288. A Mental Health Podcast With No Ads? Why We Refuse Ads & How Joy Lab Keeps Going

September 30, 2026

If you've listened to a wellness or health podcast lately, you've probably heard loads of advertisements. We've decided that ads are not a good fit for Joy Lab because they can steal your focus from the important wellbeing-boosting work you do here. Of course, refusing to put ads in the podcast means we need support in other ways.

Here are some ways you can join in our nonprofit mission, help keep Joy Lab going, and spread more resilience across our communities:

Subscribe to Joy Lab Experiments. These are the hands-on resilience practices that pair with each episode. You can subscribe in Apple podcasts for $4.99/month with a free one-week trial. Spotify and other platforms are coming soon!
Stay tuned for updates to Joy Lab+ (formerly the Joy Lab Program). You can receive Joy Lab+ with a monthly donation to our nonprofit. You'll get Experiments plus lots of other perks. We'll have this ready soon, but be sure to sign up for the newsletter at JoyLab.coach so you're in the loop.
We'll soon launch our growth and mission partnerships. These are for organizations, companies, foundations, or individuals who want to make a bigger impact on mental health access. These will launch in the next few weeks and we only have 24 spots available! Head to JoyLab.coach or reach out through the website to learn more.

Most of all, thanks for being part of this resilience-boosting community. Your participation matters. It matters to your own mental health and it spreads out to others. Stay with us for our new Element of Letting Go, where we'll focus on releasing unhelpful thoughts, limiting stories, the “need” for closure, and control.

About: The Joy Lab Podcast is an Ambie-nominated podcast that blends science and soul to help you cope better with stress, anxiety, and depression. It's hosted by integrative psychiatrist Dr. Henry Emmons and holistic mental health researcher Dr. Aimee Prasek.

Bonus: spread some joy and keep this podcast ad-free by donating (Joy Lab is powered by the nonprofit Pathways North and your donations are tax-deductible).

Listen & follow the Joy Lab Podcast on your favorite listening app:

Spotify | Apple | YouTube

Related Joy Lab Episodes:

Enoughness Series:
Grief Series starts here:
- Ep. 248: Grief, Growth, & The Wholeness of Being Human
Ep. 239: Caring What Others Think Isn't Your Weakness

Questions this episode was made for:

Q: How is Joy Lab funded if there are no ads?

A: Joy Lab is powered by the nonprofit Pathways North. It's kept ad-free intentionally and runs on listener support through Experiments subscriptions, Joy Lab+, donations, grants, and additional partnerships; this episode explains ways to get involved.

Q: What's the difference between Joy Lab Experiments and Joy Lab+?

A: Experiments are the hands-on practices that pair with each episode, now available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month (coming soon to Spotify and others!); Joy Lab+ is a more full experience with additional resources and features. Existing Program members don't need to do anything when it launches.

Key moments:

[00:30] Preview of the Letting Go series: unhelpful thoughts and rumination, stories we tell ourselves, the myth of needing closure, and letting go of control

[01:00] Why Joy Lab is ad-free — intentional choice; ads interrupt the work and can make you feel worse about yourself by design

[01:30] Joy Lab is powered by Pathways North, a nonprofit focused on increasing access to empowering mental health tools

[02:00] How to support: Joy Lab Experiments now available on Apple Podcasts — $4.99/month, cheaper annually, one-week free trial

[02:30] Pairing an episode with an Experiment week after week is the consistent, sustainable approach that builds real resilience

[03:00] Joy Lab+ — the updated name for the Joy Lab Program, coming in a few weeks with new features; existing members, nothing changes

[03:30] New: mission and growth partnership spots opening for organizations, companies, foundations, or individuals who want to make a bigger impact — sign up for the newsletter or contact through the website

[05:00] You matter — thank you for being here

Sources and Notes for Our Element of Enoughness:

