{"id":10554,"date":"2026-07-29T13:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/why-is-it-so-hard-to-enjoy-ourselves-when-joy-needs-permission\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T10:20:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T07:20:37","slug":"why-is-it-so-hard-to-enjoy-ourselves-when-joy-needs-permission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/why-is-it-so-hard-to-enjoy-ourselves-when-joy-needs-permission\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is It So Hard to Enjoy Ourselves? When Joy Needs Permission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group psychology-article-intro has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f7f3ed\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Struggling to enjoy ourselves is not always about an absence of joy. Sometimes, it is the guilt that appears the moment we slow down. In a culture that so often ties our worth to productivity, rest, spontaneity, and pleasure can begin to feel irresponsible or even like a waste of time. Family expectations and internalised voices can add another layer, constantly reminding us of what we \u201cshould\u201d be doing. Self-care starts to feel selfish, while familiar roles and responsibilities leave little room for desire, playfulness, or freedom.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">New and spontaneous experiences can interrupt the routines that keep us on autopilot and remind us that we exist beyond our responsibilities and our need to stay in control. This does not require dramatic changes, but small shifts away from \u201cI should\u201d and towards \u201cI could\u201d\u2014making room for experiences that leave us calmer, fuller, and more alive. Emotional wellbeing is not built through discipline alone. It also grows when we allow ourselves to rest, experience joy, and enjoy being alive without feeling that we need to justify it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"wp-container-content-9cfa9a5a wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The full article was originally published on the Psychology Portal \u2013 Psychology.gr.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.psychology.gr\/selfhelp\/9273-giati-dyskolevomaste-na-apolaysoume.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read the full article<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n    <section class=\"anna-related-services-block\">\n        <h3 class=\"anna-related-services-block__title\">Related services<\/h3>\n\n                    <p class=\"anna-related-services-block__intro\">You can read more about related services:<\/p>\n        \n        <div class=\"anna-related-services-block__buttons\">\n                            \n                <a class=\"anna-related-services-block__button\" href=\"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/services\/individual-therapy\/\">\n                    Individual Therapy                <\/a>\n                            \n                <a class=\"anna-related-services-block__button\" href=\"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/services\/group-therapy\/\">\n                    Group Therapy                <\/a>\n                            \n                <a class=\"anna-related-services-block__button\" href=\"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/services\/greeks-living-abroad-and-migration\/\">\n                    Greeks Living Abroad and Migration                <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n    \n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Struggling to enjoy ourselves is not always about an absence of joy. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[301,309,310],"tags":[339,506,353,375,471,427,342,523],"class_list":["post-10554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-self-awareness-and-personal-development","category-psychology-at-work","category-psychology-of-everyday-life","tag-enjoyment","tag-guilt","tag-parental-guilt","tag-positive-psychology","tag-productivity","tag-psychological-flexibility","tag-self-care","tag-spontaneity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10554"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10555,"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10554\/revisions\/10555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annakarakerezi.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}