Joy Lab | navigate depression, anxiety, & stress with the science of joy – Détails, épisodes et analyse

What does it actually mean to be resilient? Spoiler: it's not about white-knuckling through hard times or being the type of person who just 'endures' everything. In this episode, Dr. Aimee Prasek and Dr. Henry Emmons kick off Joy Lab's month-long exploration of Resilience. They'll share a science-grounded, warmly human look at what resilience really is, where it comes from, what depletes it, and, most importantly how to keep filling it back up.

About: The Joy Lab Podcast blends science and soul to help you cope better with stress, ease anxiety, and uplift mood. Join Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek for practical, mindfulness-based tools and positive psychology strategies to build resilience and create lasting joy.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!

Important notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life.
• Subscribe to our Newsletter: Join us over at Joylab.coach for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.

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Key moments:

[00:00:00] — Welcome & introduce Resilience as this month's Element of Joy.

[00:00:35] — Defining Resilience: Dr. Catherine Panter-Brick's definition: "a process to harness resources to sustain wellbeing" Resilience isn't a fixed state; it doesn't require the absence of illness, a certain mood, or a feeling of confidence. You can be resilient even when you feel completely unresilient.

[00:01:40] — Henry's Take: Resilience as a Natural, Inborn Quality Henry frames resilience as something every human already carries — we wouldn't be here without it. He describes it as a capacity to face life's challenges with enough skill to deal with them "more or less successfully" (emphasis on more or less), get back up after being knocked down, and still hold onto some equanimity and connection to joy.

[00:03:20] — Why Equanimity and Joy Are Part of Real Resilience: Aimee highlights that joy and equanimity aren't commonly included in definitions of resilience — and argues they should be. She makes the case that teaching people to simply endure hardship without attending to their relationship with it leads to only survival, not wellbeing. Personal story: her family's history of survival alongside deep, untended grief.

[00:05:25] — The Research: Resilience Is Inborn and Universal- Aimee reviews longitudinal research on resilience: no single demographic, personality trait, or biological factor strongly predicts resilience. Chronic stress and difficult childhoods can "dent or delay" it, but they don't break it. The Joy Lab approach: tapping into the factors that boost resilience in meaningful, joyful ways.

[00:07:10] — Henry's "Resilience Container" Model: Henry introduces a central metaphor for the episode- imagine a container in your brain/body holding a "magical elixir" that keeps you afloat. The size of that container differs between people — influenced by genetics and early environment. But the most important thing isn't container size — it's how well you keep refilling it.

[00:08:10] — Factor #1: Genetics. Some resilience (and vulnerability) runs in families. Depression, for example, has a clear genetic component — but it's one piece of a much larger picture, not a sentence.

[00:08:50] — Factor #2: Early Environment. How safe, nurtured, and emotionally respected we felt as children sets a tone for our emotional life. It's not something we can change retroactively, but its impact doesn't have to be permanent. Joy Lab's work is explicitly about shifting that emotional set point.

[00:10:30] — Nobody Is Immune — But That's Not the End of the Story. Even the most naturally resilient person can be brought to their knees by a relentless string of losses or prolonged stress. The goal: reduce the drain and actively refill. It's a dynamic system.

[00:11:50] — You Have to Test Resilience to Build It: The Biosphere 2 Story Aimee tells the story of Biosphere 2, the closed experimental ecosystem in Arizona — where trees given perfect growing conditions (no wind, no stress) grew fast and then simply collapsed. Scientists eventually discovered that wind stress causes trees to form stress wood (reaction wood): dense, concentrated cells that structurally reinforce the tree. 

[00:13:55] — Eustress: The Good Stress That Builds You Up. Aimee introduces eustress (eu = Greek for "good") — the kind of stress that actually strengthens us. Like exercise for muscles, or cardiovascular training: the system doesn't improve without being challenged. Our nervous systems, emotional resilience, and capacity to handle difficulty follow the same pattern. You are biologically laying down stronger capacity every time you navigate a challenge and come through the other side.

