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Fostering hope in a crisis

23 Jul 2022

  By Sakuni Weerasinghe   Just in the last two years, we’ve been through a global pandemic and seen rising inflation rates unlike ever before. Most of us dread waking up the next day to carry on with our lives as usual, because nothing seems to be ‘as usual’. No petrol, no gas, no electricity, no medicine; these are just a few things we hear on a daily basis. For many, this justifies the dread experienced. The uncertainty looming like a dark cloud above our heads justifies the absence of hope for the future. In fact, anyone who dares utter: “Let’s think positive and hope for the best,” is met with anger and branded a wishful thinker, or just really rich to seem so unaffected. This unfortunately has given the term ‘hope’ a bad reputation. What you may not know though, is that hope remains a valuable psychological tool that we can use to weather tough times.   What is hope? Psychologist Charles Snyder and his colleagues identified that hope consisted of beliefs that a person has the means of achieving goals and the agency to access those means. To simplify what this means is that a person would have a set of goals or positive outcomes in the future they believe they have the capacity or motivation to reach. This capacity not only refers to internal sources such as one’s own will and motivation but also could extend to external sources such as social support. Owing to the positive emotion hope generates but also requires, optimism has always been closely linked to the experience of hope. Collectively, the experience of hope and optimism is what brings about a positive outlook on life in the face of adversity. So no, being hopeful is not being dismissive of the hardships we are facing right now. It simply means that through it all, we are able to look into opportunities and possibilities that await us in the future.    Why is hope important? One of the main markers of depression is a persistent sense of hopelessness. There is plenty of research to point out the deterioration of our mental and physical health in the absence of hope. Just think about the distress we feel when it seems as if there’s nothing to look forward to. We are more prone to illness, and we are more likely to have negative experiences of social isolation, or experience difficulties having pleasant emotions doing things we used to enjoy. The experience of hope is often associated with happiness, positive coping, high self-esteem, and improved quality of life. Do we really need more reasons to foster hope?   How do we foster hope in a crisis?   Modify our goals – While the present circumstances can put restraints on the goals you had set for yourself previously, you can always modify them to ensure they are more realistic and achievable given this ‘new normal’. For example, if you had planned to start your Master’s degree right after your undergraduate degree, perhaps consider taking a year to gain experience or consider reading for a post-graduate diploma prior to the Master’s programme. Your goals should encompass both long-term and short-term goals. If envisioning long-term goals is a struggle right now, consider establishing your short-term goals instead. After all, it is what you do each day that ultimately leads to the fulfilment of your long-term goals. Share hope – As stated before, the experience of hope stems from both internal sources as well as external. Relying on your social network will ensure you feel supported in reaching your goals. This is one way to experience hope. When you share hope, you may find yourself supporting others’ dreams which will only make you more hopeful. You may be even able to contribute to the community that shares the same hopes for it or the country at large, much like you.   Review your beliefs – Often enough a sense of hopelessness is cultivated by framing the ‘what if’ questions your mind poses with the worst-case scenarios. Challenge yourself to frame these questions with a sense of neutrality or positivity (when applicable). What if there will be a resolution for what we’re enduring? What if things go right? You may notice that this slight shift will allow the seeds of hope to sprout.    Realise your strengths – As Snyder pointed out, not only do we have to have ways of achieving future outcomes, but we ought to recognise our strengths and how we may utilise them to access these ways. This is also to know that when we resort to the fight, flight, or freeze response in the face of a stressor, leading us to catastrophize, we may consider our current reality to be permanent. So, tap into your strengths of reconnecting your rational and emotional minds, and review instances in the past when you’ve persevered in the face of difficulty. This will bring into light what you can and cannot control, leading you to experience hope for the future.   PHOTOS © FACEBOOK, MEDIUM.COM, VERYWELLMIND.COM, JEDFOUNDATION.ORG  


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