Every Friday on The Verywell Mind Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Amy Morin, LCSW, shares the “Friday Fix”—a short episode featuring a quick, actionable tip or exercise to help you manage a specific mental health issue or concern.

Friday Fix: Episode 233

At first glance, you might wonder why someone would be afraid to be happy. But if you think about it a little longer, you might recognize a few times when you experienced an aversion to happiness.

Perhaps you won an award and felt so much pressure to live up to the achievement that you were afraid to let yourself enjoy success.

An aversion to happiness can take a toll on your well-being and life.

Or maybe something really good happened, and you were so afraid that those happy feelings wouldn’t last that you didn’t let yourself feel happy for even a minute because you were afraid that things would come crashing down. 

You might have also found yourself in a tough spot in life. For example, maybe you were grieving the loss of a loved one, or you were facing some hard economic times, and you felt guilty laughing or having fun.

On this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast, I share what the research says about why people are afraid of being happy, the consequences it can have on your life, and what you can do about it.

Those are just a few reasons why it’s hard to allow ourselves to be happy sometimes. But just like it’s harmful to avoid an uncomfortable emotion like anxiety, an aversion to happiness can also take a toll on your well-being and life.

More About the Podcast

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If You Liked This Episode, You Might Also Like These Episodes:

Links and Resources

  • Follow Amy Morin on Instagram

  • Check out Amy’s books on mental strength

  • Friday Fix: How to Stop Sabotaging Yourself

  • How to Be Sad With Bestselling Author Helen Russell

  • Friday Fix: The Difference Between Acting Tough and Being Strong