PODCAST · health
Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy
by Henry Emmons MD, Holistic Psychiatry; Aimee Prasek PhD, Positive Psychology
Joy Lab isn't your typical happiness podcast. We focus on strengthening your mental health with the science of joy, recognizing that joy can be tapped into even amidst experiences like depression, anxiety, stress, grief, and burnout. You can expect a blend of the best cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques, positive psychology practices, stress management techniques, and mindfulness skills. Each month we focus on building one Element of Joy such as gratitude, self-compassion, confidence, self-acceptance, humility, and self-connection. It's a holistic approach to mental health that's refreshingly free of finger-wagging and toxic positivity and full of practical, whole-person support that's empowering and actually helps. Joy Lab is hosted by two leaders in mental health, Henry Emmons, MD (integrative psychiatrist) and Aimee Prasek, PhD (mental health researcher).You'll probably find this podcast most useful if any of these feel familiar:* You feel caught in cycles of worry, anxi
Episodes
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Letting Go of the Need for Closure: Why Life's Biggest Problems Can Only Be Outgrown [292]
Closure often feels like it should be the goal when we're dealing with grief or going through a tough time. But what if closure is actually a myth and the pressure to "get over it," "fix it," or emerge as a better version of ourselves is doing more harm than good? In this episode, we dig into the...
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Letting Go of the Stories You Tell Yourself: Is It True? Is It Helpful? Is It Kind? [291]
It's great that us humans are storytellers... except when we tell rigid, oversimplified stories about who we are, what happened to us, and what's possible next. The solution is not to get rid of our stories as they can help us make sense of a complex world, build identity, and find some control…
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Letting Go of Intrusive Thoughts & Rumination: The Pink Elephant Paradox, The Whac-A-Mole Problem, & Skills That Actually Help [290]
Intrusive thoughts, rumination, worrying... these are nearly universal experiences and the most important thing, particularly when it comes to intrusive thoughts, is that the content doesn't matter as much as what you do with them. Whether it's a shocking thought that pops up out of nowhere or…
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What Are You Holding On To? The Science & Skill of Letting Go [289]
We define "Letting Go" as the skill of loosening your grip on the thoughts and behaviors that keep you anchored to the past, resisting the present, or anxious about the future. And the goal isn't just to be more present, but to be less burdened and exhausted by the endless effort to edit what...
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A Mental Health Podcast With No Ads? Why We Refuse Ads & How Joy Lab Keeps Going [288]
If you've listened to a wellness or health podcast lately, you've probably heard loads of advertisements. We've decided that ads are not a good fit for Joy Lab because they can steal your focus from the important wellbeing-boosting work you do here. Of course, refusing to put ads in the podcast...
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Who Are You Trying to Be Enough For? The Psychology of Being Enough & Building Self-Worth [287]
Are you struggling with not feeling like "enough?" This is actually a common feeling that can get wrapped up or conflated with stress, burnout, depression, anxiety, and so many other mental health struggles. The good news is that no matter what you're dealing with, you do have some influence here...
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It's OK to Be Wrong: Releasing Perfectionism & Building the Skill of Knowing Enough [286]
What does it means to know enough, and why do so many of us have our sense of self-worth tangled up with the need to appear certain, informed, and never wrong? The common obstacles of perfectionism, yearning for power and to feel "special," along with anxiety are fueled by a world of constant...
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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 productive? Do you feel burned out, overwhelmed with work, or simply feeling that you're just doing too much? If so, this is the...
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Having Enough: Why Acquiring More Will Never Fill the Hole in Your Self-Worth [284]
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 make this much, then you will be happy... all of your dreams will come true! The truth is actually the opposite as this kind of...
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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 some way is not limited to a mental health diagnosis; these feelings are actually very common and, unfortunately, they make our...
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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 these rhythms more in this episode by breaking down three layers of the body's natural cycles: Ultradian rhythms (the short cycles...
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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 gurus, business experts, and biohacking influencers that we've started to believe the false messaging. The truth is that you're...
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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 common belief that there's one logical fix waiting to be found and that once found, we'd feel better and all will be fixed.…
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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 anxiety might just be... play. It's an interesting idea considering play and depression are inversely related, people who play…
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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 hope this element of recreation (and re-creation) helps you brush off some of those false messages and return to what is…
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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 clarifying values now becomes the foundation for outer action. You can build confidence through the daily practice of taking small...
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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 then boosts your confidence and motivation temporarily, priming you to start the search for your next win to fuel your sense of...
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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 that skills like cognitive defusion (the practice of loosening the grip that self-critical thoughts have on you) can help...
