The Joy Reset: Rewiring our Brains and Discovering our Capacity to Cultivate Joy. With Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald
Untangle2 Des 2025

The Joy Reset: Rewiring our Brains and Discovering our Capacity to Cultivate Joy. With Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald

Our guest today is Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald, Trauma researcher and Author of the book, "The Joy Reset: Six Ways Trauma Steals Happiness and How to Get It Back.” Her book isn’t just about finding joy; it’s about rewiring our brains and rediscovering our power to cultivate joy EVEN in the darkest moments of life.

She describes the barriers that keep us from accessing joy—hypervigilance, emotional numbing, fear of loss, conditioning, guilt, and shame—and then defines ways to tap into positive emotions that can become the very foundation of psychological resilience.

In our interview she shares some exercises that make joy, hope and gratitude both bite-sized and accessible and how they can show up even in our toughest moments.

I love how she weaves neuroscience into her exploration of trauma and joy, explaining how our brains are biologically wired to both adapt to trauma and heal from it. And…good news…we ARE always biologically capable of joy.

Quote from her website: "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."

As always, we’re untangle, the podcast from Muse the brain sensing headband that helps to transform your brain. Use promo code untangle 15 at choosemuse.com for your discount.

Resource: https://www.drmcmcdonald.com/

Thanks, as always, to our sponsors. Rula. Quince. Born Shoes.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episoder(571)

Meditation Monday. Invite Sleep In. With Bart Van Malik.

Meditation Monday. Invite Sleep In. With Bart Van Malik.

Welcome to a special edition of Untangle, Meditation Mondays. We’re taking this time to share meditations from our sister app, Meditation Studio. We know that life gets messy and, when it does, Medita...

9 Mar 19min

Ever Feel "Not Good Enough" and Want to Stop that Inner Voice? With Mark Coleman

Ever Feel "Not Good Enough" and Want to Stop that Inner Voice? With Mark Coleman

Welcome to Untangle, Throwback Thursday. Each week, along with our regular weekly interview, we’ll be releasing an additional encore from our early days. These are some real gems and we hope you like...

5 Mar 36min

Is it Possible to Age-Proof your Brain and Slow Cognitive Decline? With Dr. Majid Fotuhi

Is it Possible to Age-Proof your Brain and Slow Cognitive Decline? With Dr. Majid Fotuhi

Today I sit down with neurologist and neuroscientist Dr. Majid Fotuhi to unpack the science of neuroplasticity — the brain’s remarkable ability to change, rewire, and grow at any age. He’s adjunct pro...

3 Mar 56min

Why We Always Need a Little (maybe a lot) Self-Compassion. With Kristin Neff

Why We Always Need a Little (maybe a lot) Self-Compassion. With Kristin Neff

Welcome to Untangle, Throwback Thursday. Each week, along with our regular weekly interview, we’ll be releasing an additional encore from our early days. These are some real gems and we hope you like ...

26 Feb 26min

Does Fear Run the Show for You? Here's How to Change This. With Guryan Tighe

Does Fear Run the Show for You? Here's How to Change This. With Guryan Tighe

Our guest today is Guryan Tighe, Coach and Author of the book Unmasking Fear, How Fears are our Gateways to Freedom. She refers to herself as a Fear Technician and gives us a great definition of what ...

24 Feb 40min

Meditation Monday. Effortless Sleep. With Lisa Wimberger.

Meditation Monday. Effortless Sleep. With Lisa Wimberger.

Welcome to a special edition of Untangle, Meditation Mondays. We’re taking this time to share meditations from our sister app, Meditation Studio. We know that life gets messy and, when it does, Medita...

23 Feb 25min

Oprah’s Life Coach: Finding Purpose, Integrity and Emotional Healing. With Martha Beck

Oprah’s Life Coach: Finding Purpose, Integrity and Emotional Healing. With Martha Beck

Today’s encore episode is with Martha Beck, a PhD, Harvard-trained sociologist, world-renowned coach and New York Times bestselling author. She has published nine non-fiction books, one novel, and mor...

20 Feb 44min

Why (some) Negative Emotions Persist, Despite Your Best Efforts to Let Them Go. With Dr. Shahrzad Jalali

Why (some) Negative Emotions Persist, Despite Your Best Efforts to Let Them Go. With Dr. Shahrzad Jalali

In today’s conversation, Dr. Shahrzad Jalali, Clinical Psychologist and Author of the book The Fire that Makes Us: Unveiling the Transformative Power of Trauma, shares her personal journey through tr...

17 Feb 41min

Populært innen Helse

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
fastlegen
rss-gukild-johaug
hvordan-har-du-det-mann
psykodrama
rss-garne-damer
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
leger-om-livet
foreldreradet
rss-lopedrommen
morten-ramm-lar-kakla-ga-til-du-sovner
bak-fasaden-en-reise-i-livet-med-sykepleier-ine
rss-lev-vel
klimaks
hormonelle-frida
sinnsyn
helsetipspodden
hjernesterk
treningsprat
rss-kunsten-a-leve