[00:16:10] — Stress Isn't the Enemy — Imbalance Is. Henry clarifies: stress itself isn't the problem. It becomes a problem when it's too intense, lasts too long, or when we don't respond to it well. Our bodies are built to handle stress — in appropriate doses.

[00:16:50] — The Brain Chemistry of Resilience: Norepinephrine & Serotonin. Henry breaks down two key neurochemicals: norepinephrine (the brain's version of adrenaline — activates focus and alertness under stress) and serotonin (his candidate for the "magic elixir" in the resilience container — a coolant that counterbalances overactivation). When these get depleted or thrown out of balance by chronic stress, we feel it — sluggish, run-down, depressed.

[00:18:20] — Our Collective Resilience Depletion Right Now. Henry names what many are feeling: after years of pandemic stress, ongoing political turmoil, and a relentless churn of bad news, people are depleted on a large scale. What began as activation has, over time, curdled into exhaustion. This is a collective resilience crisis — and it calls for collective attention.

[00:19:40] — Aimee on Equanimity and Agency in Brain Chemistry. Aimee connects the brain chemistry back to the equanimity point: even at the biological level, we have influence. This is self-care with scientific grounding. She invites listeners into the Joy Lab Program (free through the month of May 2026) to put these ideas into practice.

[00:21:30] — Closing Quote: Alan Watts on Your Inborn Nature .Aimee closes with a reflection from Alan Watts on seeing yourself as part of nature — as extraordinary and as fundamental as trees, clouds, fire, and galaxies. A reminder that your resilience isn't something you have to earn. It's already what you are.

Sources and Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life.
• Chemistry of Calm (Dr. Emmons' book referenced in this series)
• Dr. Catherine Panter-Brick- Yale faculty page
• Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges: interdisciplinary perspectives
• Annual Research Review: Positive adjustment to adversity -Trajectories of minimal-impact resilience and emergent resilience
• Effects of a 12-week endurance training program on the physiological response to psychosocial stress in men: a randomized controlled trial
• No man is an island: social resources, stress and mental health at mid-life
• How does the brain deal with cumulative stress? A review with focus on developmental stress, HPA axis function and hippocampal structure in humans
• Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind (this is the study of people shocking themselves out of boredom)
• Emotion Suppression and Mortality Risk Over a 12-Year Follow-up
• Cumulative Stress and Health

• The Times of Our Lives: Interaction Among Different Biological Periodicities   

Full transcript here.

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program.

Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

We're in our new "month of renewal" format. We're essentially exploring this question throughout the month... what if growth required less effort? This is an encore episode that helps us answer this question. Reminder that we'll be back with new episodes May 1, 2026. 

"Joyless urgency." Two words that probably just hit a little too close to home. In this episode, Henry Emmons, MD and Aimee Prasek, PhD dig into the Element of Fun — and why so many of us have so little of it. Drawing on the writing of Marilynne Robinson, the surprising decline of kids biking, and sobering research on social media's role in what researchers call problematic engagement, Henry and Aimee make a compelling case that fun isn't frivolous. It's foundational. And reclaiming it might be one of the most radical — and effective — things you can do right now.

About: The Joy Lab Podcast is an Ambie-nominated podcast that blends science and soul to help you cope better with stress, ease anxiety, and uplift mood. Join Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek for practical, mindfulness-based tools and positive psychology strategies to build resilience and create lasting joy. Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with the Joy Lab Program.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!

And... if you want to spread some joy and keep this podcast ad-free, then please join our mission by donating (Joy Lab is powered by the nonprofit Pathways North and your donations are tax-deductible).

Full transcript here

Like and follow Joy Lab on Socials: 

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Watch this episode on YouTube

Sources and Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life.
• • More about Marilynne Robinson from The Poetry Foundation

  • Farivar, S., Wang, F., & Turel, O. (2022). Followers' problematic engagement with influencers on social media: An attachment theory perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 133. Access here.