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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 are present and... that's ok. Henry puts it simply: you're acknowledging there's a passenger on the bus. You're just not…
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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 you are not in need of fixing. As we start our series on Confidence, we'll work to dismantle the most common — and most damaging…
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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: humility is not a weakness. It's not about making yourself small or performing modesty for social approval. It's an accurate, grounded...
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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 resilience and wellbeing. In this episode of Joy Lab we'll explore the final dimension of humility: going beyond yourself.…
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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, offer stress relief, and give your mind and body a break from constantly trying to defend yourself. We'll dig into all this…
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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 rumination and harsh self-criticism and a tool to support mood and emotional resilience. We'll build up humility through this series...
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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 desperately craving. Humility is an accurate, grounded sense of who you are. And that grounded sense of self is a foundation…
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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 most underrated — ingredient in lasting resilience: deep, meaningful connection. They unpack the neuroscience of belonging…
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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 why mental health has been so brain-centric for so long, what the field of neurocardiology is revealing about the heart's role in...
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Not a Fan Of Three Hour Morning Routines? Why Joy Lab Is Different (And Free This May) [265.1]
This is your final invitation! The Joy Lab Program's free 30-day offer ends May 31st — and we want to make sure you know what you're actually being invited into before the door closes. It's not a slick two-and-a-half-hour morning routine. It's not cold plunges or weird concoctions. It's deep…
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The Art & Science (+ Shoveling) of Letting Emotions Move Through You [265]
In this episode of the Joy Lab Podcast, Dr. Aimee Prasek and Dr. Henry Emmons dig into one of the most counterintuitive resilience skills we can build: turning toward negative emotions instead of running from them. This isn't about wallowing. It's about befriending the feelings that are already...
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You Are Wired for Resilience: Join the Joy Lab Program Free This Mental Health Awareness Month [264.1]
Dr. Aimee Prasek drops in with a quick Mental Health Awareness Month reminder and Joy Lab's 30-day free offer. Joy Lab has just launched into the Element of Resilience, and there's no better time to join the Program and start doing this work together. Try It Free 🎉 The Joy Lab Program is free…
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How to Calm the Mind & Not Feed the ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) [264]
Calming the mind sounds simple, right? And yet most of us would rather do almost anything other than sitting quietly with our thoughts. In this episode, Dr. Aimee Prasek and Dr. Henry Emmons dig into the science of Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs), the surprising research on just how much we...
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The Truth About Depression, Anxiety, and Your Inner Strength (Joy Lab's Origin Story) + Joy Lab Free for 30 Days [263.1]
In this episode, Dr. Aimee Prasek shares some of the origin story behind the Joy Lab Program — from her own years-long climb out of anxiety, depression, and panic attacks, to a pivotal (and infuriating) moment on a psychiatrist's couch that lit a fire for her. Joy Lab exists to normalize mental...
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From Surviving to Thriving: The Science and Soul of Resilience [263]
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...
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What Are You Doing This For? Breaking Free From Burnout and Joyless Urgency [encore]
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...
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Free Joy Lab Program Access + Big Updates: New Elements, New Rhythm, New Experiments [261.1]
May is just around the corner and it's Mental Health Awareness Month. At Joy Lab, we believe awareness alone isn't enough. It's time to actually care for your mental health. So we're offering the full Joy Lab Program free for 30 days (offer ends May 31st). No paywall. No catch. Just a genuine...
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Busyness, Time Poverty, & Why You Feel Like You Never Have Enough Time (And What to Do About It) (encore) [261]
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. Busyness: society's favorite...
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Perfectionism Is Stealing Your Balance — Here's How to Take It Back (encore) [260]
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. In this episode of Joy Lab…
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Give Your Brain A Break: Solitude & Mindfulness Skills for Stress & Overwhelm [encore] [259]
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. Solitude and fun in the same...
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Self-Improvement Remixed: Renewal Without the Hustle & How to Let Growth Happen [258]
We're doing something a little different this month — and a little more of nothing. This is our new "month of renewal" format (happening three times a year in April, August, and December). We're essentially exploring this question throughout the month... what if growth required less effort?…
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Your Grief Is Valid, Even If It Doesn't Fit a Category or Stage (Grief Recovery & Healing Series part 10) [257]
This is it — the finale of our 10-part series on grief, and we're closing with a Gate that might be the most quietly powerful one yet: Other. That's right, the catchall. The one that says: if your loss doesn't fit neatly into a framework, it still counts. If you're feeling it, it counts. Losses...
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Anticipatory Grief: How to Love Fully When You Know Loss Is Coming (Grief Recovery & Healing Series part 9) [256]
Grief doesn't wait for loss to arrive. Sometimes it shows up early — sitting beside you while someone you love is still right there. That's anticipatory grief, and if you've ever felt your mind drift to a future without someone while they're still in the room, you already know it. In this episode...
