Do you ask yourself, “What’s the point of everything?”
If yes, you might be stuck in the cycle of feeling hopeless.
Hopelessness is an emotion that shows a lack of hope in a person’s life. This can create a low mood, affecting a person’s perception. This can be categorized as a lack of optimism, hope, and negativity. Often a person feeling hopeless thinks the circumstance can never change for the better.
People suffering from various mental health issues, like anxiety and depression, might feel hopeless in their life. Therefore, working on it is necessary for everyone.
By the end of the article, you will know how hopelessness affects us and our mental health and how you can overcome it.
Types of hopelessness
To understand hopelessness, we need to identify the factors that induce different types of hopelessness.
As per, Scioli and Biller, there are nine types, various factors that induce the feeling of hopelessness in us, and these types of hopelessness can be distinguished into nine types which include-
- alienation,
- forsakenness,
- lack of inspiration,
- powerlessness,
- oppression,
- limitedness,
- doom,
- captivity, and
- helplessness.
How does feeling hopeless affects us?
Mental health awareness is compulsory for all and knowing how it affects us is essential. Hopelessness not just affects us mentally but also physically and socially. It majorly causes some behavioral changes in us, such as:
- sleep deprivation,
- suicidal thoughts,
- increased anxiousness,
- substance abuse,
- social isolation,
- self-harm,
- extreme mood swings, etc.
If we don’t deal with this feeling of hopelessness, it could later become problematic for us. It could make us physically weaker due to constant stress and, at the same time, degrade our mental health. Therefore, knowing how to overcome it is essential.
9 ways to deal with hopelessness
Hopelessness can degrade our lifestyle and mental health, so it is high time to have a basic idea of overcoming the hopelessness in us. Here are some ways that might help you in the process of obtaining a better perspective in life:
1. Avoid ruminating!
The term rumination refers to the habit of overthinking something repeatedly. It originated from the Latin word rumination, which refers to chewing cud in which cows chew, regurgitate, and then consume their feed frequently.
Using the same analogy, ruminating over negative thoughts and events takes a toll on your mental health. It makes your eyes blind toward the ray of light that life provides. Filling your mind with unfortunate and negative events will only aggravate the feeling of hopelessness.
One easy and effective quick fix is distracting yourself from your negative thoughts by indulging in something different and keeping yourself busy. This simple act might help your mind free from ruminating about negative beliefs and replace them with more positive reviews and thereby decreasing the feeling of hopelessness in life.
2. Spend time with your loved ones!
Another great way how to cope with hopelessness is to spend more time with your loved ones.
Often, while feeling hopeless, we tend to withdraw from those around us. It might induce the risk of depression, mental stress, and anxiety. Spending more time with the ones you love helps improve your mood and decrease the negative thoughts in your head.
Start taking time from your busy schedule and meet with your partner, friends, or family. Make sure you surround yourself with those who bring positivity to your life instead of people who might negatively affect your life.
3. Start exercising!
Exercise might seem like a lot of work only if you think about it. But on the contrary, once you are habituated, it doesn’t seem that hard to do.
As per The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), performing basic exercises such as cardio and strength training just for 150 minutes per week can act as a mental health development activity and give you a positive outlook toward life.
Start by just walking around your house or workplace for a few minutes and work your way up. This won’t just help you when you‘ve lost hope but also improves your physical health.
4. Start meditating!
As per the American Psychological Association, meditation helps reduce several mental health issues, including depression and anxiety.
Mindful meditation helps us be more focused on the present and leave the past behind. It helps you accept life’s hardships and failures and control your emotions in the face of adversity. Meditation helps you bring more positive energy by making you feel more motivated in life and diminishing the feeling of hopelessness in you.
There are various meditation techniques, such as guided meditation and others, that you give a chance. Try spending just 5 to 10 minutes on meditation. You can also try meditation in combination with yoga.
5. Understand your emotions!
Mental health awareness is essential, starting with understanding the type of emotions you feel. Knowing the root cause of your feelings can help you stop feeling hopeless in life.
To take action for your betterment, first identify how you feel. Ask yourself what you feel and need to improve; it might be some self-care that you need or a change of scenario in your life. Learn to accept your emotions and understand them, which can help you be happier.
6. Engage with CBT!
Cognitive Behavior Therapy, a form of behavioral therapy, is one of the mental therapist’s most advised therapy techniques.
This method helps you transform your negative thoughts and provide a coping mechanism to deal with them. You are empowered to make a change when you can control your thought patterns. Changing your negative thought process can help you shake off feeling hopeless in life and encourage you to lead a better and happy life.
7. Anchor yourself to the present!
Being anchored to the present helps you see the brighter parts of life. This can help you fight off the feeling of hopelessness and make you more optimistic in life.
Always remember to finish the troubles of your presence in the present itself. It helps instill mental health awareness in you. Paying attention to the present only and not overthinking about your past can help you sort out your thoughts and make more space for new positive thoughts.
8. Argue the alternative!
When you start feeling hopeless, it is time to talk to yourself. Remember to question yourself, “Why do I feel hopeless in life,” and isn’t there any positive aspect to it?
You might be stuck in the cycle of hopelessness for various reasons like overthinking and arguing with yourself; weighing out the pros and cons regarding a situation might help you figure out more positive aspects than you ever did.
Take some time and reflect on your day and when you start feeling hopeless, start the talk you need to have with yourself.
9. Remember: Things will get better with time!
When you are feeling hopeless in life, it builds in your head that things won’t get better in life, and this feeling of hopelessness might last for eternity.
But remember that there is light at the end of every tunnel!
Assure yourself that things will get better with time; there are many ways you can overcome this feeling of hopelessness in life; all you need is to be patient and trust the process. Talk to a therapist to figure out your feelings and help you lead a better life with good mental health. All good things take time, steer clear of negative thoughts, and don’t rush through your healing process.
CONCLUSION
As we have reached the end of the article, you must have a basic idea of how you can stop feeling hopeless in life. In the end, it is all about the right mindset. Practicing these methods can help you eliminate this feeling and focus more on the better end of life.
All good things take time! Hopelessness might not seem like a big deal at first, but it might affect our mental health if we don’t work on it.
Working on our mental health is essential. Here are various mental health development activities that can help you through the process.
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