“Fibromyalgia can take a lot from us, but it doesn’t have to take everything.” – Tami Stackelhouse

One of the hardest parts of living with fibromyalgia is how much joy can quietly disappear from your life. Activities you used to love start feeling out of reach and even simple things like going out with friends or spending time on a hobby can feel too draining. Over time, it’s easy to lose sight of what brings you happiness when most of your energy is going toward managing your pain and getting through the day.

But joy is not something you “earn” once you feel better. Joy is part of what helps you feel better. It plays an essential role in calming your nervous system, lowering pain levels, and helping your body shift out of constant survival mode. When fibromyalgia makes your world smaller, joy often feels like the first thing to go, but it’s actually one of the most powerful tools you have for healing. The good news is that joy doesn’t need to be big or complicated. It just needs to be intentional.

In this episode, Tami walks you through her Joy List exercise, a simple and meaningful practice to help you identify personal sources of joy. She talks about how fibromyalgia can lead to a loss of hobbies, work, and social connection, the emotional weight that follows these changes, the biology of joy, how dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin support pain relief and healing, three reflective questions to help you rediscover what brings happiness and meaning, practical tips for creating your Joy List, why certain activities bring joy and how to adapt them in new ways, accepting that joy may look different now and that change is part of healing, focusing on the feeling of joy rather than trying to recreate past experiences, finding new forms of joy through creativity and flexibility, six simple ways to add joy into your daily life, reframing your understanding of joy as a muscle, why reconnecting with joy is crucial for managing fibromyalgia, why now is the best time to start or revisit your personal joy list, supportive resources you can utilize on your journey of rediscovering joy, knowing when to seek help from a coach or community, and more.

Remember, the parts of you that feel lost are still there, waiting for you to reach for them again.

Note: This episode is not meant to be medical advice. Every person and every situation is unique. The information you learn in this episode should be shared and discussed with your own healthcare providers.