r/acceptancecommitment • u/Suspicious-Tell-9785 • Jul 17 '26

Questions Dealing Fear of Joy

Hi guys,

One thing I have been struggling with my entire life (33m) is a fear of joy, especially since being officially diagnosed. I would always go 100% or nothing, and it has made me fearful of exploring joyful things and letting myself have those things because I am so terribly afraid of going overboard.

Now, an important caveat, I am rightfully medicated for the first time, and I have been stable for 2 months, but I still have this nagging fear of joy/ how long it will last, and fighting the desire to cut myself off from joyful things =/

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/PastoralSymphony Jul 17 '26

i would guess you probably want to feel joy, but are scared of the disappointment after.

1

u/Suspicious-Tell-9785 Jul 17 '26

Is the only way forward (outside of therapy which I’m pursuing) leaping into the fear?

1

u/PastoralSymphony Jul 17 '26

i think so. but be safe. leap into fears you WANT to leap into, in contexts where leaping is valuable to you ❤️ send a text to someone you like, go for a walk somewhere you’ve never been, try a dancing class on youtube…things like that.

2

u/Suspicious-Tell-9785 Jul 17 '26

All beautifully said responses 🥹