by Joy E. Davis, LCSW | Founder, JoyFULL Therapy, LLC |Co-Founder of Resilient Workplace Innovations, LLC.
Most couples don’t fall apart because of one big betrayal. They drift apart slowly. Quietly.
It starts with stress. Careers. Kids. Bills. Health. The endless to-do list. Suddenly, the laughter fades. Date nights get replaced by silent scrolling. Conversations become logistical check-ins. Intimacy feels like a routine—or disappears altogether.
And beneath all of it? Play dies.
Why the Death of Play Matters
As a therapist for high-achieving couples, I see this every day: two people who love each other deeply— but have forgotten how to enjoy each other. They’re smart. Driven. Faithful. They’re also tired. Serious. Completely Overwhelmed to the point their checklists have checklists. Somewhere along the way, the pressure to “get life right” squeezed out the joy. But here’s what we forget: Play isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline to belonging and connection.
We Were Created for Connection
Let’s not forget what COVID taught us: Isolation hurts!!!
Even for high-achievers who are used to managing, leading, and keeping it together—being disconnected, unseen, or emotionally alone takes a toll. We weren’t made to live in emotional silos. We were created for belonging. For laughter that echoes in safe spaces. For being held—emotionally and spiritually—when life feels too heavy. At JoyFULL Therapy, I hold space for couples and individuals who are craving not just “fixes,” but real, life-giving connection. Because healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in the safety of community, in shared vulnerability, and in the gentle re-learning of what it means to be loved, known, and accepted—just as you are.
Play Rewires Connection
When couples laugh, share joy, or simply have fun together, their brains release oxytocin (the bonding hormone) and lower cortisol (the stress hormone). Emotionally, it creates a rhythm that says: “We’re safe. We’re us. And we still like each other.”
Play doesn’t have to be loud or silly. It can be:
· Shared hobbies (even if you’re bad at them)
· Inside jokes
· Light teasing
· Slow dancing in the kitchen
· Spontaneous, no-purpose moments of joy
· Tickle fights
· Pillow fights
· Food fights
· Chase around the house
· Competitive Sports
Why High-Achieving Couples Are Especially at Risk
The more driven we are, the more we try to “optimize” love. We turn connection into a checklist. We “KPI” the relationship. And we forget—you can’t schedule joy like a meeting.
When we only focus on what’s wrong, we miss what made us fall in love to begin with: Curiosity. Laughter. Shared delight.
How to Bring Joy Back Into Your Relationship
If you’re feeling distant from your partner, try this:
✅ Ask: When was the last time we had fun together?
✅ Schedule time without chores, tasks, or goals or serious conversations
✅ Try something new—bad karaoke, hiking, dancing, cooking, puzzles—with no pressure to perform
✅ Be willing to be vulnerable, goofy, lighthearted again
Because the opposite of disconnection isn’t just better communication. It’s shared joy.
Let’s Make Love Light Again
At JoyFULL Therapy, I don’t just help couples resolve conflict—I help them reconnect. That includes learning to rest, to play, to laugh, and to feel like partners in joy again.
Because love isn’t just about doing the work. It’s also about dancing barefoot in the kitchen. Laughing until your stomach hurts. Looking across the room and remembering: “Oh yeah. I really like you.”
A Little About JoyFULL Therapy
Hi, I’m Joy E. Davis, LCSW, and I specialize in walking with high-achieving women and couples who are tired of pretending everything’s okay on the outside, while silently breaking on the inside.
Whether you’re navigating burnout, emotional disconnection, anxiety, or a painful life shift like divorce—I offer trauma-informed, faith-rooted therapy that’s honest, safe, and deeply restorative.
🧠 Neuroscience-informed trauma care
💞 Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples
✝️ Faith-integrated, judgment-free care when desired
At JoyFULL Therapy, you don’t have to perform strength. You are welcome exactly as you are. If you would like to schedule a free 20 minute consult please use this link to do so.
Want to explore more on healing, secure love, and identity? Tune into the JoyFULL Woman Podcast—a faith-meets-therapy space for real talk and deep healing. 🎧 Listen on your favorite platform or here .