The Power of Hope in Mental Health

Hope is a courageous tool that is already within you. It can be difficult to have setbacks in life from depression, anxiety, generational trauma, or substance use.

When you didn’t get the support that you needed growing up or throughout your childhood, it can be even more challenging to believe in the power of hope.

However, hope can positively impact your mental health.

When you build new templates for yourself by taking a safe risk with something new and developing new habits that don’t feel as familiar, you are tapping into the tool of hope.

It can be lifesaving to know that hope exists.

Carol Graham, economist and author of The Power of Hope: How the Power of Well-Being Can Save Us From Despair, argues that without hope, despair can lead to premature mortality.

In a time when it can be more difficult to have hope with joblessness, inequality, and access to resources, it is more important than ever to use the tool of hope to offset the implications of hopelessness.

The desperate feeling of despair can lead to suicidal ideations and even life completion when there isn’t support and the power of hope on the other side.

Sometimes, you may have to take a chance on a reality that hasn’t happened yet. The daily actions you take each day can lead you to a life that you didn’t know was possible.

If you are starting from despair, there are still ways to help tap into the hope within your life.

Ways to Connect with Hope

1. Seek support from professional resources.

When you are in the depths of despair, it can feel impossible to keep going alone. You are not alone.

There is help available, and there are people who care about you even if they don’t know you yet.

A trauma-informed therapist will allow you to share your experiences and explore reason for despair, lack of hope, depression and other struggles.

They can help you understand your reactions to life experiences, relationships and why things might feel hopeless.

When you learn to understand your reasons, feel understood and validated, often that leads to more insights and connection with your self and what you know you need for you.

A therapist can support you as you make steps in your life that align with your true needs, separate and congruent with others’ needs as well.

Connect with people who can help within Denver and beyond. There are resources available, and if Denver Metro Counseling is not the right fit for you, there are other possibilities available.

2. Attend a recovery meeting or support group. 

Identify the most debilitating habits or feelings you have in your life and seek support to navigate those feelings or reactions to events in your life or supports to help develop new habits.

Support groups can be free or at a cost and are available for those who want the support of a group as they move through grief, trauma, domestic violence, divorce, anxiety and depression.

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Groups are also available for accountability, skill development and making friends and new connections.

Recovery groups are free and available to everyone. Whether you identify as needing support with substance use, loving someone who needs support with substance use, or grew up in a household that was dysfunctional; there is a group for you.

Tap into resources to find hope again. Denver has a wealth of recovery and other groups available to you.

3. Keep going. 

There might be days that feel impossible. That is okay. Believe in the possibility that there are better days to come.

There is evidence that this can help you to solve the biggest problems in your life.

This is not to minimize problems that may be occurring but only to confirm that hope is a tool that can be used anytime.

Ways To Increase Hope

While you may not be able to change your circumstance, you can find hope in other areas of your life that can help support your circumstance.

Hope is available to everyone, and there are ways to increase it.

1. Focus on your goals. 

By setting and achieving your goals, you are increasing self-discipline, which can lead to emotional regulation. You may be able to see that positive outcomes do exist once you achieve a goal in your life, even if it feels small to you at the time.

2. Stay in the present moment. 

You will not be able to control what goes on around you, but you can control how you respond. By staying in the present moment, you can identify what you can control in your life.

Read More: “When Being Positive Can Be Harmful: Common Missteps That Lead To Further Suffering”

This can improve mental health and promote healthy relationships in your life.

You may find the friendships and relationships grow as you stay curious as to how you show up rather than worrying about how other people do.

3. Surround yourself with people who are hopeful.

It can be counterproductive to spend time with people who are not helpful or hopeful in your life.

This may mean that you need to set a boundary or think about what you truly value.

Extreme thinking can be detrimental, so think about whether toxic positivity is present and consider how you feel when you are around the people in your life.

Hope not only is helpful in your life but also it can be life changing.

When you allow yourself to feel the power of hope, you may be surprised at the outcomes.

Hope is not magic, but it is a tool that can be used when you feel despair, lack of motivation, or the impact of your surroundings.

It can lead to peace and optimism even if you have had a life full of adversity.

If you feel hopeless, Denver therapists are available to help. You don’t have to build hope by yourself.

At Denver Metro Counseling, we have therapists who specialize in depression, anxiety, and take a trauma-informed approach to therapy. We work with teens, adults, and families. You are worth the effort.

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Written by: Randi Thackeray, MA
Clinically Reviewed and Edited by: Julie Reichenberger, MA, LPC, ACS