The hopefulness of hope
Written by Laurie Davies
What if you had something that could lower your risk for heart attack, predict a higher cure rate for illness, and even be something you could pass along to others?
If it were a pill, would you take it?
If it were an exercise, would you try it?
The fact is, this thing exists but is neither a pill nor a fitness regimen. It鈥檚 hope.
And for all the Eeyores out there who鈥檇 like to tilt a little toward Tigger, there is good news. Hope really may be something we can learn.
That鈥檚 right 鈥 hope is not some intangible fairy dust sprinkled onto the lucky few.听Hope can be taught, according to Rodney Luster, PhD,听chair for the听Center for Leadership Studies and Organizational Research听at 澳门天天彩开奖记录. In fact, Luster wrote a听听蹿辞谤听Psychology Today听on this very topic. He sat down with us to discuss hope and the reasons he thinks it鈥檚 a game changer.
Could you define hope?
Absolutely. First, I think it鈥檚 helpful to define its counterpart.
Hopelessness听is the absence of excitement听about life 鈥 it perpetuates negative evaluations of all future scenarios, and it greatly diminishes our coping strategies. Some characteristics are listlessness, isolation, a deflated sense of self, a sense of helplessness, feeling sad or rejected, and experiencing oppressed or trapped feelings.
"Hope is a belief that tomorrow will be better than today 鈥 and that we have a role to play in that. It involves self-agency, or one鈥檚 feeling of control, which makes it a听mindset more than a feeling."
Hope is more than wishing. People who have hope typically听see the actual potential听in their lives.
What got you interested in looking into hope?
A big part of it was just things I鈥檝e seen working with clients in my private practice. I have a few clients who have had life issues that didn鈥檛 look positive; they had cancer or terminal diagnoses. Whether this is coincidence or not (and I think not), the people I鈥檝e seen who ended up in remission had听social anchors, which are a big part of hope. That idea of really remaining hopeful is something I鈥檝e seen that鈥檚 so important.
Conversely, in the pandemic, people did feel a sense of hopelessness about certain things, and that started to percolate. The听听recently observed that just over half of surveyed American adults did not think they became healthier during the pandemic, with many citing weight gain and increased alcohol consumption as a couple of consequences.
Explain what is meant by the biology of hope.
There are researchers looking into how hope positively affects biology 鈥 helping听wounds heal faster,听preventing infections,听enhancing cure rates听and听sending cancer into remission. Harvard-trained brain surgeon Dr. Allan Hamilton believes that听, even in the smaller things like proteins, peptides and hormones. He believes hope can create an听enhanced internal state.
He is actually doing research now to see if hope is 鈥渁llocated鈥 somewhere in the brain.
Does that biology affect our psychology? Is there a 鈥減sychology of hope鈥?
There may be. With psychology, we鈥檙e talking about the potential for听enhancing resilience. And when people have hope, we do tend to pair that with a higher level of resilience.
Can you get into the most promising finding, that hope can be taught?
For my piece in听Psychology Today, I interviewed University of Oklahoma professor听,听who has studied hope for more than a decade. He鈥檚 the current expert on the subject. And what he has found is that hope is not some amorphous, cloudy kind of thing. It is a mindset more than a feeling. And his view is this means it can be taught.
How can we learn to hope?
According to Dr. Hellman, you begin to instill hope through听very short-term goals.
Anecdotally, in my practice over the years, I have seen patients whose disposition remained 鈥渉opeful,鈥 who were actively able to challenge the progression of their illness.
They had some common denominators:
- Setting goals
- Focusing on the here and now
- Avoiding catastrophizing
- Utilizing social anchors (family, friends, loved ones, church)
- Having healthy sleep, eating and daily 鈥渕eaning making鈥
To the first point, Dr. Hellman recognizes that goal setting is a cornerstone of hope. Short-term, specific goals and imagined success with those goals are actually more effective than long-term goals. So, for example, you might ask: 鈥淲hat might be a small goal I could set with my family or loved ones this week?鈥 And then comes the imagined success: Who will benefit? Who will celebrate with us when we attain the goal?
I have found that having听purposeful days听is a big part of the journey toward hope. Some clients struggle with purposeful days, replaced by video games and perhaps even drug use sadly, and in turn, they feel depressed. There is no sense of purpose there and no direction in life. Their days may lack a sense of direction and purpose.
What other findings came out of your interview with Dr. Hellman?
I think the other thing he said that is so intriguing is his description of hope as a 鈥渟ocial gift.鈥 Hope tends to听flourish in relationships听with others rather than in isolation. People want to be around it because it鈥檚 life affirming and they feel loved. It鈥檚 contagious.
What kind of hope does 鈥渉ope鈥 hold for the future?
Just on the basis of biology, the听preventive aspects听are exciting 鈥 better cure rates of illness, lower heart disease, better blood pressure results, less suicidal ideation. 鈥 If we鈥檝e got something that can enhance our quality of life in that way, and we don鈥檛 have to go to the doctor as much, that alone is incredible. And now, if we鈥檙e talking about hope as听something we can lean into, something that can be taught? That鈥檚 really good news.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A journalist-turned-marketer, Laurie Davies has been writing since her high school advanced composition teacher told her she broke too many rules. She has worked with 澳门天天彩开奖记录 since 2017, and currently splits her time between blogging and serving as lead writer on the University鈥檚 Academic Annual Report. Previously, she has written marketing content for MADD, Kaiser Permanente, Massage Envy, UPS, and other national brands. She lives in the Phoenix area with her husband and son, who is the best story she鈥檚 ever written.听
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