Welcome to “Getting My Joy Back”

I’m excited to start this new journey! First the word ‘joy’ means something totally different to me than it did growing up and even up to a year ago.

‘Joy’ defined is the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires, delight. The emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation. It can also relate to a person or thing that causes happiness, success, action, or help.

What changed so abruptly for me?

Image by: pexels-alexas-fotos-2277784.jpg

My birth name was Loy. It’s a long personal story of how it came to be. Growing up always having to spell my name was frustrating. So at some point, I began to say, “it’s like joy but with an L”. At times, I was called Lori which wasn’t far off. But one time on the phone at work, a customer thought I said my name was Roy. Annoyed. But I laugh about it too, especially since I don’t have a deep voice.

While at missionary school and learning Spanish, one of the instructors was translating “I am” and said, “Yo soy, like Loy but with an S.” Everyone looked at me chuckling and of course, to counteract, I chuckled too.

At least that wasn’t as bad as the teasing growing up in elementary. Things like, “Loy boy had a toy” and many variations of anything that rhymed.

“5th Grade Hope, Eden & Natalie” by eden pictures is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Time alleviated things. Growing up and maturing helped. But there was always a quick sigh when someone asked where I got my name. Being a truth teller, I always felt I needed to say how I was named. Otherwise, I’d be a liar.

Well, as we all know, covid-19 caused a myriad of side effects, both literally and figuratively.

Since the world had pretty much shut down, it also created safe places where people got away from all the sensory overloads of the sometimes chaotic world we live in.

In other situations, those safe places also turned into dark holes. Secluded from the sensory overloads caused time for our emotions to occasionally skyrocket or spiral out of control.

Therapy commercials abounded at every break in a show. Ads across a variety of social media platforms and games encouraged therapy. “Reach out to talk to someone.”

I’d like to say my years of bucking up, masking, and stuffing everything down was still performing at it’s best. Unfortunately, I too was hit by the effects of the current time. But in reality, it was exactly what I needed.

A couple months in, the therapist recommended another type of therapy, which I will talk about later. Almost a year into both therapies, the second therapist asked me to make a list of things I wish I could change.

The first thing on my list, my name. After telling her how I got my name, she said it was easy to change it. “What would you change it to if you could,” she asked. Immediately out of my mouth, “Joy”.

So it is with that name change, that “Getting My Joy Back” came to be. It not only changed my name but my perspective and emotions.

I hope through the posts here, that you too will be encouraged. That you’ll find you’re not alone. That you’ll find a variety of things that might help you to get your joy back. Possibly, you’re simply here looking for encouragement to give to family and friends of your own.

Welcome to: “Getting My Joy Back!”