Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy

Why Doing Enough Is Enough + Why Perfectionism Predicts Burnout, Depression, & Anxiety, Not Performance [285]

Do you feel like you have to prove your worth through the shear amount of work you do or prove your value by making sure you're seen as busy, always hustling, and super p

Having Enough: Why Acquiring More Will Never Fill the Hole in Your Self-Worth [283]

It's easy to feel like you don't have enough; it's the message we constantly receive through media and advertisements. It's the message that once you have this thing, or

You Are Enough: The Science and Practices of Enoughness [283]

Experiences with stress, depression, and anxiety are often paired with feelings of not measuring up or that you're not enough. However, feeling that you're lacking in som

Manage Energy, Not Time for Better Mood and Mental Health (encore) [282]

Rest and recreation are essential tools for resilience and good mental health as they help support the biological rhythms your body is already running. We'll dig into the

Rest Isn't the Opposite of Productivity (stress management tips & burnout recovery for us busy-busy humans) (encore) [281]

We're constantly swamped by messages like rest or idleness leads to laziness or that if you rest, then you'll fall behind — it's been repeated by so many self-proclaimed

Healing Doesn't Have to Feel as Heavy As Hurting: Supporting Mental Health With More Play (encore) [280]

We're digging into a reframe that can change the way a lot of us think about depression, anxiety, stress, and mental health treatment. The reframe has to do with the very

The Power of Play for Depression, Anxiety, & Stress (encore) [279]

Is the opposite of depression happiness and the opposite of anxiety just calm? Some researchers have actually played with the idea that the opposite of depression and anx

Stop Optimizing & Exhausting Yourself and Start Re-Creating [278]

A big chunk of the self-help and wellness industry runs on some core messages: you are not good enough and you need to be fixed, improved, and optimized. We disagree and

Self-Focused vs. Task-Focused Attention & How Great Things Are Done by a Series of Small Things [277]

This final episode of our Confidence series ties everything together: the inner work of accepting discomfort and self-doubt, defusing from self-critical thoughts, and cla

Confidence, Motivation, & Values: Focusing on Direction, Not Perfection [276]

When confidence is built on external approval, performance, and outcomes, it's fragile. It's also a fragile support for motivation that depends on getting the win, which 

You Are Not Your Thoughts: Cognitive Defusion for Confidence & to Change Your Relationship With Self-Critical Thoughts [275]

You've likely had a situation where you wish you had confidence, but instead felt full of self-criticism, self-judgement, imposter feelings, and anxiety. The good news is

Building Confidence with Mindful Acceptance (even when anxiety, self-doubt, & the harsh inner-critic show up) [274]

One of the most essential coping skills for building real confidence is mindful acceptance. This is the practice of noticing that fear, self-doubt, and self-consciousness

How to Build Confidence (When You Don't Feel Confident Yet) [273]

Are you not feeling confident and curious how to increase confidence in yourself? If so, know that you are not alone, you are not suffering from imposter syndrome, and yo

From Rumination and Defending to Right-Sizing: Recapping the Science & Tips to Build Humility for Mental Health & Wellbeing [272]

Humility is one of the most quietly powerful practices for positive psychology and mental health. It's also one of the most misunderstood. Here's the heart of it: humilit

Going Beyond Yourself: How Humility Fights Loneliness, Builds Connection, & Protects Mental Health [271]

Humility is a powerful mental health tool we have. The science of happiness is clear: genuine connection and belonging are among the strongest predictors of emotional res

Check Yourself: Ego Threat, Stress Relief, & Needing to Prove Yourself [270]

Humility and mental health are more connected than you might think. And if you add self-compassion to the humility-ego mix, then you have a recipe that can support mood,

Know Yourself: The Humility Practice That Quiets Rumination and Builds Emotional Resilience [269]

Humility is a powerful (and mostly misunderstood) mental health skill that's grounded by self-knowledge and self-compassion. Humility is also a powerful antidote to rumin

Humility Can Be Stressful... And Worth it for Mental Health [268]

Humility is not a weakness or a sign you're a pushover, instead it's a mental health tool that just might be exactly what our loneliness epidemic and anxiety culture are

You Can't Do Life Alone: Deep Connection is a Key to True Resilience [267]

Spoiler: you were never meant to do this alone. In the final episode of Joy Lab's Resilience series, Dr. Aimee Prasek and Dr. Henry Emmons explore the most powerful — and

The Resilience Shortcut That Beats Any Morning TikTok Routine [266]

We're in our Element of Resilience and we're going somewhere most mental health conversations completely skip: the heart.  Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek unpack