Hope

Hope is a key aspect of recovery. Depression can sometimes feel like a never-ending deepening hole with no escape. When that happens, having hope that things will improve or that you will ever feel better feels less and less likely and people start to give up hope. My sincere desire is that you never give up hope. Michael Cartwright, creator and CEO of American Addiction Centers wrote a book that I highly recommend called Believable Hope in which he discusses the importance of not only having hope to overcome addiction (or any other negative aspect you are dealing with), but also believing change is possible. Having hope and believing it is possible are paramount to feeling better. See what you can find each day that increases your hope. What do you see each day in your life that is positive? In essence, “stop and smell the flowers” sometimes. Keep a log of anything positive or hopeful – any feeling you have, any successes you have, etc. Sometimes it is very hard to see the small changes. Keeping a log will help you see the small things. It is ok to feel hopeless at times, but my sincere hope for you is that feeling does not stay long and you are able to start identifying any sources of support and start to believe that change is possible. Keep the hope!