Joy Lab: NMH Co-Launches New Online Program and Podcast

Joy is accessible, no matter how you feel right now.

Joy is not the opposite of depression. It’s also not the same thing as happiness. Joy runs deeper than any feeling. It’s more enduring, and it can be accessed anytime, anywhere. 

Joy is a state of being where you feel peaceful, secure, and supported by something beyond your mind or your own efforts to feel good. That state of joy is within you right now and Joy Lab helps you uncover it.

Joy Lab is a podcast coupled with a self-guided, online program that supports you as you learn and apply the essential elements of joy to create and sustain a flourishing life. Our Natural Mental Health team helped build and is part of this important resource.

Watch and listen to the first episode below, "A Joyful Life is Natural" and then read more about the program under the video. You can also find the episode on your favorite podcast platform.

Elements of Joy

At Joy Lab, you'll work to cultivate the Elements of Joy. These are emotions, practices, and inner states that are strong predictors of good mental health. These elements also fuel joy, and [bonus!] they work to support your entire mind-body system. That means when you boost these elements, choosing other behaviors like healthy eating and exercising can become easier.

Podcast Mini-Lessons

Each episode of the Joy Lab podcast is a mini lesson designed to spark your joy. It's also an important introduction to one of the key elements of joy. In this first year of Joy Lab, we'll release one new episode (and one new element!) each month. That means you'll get some extra support as we work as a group through the foundations of a joyful life. 

Joyful Infusions

Your mind is more changeable at the opening and closing of the day. You'll harness the power for change through your AM and PM infusion experiments. These 3-5 minute meditations are part of our Mindful Redesign process, working to rewire your brain by feeding yourself the elements of joy throughout the day.

Mindful Redesigns

Using Joy Lab's Mindful Redesign process, you'll work through four experiments each month to help overcome obstacles and enhance the positive elements of joy in your life. In addition to the Joyful Infusions, we guide you to: Loosen the Grip of Thought, Apply Mindfulness for Change, and Dialogue with Your Soul. 

Insight Calendars

You'll use your Insight Calendars to track your completed infusion mediations and to record any notes about your experiences while doing them. You'll also use your calendar to track your other experiments and identify activities in your life that support or deplete the key element you're working on. 

Coaching Videos

Every experiment is accompanied by a short video to guide you through the experiment and help you succeed. Most videos are led by your Joy Lab coaches, Drs. Henry Emmons and Aimee Prasek.