  • Joy Lab Episodes referenced:
    • Worrier? You're Not Alone. Here's Why We Worry... [ep. 213]
    • Unmasking Your True Self: Exploring Authenticity and Awe [ep. 216]
    • Embrace Your True Self: Accepted, Connected, & In The Game [ep. 217]
    • The Road Most Travelled: Awakening Through Suffering [ep. 218]
    • Follow Your Bliss: Awakening to Joy [ep. 219]
    •  The Still Small Voice: Awakening with Soulfulness [ep. 220]

Key moments:

[00:00:00] — Welcome & The Quote That Started It All Henry and Aimee open with a striking passage from author Marilynne Robinson's essay collection The Givenness of Things: "The spirit of the times is one of joyless urgency." Aimee unpacks why those two words land so hard — and how Robinson's observation that this urgency serves "inscrutable ends that are utterly not our own" is the quiet crisis underneath hustle culture.

[00:02:00] — The Question We're Too Busy to Answer We've all had that moment of clarity — what am I doing this for? — only to immediately rush past it into the next task. Aimee names the pattern: sometimes urgency is more comfortable than sitting with the possibility that all this striving might not actually be for us.

[00:03:00] — Henry's Childhood Take on Boredom (Wisdom From the Old Wise Rat) Henry reflects on being a kid who dreaded boredom — and how that boredom turned out to be necessary. The inactivity between moments of play is what made the play so rich. Think of it like the pause between musical notes.

[00:05:30] — Aimee's Dollar Ice Cream Cone Moment Aimee connects bike riding to early experiences of autonomy and confidence — biking to the corner store with a dollar felt like being a real adult. A sweet illustration of how unstructured play doubles as a training ground for real-world social skills, self-confidence, and approach behavior.

[00:07:00] — Social Media and the Architecture of Joyless Urgency Here's where it gets science-y. Aimee connects the joyless urgency framework directly to how most social media platforms are designed — not to satisfy us, but to keep us in a loop of stimulation and momentary relief. The mechanics: activate anxiety, ease it briefly, activate again. Repeat. Sound familiar?

[00:08:00] — Problematic Engagement: What the Research Says Aimee introduces the research concept of problematic engagement — used in studies on social media addiction and gambling — which describes the cycle of engaging with something that momentarily eases dis-ease but ultimately causes harm. Key finding: social anxiety is a primary driver, and these platforms are algorithmically built to exploit it.

[00:09:30] — The Most Ironic Research Finding People who believe they have complete control over their social media use — who think they could stop at any time — actually show the most signs of problematic engagement. They're absorbing the most harm while feeling the least concerned about it.

[00:10:00] — Dr. Samira Farivar Quote + What We're Up Against Aimee references research by Dr. Samira Farivar: "You can't action a problem you don't even know exists." The platform isn't incidental to the problem — it is the business model. We're not weak for falling into this loop. We're human, and the trap was engineered specifically for us.

[00:11:30] — The Simple Truth About Adding More Fun Henry brings it home: adding more fun to life is theoretically simple. If we just slow down enough to let our awareness catch up, we'll almost naturally fill that space with something we enjoy. Kids don't need instructions for fun — and adults don't either, once we clear the noise.

[00:13:00] — Listening to the Voice That Wants to Play Henry offers a quiet but urgent reminder: our inner wisdom needs to be heard. If we don't honor it, it either goes silent — or gets louder until we can't ignore it. The invitation is to pause, ask what am I doing?, and actually wait for an answer to surface.

[00:14:00] — Play Is an Offensive Strategy Aimee closes the conversation with a reframe: fun and play aren't a retreat from the hard stuff in the world. They're a way of moving through it.

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program.

Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

In this episode of Joy Lab, we'll explore the Sixth Gate of Grief: the grief we carry for harm done to ourselves and others. We'll draw on the expanded framework of Francis Weller's gates of grief to unpack why this gate is one of the most challenging and most liberating to work with. It's important to note that this isn't about guilt-tripping or self-flagellation. It's about honest reckoning, releasing unconscious burdens, and reclaiming inner freedom. Because grief (not shame) is what actually moves us toward healing, repair, and becoming people who cause less harm.

