Lack of hope is a poison that gradually erases dreams, motivations and energies, is a layer of permanent disappointment.
It is this feeling that makes us breathe bitterness until we fall into a very dangerous psychological trap, because over time these conditions leave us very vulnerable to depression and other disorders at a high emotional cost.
- In daily clinical practice.
- We know that most psychological conditions have established interventions that can help people.
For example, we know what therapy and strategies to offer a patient with an anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, etc.
However, there are other realities that, however curious they may seem, are very difficult for any professional.
Are we talking about situations where someone claims to have lost their sense of life, someone who feels trapped in despair, someone who suffers emotionally without really knowing why?
These conditions do not always appear in the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Many patients have not yet crossed this line from which there is a clinical condition.
However, they are in the abyss, on the edge of this precipice, a time when rapid intervention is necessary so that they do not fall, so that they can act on time.
Because if there is one thing most of us know, is despair a dangerous and irrational belief that makes us think that everything, absolutely everything, is lost?
“Lack of hope is based on what we know, which is nothing. And hope rests on what we don’t know, which is it?-Maurice Maeterlinck-
Let’s look at the image above for a while. It is a work by pre-Argentine painter Evelyn De Morgan, titled Hope in the Prison of Despair.
There is a dark dungeon in which there is a hunched woman who hides her face, is in front of a window, but does not want to come close to seeing the sunlight, that figure is despair.
Behind her is a young man who holds a source of light: it is hope that tries to enlighten the woman, comfort her, bring her optimism, courage and inner strength.
In this work, the painter wanted to represent this inspiring being that we must all invoke to get out of the personal prison in which we often place our disappointments, our wounds, our frustrations and our voids.
The word hope comes from the French term “hope” and means encouragement. Therefore, the lack of hope would symbolize not only shortness of breath, but also the absence of the “spirit” or the loss of gasoline that makes us human.
Beyond this symbolic meaning is undoubtedly the objective reality that arises from this feeling. The lack of hope, far from having a single explanation, actually has a complex network of very important internal dynamics and processes.
This makes it very difficult for a person to answer why they feel desperate.
One aspect that we cannot ignore when we experience all these symptoms is that, if these psychological and behavioral dynamics are persistent, we will open the door to an obvious depressive process.
Despair often appears and disappears. He is an uncomfortable tenant who visits us at times, but who tends to gradually disappear when we change perspective or put into practice new habits.
Some studies, such as that conducted by the University of Twente in the Netherlands, state that lack of hope is often linked to our personality style.
There are profiles with a greater tendency to pessimism and vulnerability, however, this does not mean that they are forced to suffer one depression after another.
We all have the opportunity (and obligation) to use the right personal resources to deal with despair. Here are some tips for thinking:
Finally, when we find ourselves in this prison of despair symbolized in Evelyn De Morgan’s painting, the most important thing is to generate alternatives, open new doors, move in new airs.
However, it is clear that it is not always possible to leave these psychological pain booths alone.
Therapies like cognitive behavioral therapies can help us in these cases, so you should not hesitate to seek professional help if necessary.