Find Hope

Imagine being trapped in a cave for days awaiting rescue. The cave is dark, dirty and damp. Only a few people know your location and you are thousands of feet below the surface of the earth. You feel ashamed. You want out, but don’t feel like you will ever be found or helped out of that deep hole. Welcome to depression.

A lot of days when things looked bleak and I couldn’t see the good going on around me, I had to remind myself to take things day-by-day. Some days thinking positive and seeing hope was an hour-to-hour process for me.

I wasn’t sure how to create a positive mindset when I was feeling so negative. All I was thinking was negative so it was very difficult for me to recognize anything positive in my life.

The first thing my therapist recommended was for me to text my wife three positive thoughts everyday. In the beginning, it was difficult for me to be grateful and see all the positives in my life. I recall one morning in particular, my text went like this: I’m alive, I’m thankful for Fall, and I’m happy you love me. As I retrained my brain to think more positive, the dark cloud cast by my depression began to lift.

Find hope. Sometimes we find it in the most unusual places.