This episode is part of a 10-part series on grief. You can jump in here and circle back to Episode 248 when you're ready. 

 p.s. Find a Simple Joy practice for this episode right here at our blog.

About: The Joy Lab Podcast is an Ambie-nominated podcast that blends science and soul to help you cope better with stress, ease anxiety, and uplift mood. Join Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek for practical, mindfulness-based tools and positive psychology strategies to build resilience and create lasting joy.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!

And... if you want to spread some joy and keep this podcast ad-free, then please join our mission by donating (Joy Lab is powered by the nonprofit Pathways North and your donations are tax-deductible).

Full transcript available here

Like and follow Joy Lab on Socials: 

Instagram

TikTok

Linkedin

Watch on YouTube

Key moments:

[00:00:00] — Sixth Gate: Grief for Harm Done, popularized by Sophy Banks and Azul Thomé alongside Weller's original framework.

[00:01:00] — What this gate includes: harmful thought patterns like corrosive self-talk, choices that felt necessary but caused harm, inaction when we could have intervened, and participation in collective harms like racism, classism, ableism, and environmental destruction.

[00:02:00] — A critical disclaimer: this gate asks us to see these harms — not soak in them. Grief is meant to flow through us, not become a stagnant pool. Henry emphasizes the difference between grieving well and getting stuck.

[00:03:30] — Three reasons this gate is especially challenging: (1) the scope of harm we participate in is nearly infinite; (2) the thin line between acknowledging harm and collapsing into shame and guilt; (3) the defensiveness this topic can trigger — and how to touch that lightly and let it go.

[00:05:00] — This is about inner freedom, not atonement. Genuine inner freedom requires an honest look at how we affect those around us.

[00:05:30] — Aimee and Henry on the word releasing vs. "getting over it." You can leap over a thing and still be carrying it. Releasing requires first being able to see what's there.

[00:06:00] — Quote from Sabaa Tahir: two kinds of guilt — the kind that drowns you until you're useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose. Working with grief can move us from one to the other.

[00:06:30] — Introduction of moral injury: the psychological wound that comes from betraying our own values, or witnessing others do it. Research shows moral injury is more strongly associated with PTSD symptoms than direct exposure to danger.

[00:07:30] — Moral injury shows up everywhere — not just in war. Healthcare rationing, kids being detained, someone cutting you off in traffic. Untended grief in this gate can mean we snap at small things because they echo larger unprocessed wounds.

[00:09:00] — Henry: grief helps us heal these deep, often invisible wounds.

[00:10:00] — How harm to others haunts us for years, even decades. As social creatures, we're wired to repair harm and strengthen bonds. When we don't act, buried harm turns into guilt and shame — and shame isolates. Grief, by contrast, calls us into community and toward repair.

[00:11:00] — Autoimmune disease analogy: shame is the emotional equivalent of an immune system attacking itself. A healthy response addresses the problem; an overreaction causes more damage than the original harm.

[00:13:00] — Turning to harms we cause ourselves: negative self-talk, lifestyle choices, addictions. No matter the cause, we deserve healing from it. The challenge: in this case, we are both perpetrator and victim.

[00:14:00] — Grief opens us up rather than closing us down. It can hold both the hurt experienced and the compassion for causing that pain.

[00:14:30] — Connection to post-traumatic growth: not about psychological comfort, but awakening. Grief is the ride between pain and gain — and there's no bypassing it.

[00:15:00] — Henry on the role of equanimity (this month's Element of Joy): balance is what allows us to hold two seemingly opposing truths at once. You fully acknowledge the harm and hold yourself with compassion. Neither minimizing nor drowning.

[00:16:30] — Quote from Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking): "People are more than the worst thing they've done." The goal isn't no harm — it's less harm. And believing that you are more than your worst moment fosters humility, compassion, and healing that ripples outward to others.

[00:17:30] — Preview of the next episode: the Seventh Gate — Trauma, and how grief and trauma intersect in the work of healing.

