Hopelessness. That terrible, hollow, empty sense that makes you believe there is absolutely nothing that can change your circumstance. Notice I wrote ‘believe.’ Not just ‘makes you feel.’

You may be someone who has already spent an endless amount of brain juice and time hashing and rehashing, searching for a way out of your dilemma. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. And you have come to the conclusion that nothing can make the final results end in your favor.

Fear brought on by circumstances has won the war. And you have found yourself furiously battling against Hopelessness. Until you finally give up struggling against that emotion and just let it carry you into depression.

Depression can change brain chemistry, and make a person believe that it is all over for them. Whether that belief is actually warranted, or not. So that person gives up, emotionally lays face down, and just lets life circumstances take over.

Circumstances. On and on that list can go. The cancer is spreading. The boss has already delivered your pink slip. The bank let you know last month that they are foreclosing. Your spouse left a note on the table that they have left you permanently. Circumstances like this create breath-taking fear, and often end in feelings of hopelessness and defeat. With no way to win the war.

So, what to do? How can people survive such a one-sided battle?

Earlier in this column I mentioned, “Whether that belief is actually warranted, or not.” Here is what I mean.

The severe emotion of hopelessness can make a person actually see their personal world as having absolutely no good left in it … anywhere. Nothing to rescue them. No way that they can start over, if the worst actually happens. That person can’t perceive that if ‘the worst’ happens, that they can survive and actually begin again. So they give in and give up. And ‘the worst’ wins again.

I plead with you, fight with all your might against the emotion of hopelessness. It is like turning down a pitch black, dead-end alley, where there is no way out and a dozen of your worst enemies are coming at you with deadly knives at the ready.

Hopelessness leaves you defenseless against depression, and depression takes away your ability to want, to think, to do, to believe in Tomorrow. Yes, I realize that ‘the worst’ happens in people’s lives. That we can live in fear of it coming. But to let hopelessness for all our Tomorrows take control? That is the very worst that can happen to anyone.

Believe in tomorrow, even when life is crushing you today. Believe that you can start over if you lose it all. Believe that you can create a new beginning for you. Because, if you let hopelessness take over when those horrible times hit your life, you are already on the losing side without even attempting to defend yourself.

Life is hard. Don’t let hopelessness make your life even harder. Believe in your tomorrow. Even in the bad times.

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