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You Don't Have to Be There to Feel It: Collective Trauma, Secondary Trauma, & Your Nervous System (Grief Recovery & Healing Series part 8) [255]
Grief doesn't only come from what happens to us directly. In this episode of our Grief Series, we'll look through the Seventh Gate: Trauma — specifically collective trauma and secondary (vicarious) trauma. We'll break down what these are, how they physically land in your body, what the Window of...
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How Facing the Harm You've Done Can Set You Free [254]
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...
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Ancestral Grief, Epigenetics, and Your Mind-Body Connection (Grief Recovery & Healing Series part 6) [253]
What if some of the grief you carry isn't entirely yours? In this episode we'll open what Francis Weller identified as the Fifth Gate of Grief: ancestral grief. We're talking about the unacknowledged, untended sorrows of those who came before us: lost languages, severed connections to land and...
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The Grief of What Should Have Been & The Loss of Not Being Truly Seen (Grief Recovery & Healing Series part 5) [252]
What if the loss you're carrying doesn't have a name — no death, no disaster, just a quiet, persistent ache that something was always missing? In this episode of Joy Lab, we'll look at Gate Four of our grief series: What We Expected But Did Not Receive. Drawing from Francis Weller's The Wild Edge...
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We're Wired to Grieve Together: Why Collective Grief Affects Your Mental Health & the Coping Skill of Gathering (Grief Recovery & Healing Series part 4) [251]
We're diving deep into Francis Weller's third gate of grief: the sorrows of the world. This gate reminds us that collective losses like wars, violence, injustice, and environmental destruction impact us whether we acknowledge them or not. We are interdependent beings, wired for connection, and…
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Grieving the Parts of You That Have Not Known Love & Welcoming Them Back With Self-Acceptance & Self-Love (Grief Recovery & Healing Series part 3) [250]
We're exploring the second gate of grief from Francis Weller's framework: The Places That Have Not Known Love. Unlike the first gate (episode #249)—which dealt with more of the external losses—this gate turns inward to examine the parts of ourselves we've rejected, hidden, or banished in our need...
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Everything We Love, We Will Lose (Grief Recovery & Healing Series part 2) [249]
"Everything we love, we will lose" is a truth about grief that can challenge our emotional resilience. However, facing this truth of impermanence can actually support mood, boost gratitude, support more positive emotions, and combat loneliness by creating deeper satisfaction with relationships....
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Grief, Growth & The Wholeness of Being Human (Holistic Grief Series p.1) [248]
Grief and joy are not opposites. This is the start of our holistic, ten-part series on grief, and we'll make the case for why that belongs in a joy-focused, positive psychology podcast: because you cannot have one without the other, and because right now, as a community, we are carrying more...
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The Science of Goal Setting: Fit (with self-connection) and Grit (with harmonious passion) [247]
Why do most New Year's resolutions fail by week three? Often because we don't really connect with those resolutions. In this episode, we'll build on our self-connection series to see how that work of connecting with our true self can inform goals that we're more likely to achieve. We'll focus on…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Joy Lab isn't your typical happiness podcast. We focus on strengthening your mental health with the science of joy, recognizing that joy can be tapped into even amidst experiences like depression, anxiety, stress, grief, and burnout. You can expect a blend of the best cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques, positive psychology practices, stress management techniques, and mindfulness skills. Each month we focus on building one Element of Joy such as gratitude, self-compassion, confidence, self-acceptance, humility, and self-connection. It's a holistic approach to mental health that's refreshingly free of finger-wagging and toxic positivity and full of practical, whole-person support that's empowering and actually helps. Joy Lab is hosted by two leaders in mental health, Henry Emmons, MD (integrative psychiatrist) and Aimee Prasek, PhD (mental health researcher).You'll probably find this podcast most useful if any of these feel familiar:* You feel caught in cycles of worry, anxi
HOSTED BY
Henry Emmons MD, Holistic Psychiatry; Aimee Prasek PhD, Positive Psychology
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How many episodes does Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy have?
Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy currently has 291 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy about?
Joy Lab isn't your typical happiness podcast. We focus on strengthening your mental health with the science of joy, recognizing that joy can be tapped into even amidst experiences like depression, anxiety, stress, grief, and burnout. You can expect a blend of the best cognitive behavioral therapy...
How often does Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy release new episodes?
Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy publishes regularly with 291 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy?
Joy Lab | strengthen your mental health with the science of joy is created and hosted by Henry Emmons MD, Holistic Psychiatry; Aimee Prasek PhD, Positive Psychology.
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