A Real Dose of Hope When You’re Feeling Hopeless
You’re trying to find a job, and after way too many interviews, you’re still unemployed. You’ve had a string of awful dates, and you’re convinced that you’ll never find your person. You’ve repeatedly asked your spouse to work less or spend less or drink less and after promising to make a change, they still haven’t. You have depression, and nothing seems to be helping. And, so, you feel hopeless. And you assume that this feeling of hopelessness carries with it some significant truth: your circumstances won’t improve, you should just stop trying, you might as well give up. “Clients who are feeling hopeless often view their situation in a polarized, black and white way,” said Chris Boyd, a psychotherapist in Vancouver, Canada. His clients tell him things like, “Nothing I do is making a difference,” “My circumstances will never improve,” “What’s the point of even trying?” “The pain is never going to improve,” “I’m in a dark place and can’t get out,” “I’ll never be happy,” “I’ll
