
The C means you need to examine the consequences that belief is having on your behavior and emotions, particularly how you feel about yourself. The B calls you to look at what negative belief you have about the situation. The A stands for adversity, meaning you have to name the challenge or problem you’re up against. More specifically, you can try something like the ABCDE model often used in cognitive behavioral therapy, Dr.

For instance, as psychologist Todd DuBose wrote for the APA during the height of the pandemic, we are reframing the hopeful refrain “It’s going to be alright” as being more about “No matter what, we are in this together” rather than “Look at the bright side.” If you try to be hopeful and find that it’s just too difficult right now, interrogate and try to reframe those negative thought patterns. Learn to identify and possibly reframe negative thought patterns. Not only will these activities help you keep up your mental well-being, but they’ll also give you small moments to look forward to in the near future, even when things feel out of control and unpredictable. Though they may seem small, these activities are the foundation for building up resilience and hope-even when things are really tough.
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Maybe that’s working out, diving into a creative project, revisiting a favorite TV show, or just getting yourself to plan tasty meals regularly. Whatever is bringing you joy or making you feel better right now, stick with it, Dr. That might start with individual activities or self-care practices but will and should involve participating in genuine, healthy relationships as well.įirst, don’t give up on your usual self-care routine. Try to keep some semblance of a self-care routine.Ĭultivating hope starts with being able to authentically identify how you’re feeling in a particular moment, identifying how you would rather be feeling, and building or drawing on the tools in your life to help you feel that way. Hope is really just a (realistic) expectation that something good will happen-and that you have some control over it. Being hopeful doesn’t have to be about looking for the bright side or deluding ourselves into thinking everything will be just fine, Dr. If you’re someone who finds it difficult or even feels silly trying to be optimistic right now, know that hope doesn’t necessarily mean thinking that everything will always be amazing. And if it’s not authentic, it isn’t very helpful. So for those of us who maybe feel a little silly trying to look for a silver lining in, you know, these Unprecedented Times, trying to be hopeful just doesn’t feel genuine.

But, generally, resilience is something that’s learned-first through our experiences in childhood, potentially, and then later as we go through the inevitable challenges of life, Dr. Some people are just naturally optimistic, even in a situation like this. If it’s really hard to feel hopeful right now, start by just acknowledging that.
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How to be hopeful when things feel hopeless And as you develop some optimism and hope, that might help you persist and manage in the face of the difficulties we all inevitably face. Tedeschi says: “If you have success in managing these situations, you become more optimistic about how you’re going to do in the future,” he explains. “Resilience is a way of coping with adversity and being able to get some knowledge from that adversity,” which might help you improve your coping mechanisms for the future.įrom there, it’s easy to see how hope, optimism, and a generally more positive outlook might develop with resilience. “It has to do with living a fuller life,” Lillian Comas-Diaz, PhD, a psychologist specializing in trauma recovery and multicultural issues, tells SELF. Tedeschi explains.īut resilience isn’t just being able to withstand a difficult situation. In particular, hope helps build resilience, which “is the ability to either recover quickly from events that are challenging, or traumatic, or a crisis or to be relatively unaffected by these events,” Dr. Putting in the work to be hopeful has other psychological benefits too. Being hopeful can help you build resilience.

Figuring out a way to become more hopeful, even-or especially-when life is difficult, is usually a necessary component of treatment. “In both cases, they’re drawing the conclusion that things are out of their control and things aren’t going to work,” Dr. In the case of anxiety, fear is one of the driving factors. In depression, for instance, a persistent feeling of hopelessness is often a defining symptom. And for those with mental illnesses, such as depression or anxiety, cultivating hope and resilience can be key to managing their symptoms, Dr.
