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Happiness & Joy

Finding Joy

By Happiness & JoyNo Comments
Image created by Deep AI Image Generator.

I was speaking with a good friend recently about that wonderful emotion Joy. I thought we all knew what joy was, how it feels and what would bring us more joy in our lives, but I was wrong. So let’s go over it.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary Joy is defined as:

great happiness or pleasure

For me what distinguishes joy from happiness, is its spontaneity. You never know when it is going to come along, but when it does, you instantly recognise it for what it is.

Joy can come in the most mundane experiences, or it can appear in new and exciting experiences.

Joy only appears when you are enjoying yourself and the feeling is impossible to force. It either comes or it doesn’t. You either feel it or you don’t. You can create the perfect circumstances for joy to occur and it doesn’t show up. You can recreate experiences that have previously experienced joy in and nothing.

But when it does show up – oh boy – it is so much more than happiness. It is elation. It is smiling from ear to ear. It is a high of endorphins, better than any rush you’d get from drugs. It fills your heart, your head, your entire body with excitement, pleasure and a desire to keep doing what you’re doing. It feels incredible.

I love joy. How could anyone not? And while we can’t guarantee that joy will show up, we can do things to make it more likely to happen. These include:

  • Connect with people that make us smile, laugh and offer us unconditional love and acceptance.
  • Pursue activities that bring us pleasure, particularly exercise, sports and creative endevours.
  • Spend time in places of natural beauty.
  • Step out of our comfort zones to experience new things, including new activities and new places.
  • Breaking routines, so that our brains experience novelty and learning, which are both key to new brain cell growth.
  • Starting any activity with a kind, positive and enjoyment mindset.

What struck me, talking with my friend, was that we can get too bogged down with the day-to-day life challenges, that we completely forget that joy exists. We forget it exists and therefore forget to go off in search of joy.

So here’s a gentle reminder, to anyone out there who needs it: Look out for joy each day. And try to create opportunities for joy to show up for you.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Friday 27 June 2025

Thirty-Nine

By Happiness & Joy, ThinkingNo Comments

Yesterday was my 39th birthday. I had a quiet meal with family.

I usually love celebrating my birthday, but this year I was bothered by intrusive thoughts.

Thoughts like:

  • What have you done with your thirty-nine years on this planet?
  • You are not required here.
  • You have no life purpose.

I spent the day combatting and challenging these thoughts. It was exhausting. I know these thoughts were triggered by my birthday.

So here’s hoping, my 40th birthday will be better.

Write soon,

Antony

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Thursday 15 May 2025

Larry Dean Live at Salford Lowry: Funny, Sexy & Fabulous

By Friends & Family, Gay, Gigs & Shows, Happiness & JoyNo Comments

Today, my good friend Simon and I went to see the funny, sexy, fabulous and proudly gay Comedian Larry Dean. We had front row seats for his energetic performance where he mostly spoke about his relationship with his grandma (who had dementia), his autism diagnosis and his partner.

Dean was performing at the Lowry in Salford Quays. Dean had the audience laughing loudly throughout his over an hour long set. My face ached from laughing so much. Dean oozed sexyness and fabulousness. I think it goes without saying, that I’m a Dean fan boy.

I had a great time and can’t wait to see Dean live again soon. Here are some photos of Simon and I taken just prior to the gig:

Write soon,

Antony

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Saturday 19 April 2025

Recovery Goals: Healthy & Happy

By Happiness & Joy, Health, ThinkingNo Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot about recovery from an addiction to alcohol or other substances. I’m a Specialist Addictions Nurse and author of The Alcohol Therapy Workbook.

For someone with an addiction professionals often ask them about their goals in relation to recovery. It’s an important question: What are your goals in relation to your drinking and/or substance use?

Afterall, everybody’s definition of addiction recovery is as unique as they are. Asking clients this question and developing a care plan that works towards these goals is at the heart of every treatment system.

But what I’ve been pondering lately is what about the professional’s goals? Are we open and upfront about our goals for the client with the client and their relatives?

We know that professional’s goals maybe influenced by many things including: the ethos of the organisation they work for, their individual values, their feelings about what would be in the best interests of the client, etc.

It got me thinking about my recovery goals for the clients that I work with. I have two goals when working with clients: To make them healthy and happy. These goals are no mean feat.

On first impression these goals don’t seem SMART. But when you explore what both health and happiness mean to the client and how they would like to live their life, they do break down into measurable SMART goals.

If you’ve got an addiction to alcohol or other substances, contact your GP or local community Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service for support.

My Best Wishes,

Antony

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Friday 18 April 2025
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