Is hope
false, but depression considered being normal?
Hope and
depression: – two polarising extremes we can say, right?
To go on further we can even also talk about emotions such as hope and hopelessness or even despair, which are so drastically different from one another.
Why talk about these two opposite emotions: it’s because they have a strong connection to one another; i.e. hope is like an antidote to hopelessness of despair and helps us move forward.
To go on further we can even also talk about emotions such as hope and hopelessness or even despair, which are so drastically different from one another.
Why talk about these two opposite emotions: it’s because they have a strong connection to one another; i.e. hope is like an antidote to hopelessness of despair and helps us move forward.
Hope is the
emotion that fuels our human spirit forward and encourages us to achieve our
goals and overcome our obstacles. It also encourages risk-taking and
imagination, which can even lead to a lot of positive changes. However,
when we talk about hope it is important to distinguish between REAL hope and
FALSE hope and not get confused between the two:
False Hope:
In order to understand what false hope really is, think about all the con games
such as sweepstakes, gambling, risky investments, get rich quick schemes, quack cures, hoaxes, urban legends, mysticism,
faith exploitations, promised miracles and similar other scams.
Whats the common thread for all of these activities? They all are manipulations which exploit distortions in our own thinking processes and even other vulnerabilities.
Whats the common thread for all of these activities? They all are manipulations which exploit distortions in our own thinking processes and even other vulnerabilities.
Hope is
tested only when it meets what it requires. An accurate
assessment, constructive criticism, sound judgment and personal responsibility are
the real differences between REAL hope and FALSE hope.
To
illustrate this, recollect the Keynote Address at the 2004 democratic national
convention; which was an inspiring speech that was delivered by Barack Obama on
“The Audacity of Hope”.
In his speech, he sited many examples where there was undaunted strength of people that overcame all of the obstacles in order to achieve great things.
In addition to this, Obama went on to write a book entitled The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream.
In his speech, he sited many examples where there was undaunted strength of people that overcame all of the obstacles in order to achieve great things.
In addition to this, Obama went on to write a book entitled The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream.
Real Hope: On the other
hand, real hope combines a firm grip of reality with a hopeful outlook of the
situation at hand. The outlook ranges from a very positive one to a hopeful
spirit to even a very negative or hopeless stance. So a person can express
emotions ranging from hopeful, high hopes, optimistic, open, positive and even
favourable; to skeptical, pessimistic, hopeless and doubtful.
As the
person gets more and more involved with the challenge at hand they also learn
more about the real problems that they are facing. Their entire grasp of reality actually begins to change where the
individual is fully informed about the difficulties they will face. People here
are usually tenacious, courageous, inspiring and persistent to achieve
results.
However, at
times when hope CAN be FALSE, what about the other emotions that seep into your
life like depression? Why even bring up such a negative emotion such as depression? – Well,
its because FALSE hope is actually like your holding onto something that may
never ever actually happen; i.e. you are HOPING (FALSELY) it is really unlikely
and eventually impossible to achieve. Does this make any sense to you?
For instance,
if you were to have "false hope", that basically means that you have an
unshakeable faith that everything will turn out to work in your favour, no
matter how unfavourable the situation is.
It is similar to wishful thinking.
The outlook is definitely hopeful, but is it even possible?
The reality is very unknown, denied, dismissed and distorted. Our thinking is a result of our own judgment, perception, bias and experience.
It is similar to wishful thinking.
The outlook is definitely hopeful, but is it even possible?
The reality is very unknown, denied, dismissed and distorted. Our thinking is a result of our own judgment, perception, bias and experience.
In 2017 Claudia Bloese wrote that “…almost all major
philosophers acknowledge that hope plays an important role in regard to
human motivation, politics and religious beliefs.
Depression
is considered to be the exact opposite of hope and according to Greek
mythology, (which is taken from the ancient myth of Pandora’s creation in
Hesiod’s Works and Days), the box was a jar given to Pandora that contained all
of the evils of the world. Pandora opened this box and all the evils flew out,
but only hope stayed inside.
In today’s time and age this phrase, “to open Pandora’s box” means to perform an action that may seem innocent and small but actually turns out to be ac act that has severe detrimental and far-reaching negative consequences.
In today’s time and age this phrase, “to open Pandora’s box” means to perform an action that may seem innocent and small but actually turns out to be ac act that has severe detrimental and far-reaching negative consequences.
However,
while there is always hope around us depression blinds us to this fact. It is
first very important to know the difference between sadness and depression;
because they are NOT AT ALL the same. Everyone feels sad at some time or the
other; its impossible to always be happy, right?
However,
clinical depression is far more severe; it is a lot more than JUST the
occasional bouts of sadness. Sadness is not always linked with depression; in
fact other emotions such as an empty feeling, or being numb, or even no
awareness of feeling anything at all can be associated with depression.
There are
different levels of depression, ranging from short in duration and mild to long
term and very severe forms of depression, which can even, be life threatening.
So what’s it like to suffer from depression?
What are the
symptoms?
Some of the
major symptoms include feelings of guilt, feelings of helplessness, self-harm,
loss or even gain of weight, self-hatred, loss of energy and even motivation,
becoming very vulnerable and ‘oversensitive’, getting delusions and/or
hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, physical aches and pains, an inability to
concentrate and loss of sex drive.
Depression
is an extremely debilitating condition to suffer from and the most painful to
fight against, because at the end the REMOTE CONTROL to changes in our life
remains in our hands. It is no doubt a sense of intense grief and deep sadness
Many people misunderstand what the difference between depression and feelings of helplessness are. In this confusion hope is really just an illusion for us, don't you think? We HOLD onto something so tightly yet its not there, its not tangible – its really just a TRICK of the mind! However, it motivates us to anticipate rewards and is similar to a house of cards that is built on the anticipation and yearning of ephemeral and illusory rewards.
Our brain is
the most complex organ in our body playing with our emotions. It is the organ
that provides us with a virtual reality of the outer world and helps us to
understand the environment and make predictions of the world.
It is this
organ that is our passport for our survival and is also in charge of our
emotions; our transitory emotions that nudge us on a constant basis. The brain
has one huge disadvantage and that is self-reflection, where it has developed
ways to deal with inconvenient critical contemplation and learn how to survive
death. Our brains are nothing but organs that have developed hope as an
illusion of a 'utopia' – that is a heaven or a place on earth or in the afterlife.
You DECIDE...
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