Joy in Times Like These

Joy in Times Like These

Burnout thrives in exhaustion, fear, and despair. The more overwhelmed and hopeless we feel, the easier it is to stay stuck in survival mode—working, pushing, reacting, and staying within the status quo. I have found in my own personal experience, that in the darkest of times, joy disrupts that cycle.

Think about any time you have felt joy, you also felt physically and mentally safe. It reminds your body and mind, it can relax and be present in the moment. It signals to your nervous system that you are not just surviving, but living, and in times like these, that is a radical act.

Why Joy Matters More Than Ever

When stress becomes chronic, our bodies and minds start operating from a place of survival. We become hyper-focused on problems, bracing for the next crisis, and constantly scanning for threats. This is why burnout doesn’t just feel exhausting, it become demoralizing because your brain begins to shut down to positive outcomes like connection, possibility, and hope.

Joy, however, does the opposite.

• It is a reminder that good exists in your life. 

• It helps create new neural pathways and breaks the repetitive negativity loops.

• It restores your ability to feel, connect, and create.

• It fuels resilience—because when you experience joy, you remember that dark times are not forever. 

Joy is the antidote. Prioritizing it isn’t selfish—it’s essential, especially in times like these.

How to Cultivate Joy in Difficult Times

1. Acknowledge the Hard Things & Choose Joy Anyway

Joy doesn’t mean ignoring reality. You can hold both truths at once: the world is heavy and I deserve moments of happiness. Allow yourself to grieve, to feel, to be angry, but also allow yourself to experience joy without guilt.

2. Protect Your Energy

Setting boundaries with information intake isn’t avoidance, it’s choosing to preserve your energy for what truly matters. 

Ask yourself: Is this helping me or draining me? If it’s the latter, step away and find a way to stay informed within parameters that will not wreck your wellbeing. Can you only follow experts who will give you the facts you need to know? Maybe you take time away from the news or social media? You are the only person who can decide what is in your best interest. 

3. Find Small Joys & Name Them

Joy doesn’t have to be a big moment in your day. It can be the taste of your morning coffee, dancing to a favorite song, or the way sunlight filters through your window. Naming these moments helps your brain recognize them which moves them beyond a fleeting moment. The more you acknowledge these tiny micro moments of joy they add up to a feeling of safety and security.

Try this: Each day, make a mental or written note of one joyful moment. Over time, you’ll train yourself to notice them more often.

4. Engage in Movement & Breath

One of the first things in our body that gets disrupted by stress is our breath. Moving your body whether through stretching, walking, or deep belly breathing releases tension and signals to your nervous system that it’s okay to relax.

Check out: My previous post on how beneficial deep stretching has been to my own toolkit in keeping burnout away. A simple exercise you can try is placing your hands on your rips while laying down. Breathe deeply down in your back, belly, and feel your rips expand sideways. The miracle of your breath is a moment of joy to take in.

5. Connect with Others

Burnout isolates us so its important to find community. Even small moments of connection can reignite a sense of belonging.

Try this: If you can, create or join spaces where joy is celebrated. Collective joy is one of the most powerful antidotes to despair. Do you have a friend or colleague you can share your daily joys with? Commit to 30 days and see how both of your lives can transform.

Joy is Resistance

The world may tell you that now is not the time for joy, that the chaos of the outside world means you must be filled with worry. Honoring joy doesn’t mean disengagement, it means refusing to let exhaustion and despair be the only options. Finding safety and connection in joy is easing the stress response within your body physically and mentally. You’ll be able to access your critical thinking and ease your anxiety grounding into your joy.

In times like these, joy is a protest. It is a declaration that you are still here, still feeling, still finding light in the dark.