong, is a sense of excitement. Excitement and anticipation of the space that rituals create for taking a step back from business as usual, and connecting us back to our own core values. The opportunity they provide to remember what’s important and meaningful to us in life. And of course, their ability to offer a chance to connect with our community, and build more wonderful memories to support us through the ups and downs yet to come. So, organize that football game with family; arrange that weekend away with your friends; decorate the house for your birthday every year; and set up that corner in your bedroom reserved just for quiet time with your book, being sure to schedule reading into your calendar every Tuesday night. Connect, experience, and start reaping the powerful benefits of ritual.

You can read more about how to create healthy rituals in Casper ter Tuile’s book The Power of Ritual, and learn more about the wide variety of different human rituals through history here.