Feeling hopeless is not a good place to be--and never a good place to stay. So, what do you do if you feel hopeless? My prior post looks at how a patient might rewrite a hope-sapping conversation. Now let’s look at questions you can ask yourself in your quest to find hope.
What are you feeling hopeless about? Your answer guides you to a specific issue to address, instead of grappling with a free-floating unpleasant feeling of hopelessness. Are you feeling hopeless about being cured? About your energy level improving? About enjoying sexual intimacy again?
Is that hope a realistic hope? You need to know if the desired outcome is possible—no matter how unlikely and no matter how little hope you feel. You may need expert input to determine the answer.
What do you believe about the outcome you’re feeling hopeless about? Questioning your beliefs about recovery—and about life—may lead you to new information that leads you to new, hope-generating beliefs. Let’s imagine you finished treatment three months ago and believe residual fatigue stops improving after three months. That mistaken belief makes it difficult to feel hopeful of further improvement. Obtaining accurate information may be the key to finding healing hope, which is why it’s good to question your beliefs—including long-held beliefs.
There’s always something good to hope for. As a Healthy Survivor, find clinicians who will work with you to help you find healing hope. Your efforts today can help you find hope for tomorrow.
If There Is Hope, We Have Reason to Hope Illustration by Emma Mathes
Healing Hope, p. 46
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