When Was the Last Time You Felt Joy?

23 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In this conversational segment, Dr. Betty Murray reflects on a personal turning point that revealed how long she had gone without genuine laughter. She describes a "starter marriage" that had become dysfunctional, and how a friend took her to see the film Liar Liar starring Jim Carrey. While watching, she began to laugh, and tears streamed down her face—not from the humor alone, but from the realization that she had not truly belly‑laughed in a very long time. This anecdote serves as a springboard for discussing a clinical practice: asking patients when they last felt real joy or experienced a hearty laugh, using that question as a simple yet powerful gauge of emotional well‑being.

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You know, it made me think of something. So I had a starter marriage, you know, one of those where you're like, I probably should have just lived with him. But the reality is, is the day that I realized how kind of dysfunctional our relationship had gotten, my friend drug me to the movie and it was Liar Liar. Oh. You know, and it was Jim Carrey. And I sat in that movie and I started laughing. Then my friend looks over at me and tears are rolling down my face. And it wasn't because I was laughing so hard. It was because I just realized for the first time That I hadn't laughed in as long as I could remember, right? And so, like, you're really talking to this thing that we do to ourselves where it's like, when was the last time you belly laughed?
Yeah.
When was the last time you were just like, oh my gosh?
When was the last time you felt joy? And I think we need to ask our patients that more often. Like, when was the last time you felt joy, or what brings you joy?