Joy Lab is powered by the nonprofit Pathways North and relies on support from folks like you. Donate now.
You are wired for joy
In a busy, sometimes stressful world, itâs easy to lose touch with anything that feels joyful. Instead of joy, you may even feel soaked in stress or a sense of disconnection. No matter how you're feeling, your joy is still there, waiting, but reclaiming it takes practice. That's what Joy Lab is for.
Learn more about the science behind Joy LabBuild Your Elements of Joy
Each month we explore one Element of Joy
You'll learn how to weave each Element into your everyday life. These Elements are the positive inner states, virtues, and practices that are central to building resilience and supporting good mental health. Each Element builds on each other, and as you strengthen one, the others grow in your life too. That's the synergy that creates big, lasting changes and what makes Joy Lab work.
Examples of Elements we've worked through in the past: Compassion, Equanimity, Resilience, Hope, and Sympathetic Joy.
Listen &Â Experiment
Listen to the Joy Lab podcast
The podcast is your 24/7 coach to help you build genuine resilience, learn self-care practices that truly nourish you, and reignite a deep sense of connection. Youâll come away with practical insights to help you navigate even those difficult days when stress and anxious thoughts surge. Tune in Wednesdays and catch our bonus episodes on the first of each month. Â
The podcast is freely available wherever you get your podcasts. Donate to access Joy Lab+ (includes Joy Lab app, guided Experiments, & more)
Learn more about the podcastExperiments help you take action & create new patterns.
Joy Lab Experiments are skill-building practices that pair with each podcast episode. Each Experiment helps you take action with what you learned in the podcast. Those actions help you create new patterns and habits that support more positive mental health and wellbeing, build resilience, and uncover the joy that's already in you.
Joy Lab Experiments are available through a podcast subscription or Joy Lab+.Â
Learn more
What you'll gain from Joy Lab
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Build Greater Self-Understanding & Self-Compassion
You'll understand how to recognize your thought patterns, emotional triggers, and unconscious habits that might be holding you back.
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Learn Practical Skills to Manage Stress, Anxious Thoughts, & Difficult Emotions
You'll learn doable, empowering skills to create new patterns that help you navigate difficult emotions and tap into your resilience.
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Gain Deeper Connection with Yourself and Others
You'll practice small but powerful actions to tap back into your connected state. When you feel at home in yourself and genuinely connected to others, joy has more room to grow.
We're a nonprofit on a missionÂ
Joy Lab is powered by Pathways North 501(c)(3), a nonprofit on a mission to improve our individual and collective resilience and make mental health resources more accessible and empowering. We provide supportive mental health tools that truly address the whole personâand are practical enough for everyday life.
Joy Lab is possible because of people like you. Joy Lab remains accessible as a free and ad-free tool because of our generous supporters and donors. Support our mission: make a donation to support our work.
DonateExpert Voices. Human Hearts.
Joy Lab is co-hosted and guided by two leading mental health experts who blend science with soul to help you cultivate more joy and make real, lasting changes.
Henry Emmons, MD
INTEGRATIVE PSYCHIATRIST &Â CO-HOST
Dr. Emmons is an integrative psychiatrist and author whose approach to mental health has helped thousands of people find a path through depression, anxiety, and mental health struggles. He believes that healing should be whole-person, sustainable, and rooted in what makes us fully human. His work weaves together clinical experience, mind-body and natural therapies, mindfulness teachings, and other holistic approaches, making science feel like soul.
Aimee Prasek, PhD
MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCHER &Â CO-HOST
Dr. Prasek brings the rigor of research science to the warmth of practical, human-centered mental health. Her expertise in positive psychology, integrative modalities, and mindfulness shapes how Joy Lab translates complex science into meaningful, actionable practices. She's committed to building programs that actually work for real lives.
Testimonials
What others are saying:
â
This is exactly the life giving information I've been looking for! Gosh after listening to each episode I feel like I can breathe deeper. Thank you joylab team! â¤ď¸
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My favorite Experiment is to dialogue with my soul! The vivid imagery created when Dr. Emmons walks us thru the path, field, mountain lake is so helpful and makes the experience come alive.... Thank you for putting this whole series together! Itâs a wonderful journey!
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I canât tell you how incredible Joy Lab has been for me!! ... it has been so helpful to become mindful of my thoughts which really is the foundation for a happy, balanced life .... Iâm in the process of creating a new path.
Popular Podcast Episodes
Joy Lab is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 249
Everything We Love, We Will Lose: Navigating the First Gate of Grief
This conversation weaves together Buddhist teachings on impermanence, neuroscience research on grief and savoring, and the vital reminder that grief is absolutely a team sport.
Episode 220
The Still Small Voice: Awakening with Soulfulness
Join us as we explore the concept of the 'Still, Small Voice' and its role in authenticity and soulfulness. We'll talk about the importance of turning inward and listening to our inner voiceâour wisest self.
Episode 222
Are You Stuck in Joyless Urgency?
In this episode, we talk about "joyless urgency," a brilliant phrase coined by Marilynne Robinson. The short story is that our modern kind of hustle culture and constant busyness often leads to little personal fulfillment.
Get Experimentsâguided practices that pair with each episode to help you build resilience and uncover your joy.
Learn moreListen to the Joy Lab Podcast on our website or your favorite podcast listening app.
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MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
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. Consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. 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. â 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.
Joy Lab is powered by Pathways North 501(c)( 3).Â