[00:17:45] — Closing wisdom from Maya Angelou: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

Sources and Notes for this full grief series:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. 
• Grief Series:
  • The Grief Series: The Wholeness of Being Human [part 1, ep 248]
  • Everything We Love, We Will Lose: Navigating the First Gate of Grief
    [part 2, ep 249]
  • Welcoming Back the Parts of You That Have Not Known Love [part 3, ep 250]
  • Why You Can't Escape the Sorrows of the World (and why that's a good thing) [part 4, ep 251]
  • Born to Belong: Grieving What Should Have Been There From the Start [part 5, ep 252]
  • Breaking the Cycle: Ancestral Grief, Epigenetics, and the Power to Change Your Legacy [part 6, ep 253]
• Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller
• Sabaa Tahir's website
• Beckes & Sbarra, Social baseline theory: State of the science and new directions. Access here
• Beckes, et al. (2011). Social Baseline Theory: The Role of Social Proximity in Emotion and Economy of Action. Access here
• Bunea et al. (2017). Early-life adversity and cortisol response to social stress: a meta-analysis. Access here.
• Eisma, et al. (2019). No pain, no gain: cross-lagged analyses of posttraumatic growth and anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress and prolonged grief symptoms after loss. Access here 
• Kamis, et al. (2024). Childhood maltreatment associated with adolescent peer networks: Withdrawal, avoidance, and fragmentation. Access here 
• Lehrner, et al. (2014). Maternal PTSD associates with greater glucocorticoid sensitivity in offspring of Holocaust survivors. Access here 
• Hirschberger G. (2018). Collective Trauma an d the Social Construction of Meaning. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1441. Access here 
• Sheehy, et al. (2019). An examination of the relationship between shame, guilt and self-harm: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Access here 
• Strathearn, et al. (2020). Long-term Cognitive, Psychological, and Health Outcomes Associated With Child Abuse and Neglect. Access here 
• Yehuda et al. (1998). Vulnerability to posttraumatic stress disorder in adult offspring of Holocaust survivors.  Access here.
• Yehuda, et al. (2018). Intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: putative role of epigenetic mechanisms. Access here 

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program.

Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Does your mind feel like a constant sea of judgment? Do thoughts popcorn day and night about how you're flawed or how someone else has it all wrong? You're not alone. Those kind of thoughts are common, but they can also be pretty destructive. There's clear evidence that the more we sit in judgment, the higher our risk for depression and anxiety. We'll dig into all this, including some exploration of the concept of aversion in relation to judgment and how it manifests inside our body and out. Most important, we'll dig into self-compassion as a powerful antidote to judgment and provide practices to shift towards acceptance and less judgment.

Joy Lab and Natural Mental Health are community-supported. When you buy through the links below, we may earn a commission. That support helps keep the Joy Lab podcast free for all!

Sources and Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. Your Joy Lab membership also includes our NMH Community!
• NMH Community: Gain access to lots of extra resilience-boosting resources AND join a group of inspiring folks who play an integral role in keeping this podcast going.
• Related episodes to check out:
• Feel Hopeless? Hope's Out There (and in you too) (ep. 146)
• Accept Yourself Just As You Are & Then You Can Change (ep. 150)
• Self-Compassion: You Are Not Alone (ep. 86)
• Self-Compassion: Self-Kindness vs Self-Judgment (ep. 85)
• Self-Compassion: Don't Believe Everything You Think About Yourself (ep.84)
• Backdraft: When Being Good to Yourself Feels Bad (ep.29)
• You're Wired for Compassion (ep. 7)
• Where to shop:
• Our partner store, Fullscript: Here you can find high-quality supplements and wellness products. Except for our CBD Gummies, any product links mentioned in the show notes will require an account. Sign up for free.
• Resilient Remedies: Shop our line of trusted, high-quality CBD gummies.
• Subscribe to our Newsletter: Join us over at NaturalMentalHealth.com for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.
• Check out our favorite resilience-boosting reads at Bookshop.org.

