The Joy Reset

A groundbreaking, accessible guide to identifying the key ways trauma prevents joy and hope, with strategies for healing.

Joy does not exist only in the moments that are free of pain. In fact, the brightest, tiniest, most important pieces can only be found in the dark. I want to teach you how to harness and amplify the power of that glinting magic—because this sustainable, endless light source will do more than help you get through your darkest, scariest, loneliest times.

In The Joy Reset, Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald identifies the six common barriers that prevent us from accessing joy—hypervigilance, emotional numbing, fear of loss, conditioning, guilt, and shame—and then redefines positive emotions as those tenacious, gritty, often tiny experiences that appear within the darkest moments and form the very foundation of psychological resilience.

Rooted in the neurobiology that explains how trauma and suffering affect us, Dr. McDonald shares exercises that make joy and gratitude bite-sized and accessible. By emphasizing the very real ways that joy and hope show up even in our toughest moments, The Joy Reset empowers you to find the light in the dark—no matter what.