The Handle of Hope

05/01/21 • 24 min

In this episode, we discuss the concept of hope as a tool to achieving joyful lives, drawing from traditional wisdom, neuroscience, and personal experiences. We'll also highlight what we call the "enemies of joy." These include brain imbalance, an unsettled mind, and the illusion of separation. As always, we'll also note the scientifically-backed benefits of being hopeful, which include better life satisfaction, a stronger sense of purpose, and higher possibility of achieving set goals.

Key moments:

00:00 Introduction to the Joy Lab Podcast 00:45 Unveiling the Theme: Hope 02:06 The Two Wolves: A Story of Hope and Fear 05:04 The Neuroscience of Hope 11:55 The Enemies of Joy: Brain Imbalance and Toxicity 13:39 The Power of Perception and Genetics 14:56 The Unsettled Mind and the Illusion of Separation 21:30 The Power of Hope in Mental Health 23:26 Conclusion: Embracing the Invisible Joy 23:57 Outro and Disclaimer

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

Sources and Notes:

Resilience Quiz and free Mini-Course: Based on decades of clinical experience, we've created a model of resilience that is both helpful and practical. True to our approach at Natural Mental Health, we start with strengths. You'll identify these strengths in your Resilience Type. Your Resilience Type highlights your unique strengths, what fuels your joy, what keeps you in balance, and the lifestyle practices that most nourish you. After you find your Resilience Type, sign up for your free mini-course to receive tailored lifestyle practices (e.g., foods to eat more of, ideal forms of exercise, supplements, and mindfulness activities) that can support your mood, resilience, and overall wellbeing.
Resilient Community: Access lots of extra resilience-boosting resources (like our Sleeping Well Workshop) AND you'll join a group of inspiring folks who play an integral role in keeping this podcast going... which means powerful resources stay accessible to everyone.
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 NaturalMentalHealth.com for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.
Check out our favorite resilience-boosting reads: https://bookshop.org/shop/NMHreads
Where to shop:
- Our partner store at Fullscript: This is where you can find high-quality supplements and wellness products. Except for our CBD Gummies, any product links mentioned in the show notes below will require an account. Sign up for your free Fullscript account here: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/nmh/store-start
- Resilient Remedies: This is where you can find our line of trusted, high-quality CBD gummies: https://www.resilientremedies.com/

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 [email protected]. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Key moments:

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

Sources and Notes:

Resilience Quiz and free Mini-Course: Based on decades of clinical experience, we've created a model of resilience that is both helpful and practical. True to our approach at Natural Mental Health, we start with strengths. You'll identify these strengths in your Resilience Type. Your Resilience Type highlights your unique strengths, what fuels your joy, what keeps you in balance, and the lifestyle practices that most nourish you. After you find your Resilience Type, sign up for your free mini-course to receive tailored lifestyle practices (e.g., foods to eat more of, ideal forms of exercise, supplements, and mindfulness activities) that can support your mood, resilience, and overall wellbeing.
Resilient Community: Access lots of extra resilience-boosting resources (like our Sleeping Well Workshop) AND you'll join a group of inspiring folks who play an integral role in keeping this podcast going... which means powerful resources stay accessible to everyone.
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 NaturalMentalHealth.com for exclusive emails, updates, and additional strategies.
Check out our favorite resilience-boosting reads: https://bookshop.org/shop/NMHreads
Where to shop:
- Our partner store at Fullscript: This is where you can find high-quality supplements and wellness products. Except for our CBD Gummies, any product links mentioned in the show notes below will require an account. Sign up for your free Fullscript account here: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/nmh/store-start
- Resilient Remedies: This is where you can find our line of trusted, high-quality CBD gummies: https://www.resilientremedies.com/

Please see our terms for more information.

Previous Episode

A Joyful Life is Natural

Are you ready to uncover and foster your most joyful self? Dr. Henry Emmons, MD, is an author and an integrative psychiatrist with over three decades of experience. Dr. Aimee Prasek, PhD, is a researcher and educator in integrative mental health therapies. Together they have created JoyLab, an ideal mix of soulful and scientifically sound tools to spark your joy. Join Dr. Emmons and Dr. Prasek in their first episode of the JoyLab Podcast as they introduce you to their science based, soul-filled program to help you build resilience and create a more joyful life. They will discuss the explosive rise in anxiety and depression and why the standard approach to treating mental health issues may not be working. Tune in and begin to connect science and soul to learn key positive emotions and begin to uncover your joy.

In This Episode:

[01:00] Dr. Emmons and Dr. Prasek explain the science and soul involved in the online JoyLab program.
[3:11] Why do we need something like JoyLab right now? Dr. Emmons discusses the explosive rise in anxiety and depression and the JoyLab approach to uncover Joy.
[9:44] It’s possible to feel joyful even in the midst of dealing with a problem. Joy is not just an emotion. It is a state of being.
[14:30] The four pillars that make up JoyLab.

Key Takeaways:

Joy is not the opposite of depression. It is different from happiness and runs deeper than any feeling.
Joy can be accessed anytime and anywhere.
Joy is not just an emotion. It is a peaceful and natural state of being that is woven into our nature.

Links Mentioned:

https://www.joylab.coach/

https://www.naturalmentalhealth.com/

Next Episode

Curiosity- Reshaping Your Brain

In this episode of JoyLab, our hosts Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek explore the element of curiosity and how it can work to reshape our brains. We become what we think, and by changing the way we think we can reframe how we see things. Curiosity can help us see things in different, positive ways that help us reprogram the neural pathways in our minds. Tune in to this episode to explore the element of curiosity and how we can use that to foster joy in our lives.

In This Episode:

[03:00] How we create neural pathways in our brain by repeating thoughts over and over again.
[6:00] Bringing conscious awareness to negative paths we’ve created in our minds and how to instead choose to see things in a more positive way, repeating those thoughts over and over to change that path.
[8:00] The Buddhist path to a more joyful life is referred to as the middle way which also goes along with a mental health concept: The spectrum of rigidity to chaos.
[11:00] Identifying two key dimensions of curiosity, external and internal, and how they can affect our thoughts and mental health.
[15:23] Sitting with the element of discomfort can create a broader perspective and allow you to see things in a new light and create new neural connections.

Key Takeaways:

We create a neural pathway in our brains by having the same thoughts over and over again. That means repetitive negative or fearful thoughts become increasingly difficult to stray from.
Living at either extreme of the mental health spectrum, rigidity or chaos, is not ideal. This creates looping thoughts and emotions that can get stuck, putting an end to curiosity and creativity pretty quickly.
Learn to strike a balance between healthy seeking and constant distraction by staying somewhere in the middle of these two actions. The benefits of curiosity can cause some discomfort, but that’s also where the learning happens.
Curiosity teaches us that there’s always more to learn, there is no final mastery and there’s always something new before us.