Cultivating Hope
SUE NOBLE, RCC, VITALITY COLLECTIVE
SURRY THERAPIST & REGISTERED CLINICAL COUNSELLOR
I really hope you find this blog helpful 😊.
The questions I would like to address in this blog include: what is hope, how is it helpful, and how do we cultivate it?
What is Hope?
So, let's start with a definition of what hope is and what it isn’t. Hope as a verb is “to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true”. Hope as a noun is, “to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment” (Merriam Webster). Hope is a tendency to see desired goals as possible in addition to believing they are achievable (C.H. Snyder). Hope has two components, to plan for success or a desired outcome, and to act on those plans. Optimism, often associated with hope, is different. It expects positive outcomes, or desired outcomes, without the truth or evidence that a certain outcome is likely. This means optimism looks for the silver lining even though it may not be possible, whereas hope is more evidential or practical. So, if you are hoping for something check and see if it is possible, look for the evidence, and explore the possibilities. This way, I am hopeful you can notice and appreciate your efforts and have successful outcomes.
How is Hope Helpful?
I was reading a study that looked at the correlation between hope and resilience and how that helps us deal with adverse situations, specifically our imposed quarantine due to COVID-19. “Our findings showed that high scores in hope could predict higher levels of psychological resilience and the ability to adapt in the face of adversity”, (L. Dimitriou, M. Drakontaides, D. Hadjicharalambous, 2020). So, how is hope helpful? It helps us with resiliency, a characteristic correlated to hope and thus mental health/wellness.
Other predictors of hope include having physical health and doing activities that provide you with overall health, which can provide you with the ability to bounce back from illness (have resilience). Social factors are also important. Reaching out to family and friends who are supportive, encouraging, and who provide you with realistic motivation are also factors to encourage hope. The saying “go where you are celebrated not tolerated” comes to mind. Hope, a realistic perspective, can offer us an alternative outlook.
Generally, biologically humans were built to watch for danger. This biological development was needed because we had to watch for predators while roaming the plains or jungles – it was a survival mechanism. However, we no longer need this trait to the extent that some use it. Several studies have shown that those whose outlook is more hopeful, are more likely able to deal with adverse situations and thus have improved mental health/wellness. Hence, the importance to cultivate hope 😊.
How to Cultivate Hope
There are five strategies to cultivate hope:
Do something – start with goals.
As I previously mentioned, setting goals, and making a plan is an important part of hope. Make sure they are realistic and attainable. Having agency (your capacity to believe in your outcomes) is important because it allows you to see the stressors, obstacles, and barriers. Being adaptable is also an important component of hope. Hopeful people persist even when prospects may not be so favourable. Research suggests that a belief that one is capable of achieving one’s goals can be as influential, or more so, than the ability to know how to achieve a goal.Harness the power of uncertainty.
This strategy indicates that using uncertainty as a positive instead of a negative is a characteristic of those who tend to be more hopeful than pessimistic. In other words, just because you don’t know the answer to something doesn’t mean the outcome will be negative.Manage your attention.
Hopeful people spend less time on emotionally sad or threatening information (J.S. Mattis, 2021). Our society is inundated with images, messages, and opinions. Those who cultivate hope don’t seem to spend as much time on or avoid negative images and messages. Remember optimism is not hope, so we don’t want to only look at the happy, positive messages and images. We just need to be aware of what we are focusing on and try to move our attention away from the negative images.Seek community, don’t go it alone.
“Hope is hard to sustain in isolation” (J.S. Mattis, 2021). We need support from others who let us know that what we are doing matters; our efforts have an impact and it’s not useless or unnecessary.Look at the evidence.
Mattis (2021) says that hope requires trust. This can be difficult for those with mental health issues. With regard to hope, trust often needs to be evidence-based. Hence, having hope can be challenging for those who have been betrayed or traumatized. There is evidence, for them, that trusting another or a system, may not be safe. For example, if you have been hit by a car while walking across a crosswalk you may not trust drivers to stop. However, there are likely several times you’ve crossed a crosswalk and not been hit. So, this is not always true. This can go back to the strategy of managing your attention. Being present, and attending to current information, says Petterson, can help mitigate distrust in those with mental health issues.
Well, I do hope you have found this helpful. I think cultivating hope is important when attending to our mental health. Know we are programmed to look for danger and realize we need to shift our focus. Not that we need to constantly be optimistic, which can cause its own problems, but to look away from all that is negative and allow ourselves some hope.
RESOURCES
Hope Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
file:///C:/Users/Sue/Downloads/michelle,+SER-618-v2i1-p20-34.pdf
5 strategies for cultivating hope (marinij.com)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259011332030002X