The Emotionary No.5 - Joyful : A CBT Perspective

Joyful

[joi-fuhl] adjective

Joyful is like a graffiti tag. Sudden, immediate, here and now. Blurted out. A declaration. This may not be the right place. The law may not even allow it. It doesn’t matter, here it is! It splutters out from our ordered lives like paint from a spray can. Wild. Vivid. It shouts your name, again and again. Wherever you are: Dark underpass, shadowed path, bleak back-alley. If you look for it, it will declare its presence; it may even write your name.

From a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) perspective, joy is not simply a random emotional state that we might experience from time to time in our lives. Joy is a feeling that we can actively cultivate by changing where we direct our thoughts or attention and how we interpret some of our experiences. While self-critical or anxious ’automatic negative thoughts’ tend to narrow our focus of attention toward threat or loss (resulting in anxiety), we can train ourselves to notice and reflect on the positive events that we often overlook each day, which can lead to a reduction in anxiety. By intentionally engaging in activities which we have identified bring us joy, we begin to disrupt the cycle of anxiety and create positive emotional change. Joy emerges not from waiting for our circumstances to become perfect. It comes from evaluating our anxious thoughts, modifying any behaviours where needed, and challenging our thinking distortions, before fully committing our mind to notice the meaningful moments that are right in front of us.