Feeling hopeless can leave you feeling debilitated. There are many reasons why you may be feeling this way (e.g. grief, unhappiness at work, health issues) but regardless of why you’re suffering from hopelessness, the symptoms will still look the same. You’ll feel alone, sad, stuck, unable to function, tearful, and may even find yourself shutting down. When you’re dealing with these feelings it can affect your personal and professional life along with your ability to complete the tasks involved with daily living. Fortunately, depression isn’t a permanent state. There are ways you can overcome it.
Understanding Hopelessness
At its core feeling hopeless means you feel or believe that a difficult situation isn’t going to improve. One reason for this is you’ve repeatedly seen negative situations that don’t improve.
Talk to Someone About how You’re Feeling
Talking to your friends and family about feeling hopeless can be challenging, especially if you’re struggling to verbalize your thoughts of hopelessness. However, therapists agree that you should still try to do so because these people are usually very helpful when it comes to dealing with depression.
Get Involved
Some many different circumstances and situations can bring on feelings of hopelessness. Therefore it’s important for you to realize what you can and can’t do. Usually, depression won’t just go away on its own. You’ll need peer ad professional help. You may also want to join a group to reignite your passion and spur new friendships.
Volunteering is another great way to make friends and not feel so alone. You’ll also feel like you matter when you show your community that you care.
Of course, some feelings of hopelessness are more complex than others. For instance, if you’re feeling hopeless because of a situation (e.g. because of work) you’re in, this can be much more challenging to rectify. When this happens, you may need to change the circumstances (e.g., find a new job).
Set Small, Tangible Goals
Instead of trying to conquer everything all at once, your focus should be on setting small, reasonable goals. Not only should you break these goals down into small doable chunks, but you should also be a bit flexible. Doing so will help create progress so you’re not left feeling hopeless. It’ll also add to your confidence, which will help decrease your feelings of depression.
Practice Empathy and Self-Care
Every little thing that you’re able to do for yourself (e.g. take a shower, soak in a bubble bath) will help ease your intense, progressive thoughts of hopelessness. There are many great ways in which you can practice self-care including giving yourself a facial and taking the time to go for a walk in nature so that you can pause to appreciate the beauty that’s surrounding you.
Many therapists will also recommend that you try meditation when you’re experiencing feelings of depression. Others will tell you that you should start a gratitude journal in which you pause at the end of each day to write down three things that you’re grateful for.
Additionally, you should make sure that you’re getting enough rest. Even though your mind may be spiraling with negative thoughts, you’ll find that a good night’s sleep will go a long way.
Seek Professional Help
If you’re feeling hopeless or suffering from depression you may want to seek professional help. A therapist will be able to imbue hope into your life simply by believing in you when you can’t believe in yourself. They can also help determine if there may be something biological taking place. If you need help in this area and live in St Petersburg, FL, contact the TMS Advantage today.
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