Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.

I've written elsewhere that one technique I use is to set myself tiny goals for the hour/morning/day. Something like "Brush my teeth", even.

As for finding joy, performing a gratitude assessment can help me a lot. Even in my worst moments, when pain, isolation, loneliness, and inertia overwhelm me, I think of what I'm grateful for. It doesn't always seem like it, but there's joy in some very simple things.

Plus, I try to create some joy for someone else. A kind word or an encouraging email to someone can lift them a little, and that can cause a ripple effect.

It's hard, I know. Since having a stroke, I have been in constant pain. It wears me out. I don't get out much, but I would love to have someplace to go. When I do get out, people look at me like I have three heads or something. That gets old.

I take it a day, an hour, at a time. It's been five years, nine months, and eight days since I had a stroke. I'm hanging in there.

I hope you will, too.