How to Create Your Own Prescription for Joy

How to create your own prescription for joy that you can come back to in times of struggle and when you’re feeling stuck.

Have you felt low, stuck or depressed and the thing that helps you get unstuck turns out to be the most obvious answer? The thing that you knew, but somehow forgot? While I acknowledge that there can be underlying deep-rooted traumas or darkness that needs intense work. So often, especially during the winter season, the things that bring us back to ourselves are actually very simple.

This past fall, I slowly drifted into a mild depression. It was humbling, isolating and so frustrating. As someone who is typically filled with curiosity, excitement, and drive, I felt so numb and disconnected. It was as if a grey fog enveloped me, making everything hazy.

Once I admitted to myself and my therapist that I was feeling this way, she recommended I reach out to my friends, get outdoors and exercise. While I didn’t disagree with her assessment and recommendations, internally I rolled my eyes. Like what? That’s it?

I Thought I Needed a Break Through Moment

Especially at the time, I was feeling like my depression came from the lack of a breakthrough. I thought I had to experience some aha life-altering realization. Didn’t I need some kind of grand adventure to shake me out of this numbness?

You might be guessing by now that my therapist was spot on. She was. First I reached out to my people. I talked with my husband, my sister and my best friends, letting them know that I was ok, but I wasn’t doing great and I couldn’t figure out why. I made an effort to feed myself nourishing foods, I moved a little more and got into nature a couple times a week.

It took some effort and accountability to get going, and it was so worth it. I didn’t feel 100% overnight, but slowly the fog lifted. There was no breakthrough either. I didn’t feel enlightened or wiser, I just felt better. I felt like I could be friends with my uncertainty not crippled by it.

As January comes to a close, I can easily see myself slipping back to where I was. While I’m not surrounded by the fog, I can still sense it’s power and ability to seep into my life. I know how easy it is to stay isolated, to stay quiet, to stay still, to let my self-care practices slip.

So I’m writing this post for both of us because the solutions can be simple, but they’re not always easy to remember.

I Finally Wrote Down the Simple Things That Always Work

At the beginning of the year, I wrote in my planner a little note called “Georgie’s Joy Prescription.”

I listed the following:

1. Connect with friends
2. Spend time with people you’re aligned with
3. Go into nature
4. Move in a way that feels good
5. Eat good food and make your favorite drinks (coffee, green juice, matcha, lemon honey tea)
6. Play with animals
7. Create for pleasure (craft, photography, write, art)
8. Meditate

These mandates might seem simple… because they really are. I listed them in the order of importance. I tend to isolate myself when I’m feeling low, which is why the first two are the most important. The second two are also vital. They’re simple to do when I’m in a good place but so easy to abandon when I’m not feeling my best.

I find focusing on one mandate at a time can be powerful because they all build on each other. Once I exert the effort to connect with my people I instantly feel better. It’s magical really. I then have more energy to get outside and move. After that everything starts to flow.

How to Create Your Own Prescription for Joy

While I’d argue movement, nature and connection are universal maybe the order you place them will be different depending on your circumstances. That’s why I believe it’s so important for you to do the work to write your own joy prescription.

Step 1: Reflect on What’s Worked

This will probably be the most challenging part of this process, but I invite you to take your time with it and be patient with yourself. Think back to when you’ve been at your best. What elements were there? Then think to when things were low what elements were absent?

The idea isn’t to make this list challenging or complicated. The goal is that these elements of your prescription will be simple, powerful wins that give you the momentum and energy to do the harder things. So I wouldn’t recommend adding “running X number of miles.” Instead, I’d recommend changing that to “moving.” You may end up running but the idea is to make the hurdle low so that you actually do it without excuses.

If you know you’re someone who thrives on accountability make a note of that. Maybe the movement is more fun when you’re with your friends (oh hey that checks off two of my big joy mandates.)

Step 2: Trial and Error

Once you make your initial list, do the things. After a week or two, see which activities have the most powerful impact with the least amount of striving. Maybe you thought that a cycling class was going to help, but it ended up being more stressful than going for a walk with your friend. Make notes of these findings.

Maybe walking a friends dog changed the trajectory of your entire day in a way you didn’t expect. Make note.

Step 3: ABC(iwy) Always Be Checking (in with yourself)

This step is so important. Cultivating awareness is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your mental health toolbox. I realized I was depressed because I have awareness of my thoughts. Through mindfulness, I’ve learned that my thoughts are not always my reality. I can tell the temperature of how I’m feeling because I check in often. Some people use meditation to cultivate this awareness other people use therapy or yoga. You can do any or all of the above.

Checking in with yourself during this process of creating your joy prescription will help you find the mandates that matter most. It will also help you find the patterns that can be destructive (for me that’s isolating myself).

Step 4: Make Your Joy Prescription

Once you’ve gone through the first three steps with your draft list, your data, and your awareness you’ll have a good idea of what works. As a crafty person, I’m excited to both have my list scribbled in my planner and also make a cuter list to hang up near my mirror as a daily reminder.

Step 5: Refine as You Go

Check in often and don’t be afraid to add or subtract as you go. This is your prescription for joy and the things that bring us joy can shift and evolve over time.

I hope this tool can help you navigate through tough times. If you end up making one please let me know! You can always connect with me on instagram @init4thelongrunblog or via email georgie[at]init4thelongrun.com

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