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Are four hours of sleep enough to function well? How about six? In this episode of the Joy Lab podcast, we'll dig into how much sleep most folks need, and the importance of sleep with a focus on 'short sleepers.' We'll laser in on the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on mental health, particularly in late teens and twenties, and explore some of the research. If you need some sleep support, be sure to check out our sleep workshop to help you get the hours you need.

Joy Lab and Natural Mental Health are community-supported. When you buy through the links below, we may earn a commission. That support helps keep the Joy Lab podcast free for all!

Sources and Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. Your Joy Lab membership also includes our NMH Community!
• NMH Community: This is where our sleep workshop lives! You'll also gain access to lots of extra resilience-boosting resources AND join a group of inspiring folks who play an integral role in keeping this podcast going.
• Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A., Anderson, C. L., Piff, P. K., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D. (2018). Awe and humility. Journal of personality and social psychology, 114(2), 258–269. Access.
• Hicklin, T. (2019, September 17). Gene identified in people who need little sleep. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Access.
• Shi, G., et al. (2019). A rare mutation of β1-adrenergic receptor affects sleep/wake behaviors. Neuron, 103(6), 1044–1055.e7. Access.
• Pellegrino, R., et al. (2014). A novel BHLHE41 variant is associated with short sleep and resistance to sleep deprivation in humans. Sleep, 37(8), 1327–1336. Access.
• Where to shop:
• Our partner store, Fullscript: Here you can find high-quality supplements and wellness products. Except for our CBD Gummies, any product links mentioned in the show notes will require an account. Sign up for free.
• Resilient Remedies: Shop our line of trusted, high-quality CBD gummies.
• Subscribe to our Newsletter: Join us over at NaturalMentalHealth.com for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.
• Check out our favorite resilience-boosting reads at Bookshop.org.

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

"I don't know." Do those three words make you feel a bit uncomfortable? Yeah, you're not alone. In this episode of the Joy Lab podcast, we highlight the concepts of awe and intellectual humility and how they can help us embrace more curiosity, avoid rigid thinking, and help us to stay more connected to the world around us (yes, even amidst political and social challenges). We've got some practical tips to take quick action so you can tap into the surprising freedom that sits within "not knowing."  

Joy Lab and Natural Mental Health are community-supported. When you buy through the links below, we may earn a commission. That support helps keep the Joy Lab podcast free for all!  

Sources & Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. Your Joy Lab membership also includes our NMH Community!
• NMH Community: Access lots of extra resilience-boosting resources AND join a group of inspiring folks who play an integral role in keeping this podcast going.
• Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A., Anderson, C. L., Piff, P. K., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D. (2018). Awe and humility. Journal of personality and social psychology, 114(2), 258–269. Access. 
• More episodes like this:
• Mental Health & The Male Hubris, Female Humility Effect (ep. 157)
• Seeing the Goodness in Others, Yourself, & The World (ep. 66)
• You Are That Vast Thing You See with Great Telescopes (ep. 18)
• The Surprising Benefits of Not Knowing (ep. 16)
• Where to shop:
• Our partner store, Fullscript: Here you can find high-quality supplements and wellness products. Except for our CBD Gummies, any product links mentioned in the show notes will require an account. Sign up for free.
• Resilient Remedies: Shop our line of trusted, high-quality CBD gummies.
• Subscribe to our Newsletter: Join us over at NaturalMentalHealth.com for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.
• Check out our favorite resilience-boosting reads at Bookshop.org.   

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

In this episode of the Joy Lab podcast, we talk about the use of magnesium for anxiety and depression. There's good evidence to support its use, but it can be confusing. We get into the overall power of magnesium (its importance for nerve and muscle function, gut health, and neurotransmitter production) and why it's vital for mental health, particularly how it can support mood. We'll touch on the different types of magnesium supplements, their uses, and some best practices to consider. Of course, be sure to check with your doctor before taking any new supplement. 

Joy Lab and Natural Mental Health are community-supported. When you buy through the links below, we may earn a commission. That support helps keep the Joy Lab podcast free for all!  