Bellam, S., Curran, T., Hill, A. P., & Stoeber, J. (2025). Perfectionism and work performance: A meta-analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12570
Carver, C. S., Lawrence, J. W., & Scheier, M. F. (1999). Self-discrepancies and affect: Incorporating the role of feared selves. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167299025007002
Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.3.392
Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). Reaping the benefits of pursuing self-esteem without the costs? Reply to Schmuck and Sheldon (2004), Sheldon et al. (2004), Pyszczynski et al. (2004), and Kernis (2004). https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.430
Crocker, J., Karpinski, A., Quinn, D. M., & Chase, S. K. (2003). When grades determine self-worth: Consequences of contingent self-worth for male and female engineering and psychology majors. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.507
Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. T. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.108.3.593
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Avoiding death or engaging life as accounts of meaning and culture: Comment on Pyszczynski et al. (2004). https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.473
Freudenberger, H. J. (1974). Staff burn-out. Journal of Social Issues, 30(1), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1974.tb00706.x
Harari, D., Swider, B. W., Bujold Steed, L., & Breidenthal, A. P. (2018). Is perfect good? A meta-analysis of perfectionism in the workplace. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000324
Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.3.456
Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.319
Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2005). Positive adjustment to threatening events: An organismic valuing theory of growth through adversity. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.3.262
Kernis, M. H. (2005). Measuring self-esteem in context: The importance of stability of self-esteem in psychological functioning. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00359.x
Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Ellis, B. J. (2001). An evolutionary-psychological approach to self-esteem: Multiple domains and multiple functions. In G. J. O. Fletcher & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Interpersonal processes (pp. 411–436). Blackwell.
Leary, M. R. (2000). Sociometer theory and the pursuit of relational value: Getting to the root of self-esteem. https://doi.org/10.1080/14792772043000045
Maslach, C. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205
Park, L. E., & Crocker, J. (2005). Attachment styles and contingencies of self-worth. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205277030
Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Arndt, J., & Schimel, J. (2004). Why do people need self-esteem? https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.435
Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Maslach, C. (2009). Burnout: 35 years of research and practice. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430910966406
Lynn Twist's Book: The Soul of Money

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Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at [email protected]. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Find more mental health resources here.

Episode Transcript

[00:00:05] Aimee Prasek, PhD: Hey, everyone. It's Aimee. Welcome back to Joy Lab. Our Element of Enoughness has wrapped up, and we've got our new Element of Letting Go starting tomorrow. It's gonna be really great. We are gonna be working on letting go of unhelpful thoughts and rumination, letting go of these stories that we tell ourselves that might be holding us back, letting go of this myth, that we need closure to move on, and letting go of control.

Ooh. So that all starts tomorrow,um, but today, I wanted to share some really exciting updates with you. First, you've probably noticed that there aren't any ads here at Joy Lab, and that is very, very purposeful. We don't think that taking you out of the resilience and joy-building work that we're doing together to break for an ad for some face lotion is helpful.

In fact, it can reduce the benefits, that you get because it takes you out of the flow and focus of what we get into, and sometimes ads just make us feel kinda crappy about ourselves, which is their marketing strategy, by the way. And so we refuse to do that, and that will never change. And we probably don't say it enough 'cause we're so excited to dive into the episodes, but Joy Lab is powered by Pathways North, a nonprofit fully focused on increasing access to more empowering mental health tools.

It's why Joy Lab exists. Of course, that means that we need your help to keep Joy Lab ad-free and just alive in general. Obviously, the work we do isn't free. To make our team works super hard behind the mic, crafting these episodes, Experiments, the additional resources to support you. So here's how you can support and join in this resilience-building mission with us.

First, you can join in for the Joy Lab Experiments. Maybe you noticed if you're on Apple that you can now subscribe to get those Experiments. They are the hands-on practices that pair with each episode, uh, and they'll drop right in your podcast feed now for only $4.99 a month, I might add. Cheaper if you join us for the year, and you can trial it for one week free.

So do give it a try because when you pair an episode with an Experiment week after week, that's a really powerful recipe for your resilience. It's the consistent, sustainable, empowering approach that works. And if you want to support us even more and get some extra resources and features beyond the experiments, then we have Joy Lab+, which used to be called the Joy Lab Program.

We're making some updates. Those will be ready for you in just a few weeks. We will update you here and through the newsletter if you wanna join in for that. Those of you who are already members of the Program, you don't have to do a thing. Nothing will change. Don't worry.

One more update. We are also opening up something brand new for those who care about mental health and wanna join us as a growth or mission partner.

So if you're part of an organization, a company, or foundation, or if you're just a person who wants to make a big difference in mental health and help fund this innovative work, then be sure to join our newsletter over at JoyLab.coach so that you're in the loop. Or contact us through the website if you wanna chat more.

We have a limited number of these partnership spots, so do stay tuned. This is a really... I'm very excited about this. Uh, and just to be clear, we will shout out and show gratitude to our partners, on the pod when these launch, but these will not be advertisements that distract us from why we are here. I guarantee it.

Which lines up with the most important thing, I hope you know how grateful we all are at Joy Lab that you take time out of your busy schedule to listen every week, to share the pod with others, and for sticking with this work, these practices to boost your resilience and your joy, that work matters. Your joy matters. The effort that you make to care for yourself in those ways absolutely spreads. Your effort ripples out. So you're part of this mission, too. You're spreading resilience and joy every time you practice it, so thank you. Again, your efforts absolutely matter. You matter.

So again, thank you for being here with us.

I am really excited to work on this next Element of Letting Go and all the Elements that we'll dive into in the future.

[00:05:12] Thanks for joining us!: Thank you for listening to the Joy Lab podcast. If you enjoy today's show, visit JoyLab.coach to learn more about the full Joy Lab program. Be sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Please see our terms for more information.

288. A Mental Health Podcast With No Ads? Why We Refuse Ads & How Joy Lab Keeps Going

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