Sources and Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. Your Joy Lab membership also includes our NMH Community!
• NMH Community: Access lots of extra resilience-boosting resources AND join a group of inspiring folks who play an integral role in keeping this podcast going.
• Where to shop:
• Our partner store, Fullscript: Here you can find high-quality supplements and wellness products. Except for our CBD Gummies, any product links mentioned in the show notes will require an account. Sign up for free.
• Resilient Remedies: Shop our line of trusted, high-quality CBD gummies.
• Subscribe to our Newsletter: Join us over at NaturalMentalHealth.com for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.
• Check out our favorite resilience-boosting reads at Bookshop.org.  

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program.

Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

In this episode of the Joy Lab podcast, we explore a powerful quote by Virginia Woolf: "No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but one's self." It's radically simple wisdom that can be hard in practice. We'll talk about the societal pressures of striving for greatness and the importance of embracing one's authentic self while also exploring the mental health benefits of releasing these pressures and the roles of authenticity and self-compassion in fostering joy and resilience. 

Joy Lab and Natural Mental Health are community-supported. When you buy through the links below, we may earn a commission. That support helps keep the Joy Lab podcast free for all!  

Sources and Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. Your Joy Lab membership also includes our NMH Community!
• NMH Community: Access lots of extra resilience-boosting resources AND join a group of inspiring folks who play an integral role in keeping this podcast going.
• Where to shop:
• Our partner store, Fullscript: Here you can find high-quality supplements and wellness products. Except for our CBD Gummies, any product links mentioned in the show notes will require an account. Sign up for free.
• Resilient Remedies: Shop our line of trusted, high-quality CBD gummies.
• Subscribe to our Newsletter: Join us over at NaturalMentalHealth.com for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.
• Check out our favorite resilience-boosting reads at Bookshop.org 

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

In this episode of the Joy Lab podcast, we explore the phenomenon of dissociation or what is sometimes called "going offline." We want to highlight that this can be a very natural survival mechanism in response to stress and trauma. It's not all bad. We'll talk about the pros and cons of going offline; share some personal experiences of how dissociation can show up; and provide strategies for grounding, skill building, and reconnecting.

Joy Lab and Natural Mental Health are community-supported. When you buy through the links below, we may earn a commission. That support helps keep the Joy Lab podcast free for all!  

Sources and Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. Your Joy Lab membership also includes our NMH Community!
• NMH Community: Access lots of extra resilience-boosting resources AND join a group of inspiring folks who play an integral role in keeping this podcast going.
• Where to shop:
• Our partner store, Fullscript: Here you can find high-quality supplements and wellness products. Except for our CBD Gummies, any product links mentioned in the show notes will require an account. Sign up for free.
• Resilient Remedies: Shop our line of trusted, high-quality CBD gummies.
• Clarissa Pinkola Estés' website.
• Subscribe to our Newsletter: Join us over at NaturalMentalHealth.com for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.
• Check out our favorite resilience-boosting reads at Bookshop.org. 

Full transcript here.

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program.

Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Awe is a powerful element of joy and a powerful contributor to good mental health. And it isn't just something to experience when magical, mysterious, or rare events surprise us. Awe is something we can practice daily. But... how?! We'll talk about some cognitive barriers that may hinder it, such as overgeneralization and filtering. We'll also offer some practical steps to welcome more awe into our lives and uncover more of the joy that resides within us. 

Joy Lab & Natural Mental Health are community-supported. When you buy through the links below, we may earn a commission. That support helps keep the Joy Lab podcast free for all!  

Sources & Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. Your Joy Lab membership also includes our NMH Community!
• NMH Community: Access lots of extra resilience-boosting resources AND join a group of inspiring folks who play an integral role in keeping this podcast going.
• Where to shop:
• Our partner store, Fullscript: Here you can find high-quality supplements and wellness products. Except for our CBD Gummies, any product links mentioned in the show notes will require an account. Sign up for free.
• Resilient Remedies: Shop our line of trusted, high-quality CBD gummies.
• Subscribe to our Newsletter: Join us over at NaturalMentalHealth.com for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.
• Check out our favorite resilience-boosting reads at Bookshop.org. 

Full transcript here

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. See our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.