Hope When It Appears Hopeless

While I’m likely not sharing anything you don’t already know or sense, stress levels in America in 2025 are at an all-time high, “…nearly 40% of Americans reported experiencing peak stress in [the early days of] 2025. That’s around 2 in 5 Americans feeling overwhelmed by stress [in the early days of 2025]” (

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/america-s-2025-stress-crisis-why-nearly-40-are-hitting-their-limit/ar-AA1qIosx).  I assume the statistics are much higher now that we are in the final quarter of 2025. Back in April 2024, Rutgers reported, “Americans have a long reputation for being hopeful. The United States is often characterized by its can-do attitude and the pursuit of the American Dream–the idea that motivated individuals have the freedom to pursue their dreams and improve life for themselves and their families. Indeed, the United States [was, until 2025] consistently the most popular destination for people around the world looking to leave their home country.  However, recent surveys suggest that many Americans are losing faith in the future of the nation. [Tourists are not choosing to vacation in America this year; it’s just too volatile there.] A 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center found at least two-thirds of Americans believe that by 2050, America will become economically weaker, less important in the world, and more politically divided [; we have already seen this come to fruition in only 9 months in the new ‘regime’ of 2025]. A 2023 Wall Street Journal-NORC survey found that nearly 80% of Americans do not expect life for their children’s generation to be better than it has been for their own generation” (https://njacts.rbhs.rutgers.edu/news/americas-hopelessness-crisis-may-have-less-to-do-with-the-economy-and-more-to-do-with-gen-zs-mental-health-new-survey-shows/). How do we cultivate hope in a time of global hopelessness?

What is hopelessness and what is hope? Hopeless’: “adjective - having no expectation of good or success, not susceptible to remedy or cure, incapable of redemption or improvement, incapable of solution, management, or accomplishment; ” (www.oed.com).  ‘Hope’: “noun - desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment, expectation of fulfillment or success; verb - to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true, to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment, to expect with confidence” (www.oed.com).  Hopelessness is a mental, emotional, and spiritual health obstacle.  According to the Mind Forge Foundation in their article, “The Mental Health Crisis in America: A Deep Dive Into The 2025 State of Affairs,” “The United States is facing an unprecedented mental health crisis that impacts millions of individuals across various demographics. The situation has reached a critical point, affecting not only those living with mental health disorders but also the fabric of society as a whole. From soaring rates of anxiety and depression to the lack of sufficient mental health support, this crisis continues to worsen, exacerbated by factors such as the pandemic’s aftermath, economic uncertainty, and rising social isolation.

As we move through 2025, it’s crucial to examine the current state of mental health in America, understand the contributing factors, and discuss the urgent need for comprehensive mental health support” (https://mindforgefoundation.com/the-mental-health-crisis-in-america-2025/).

Unfortunately, the current ‘regime’ in America has cut programs to help Americans work through hopelessness and other mental health challenges. “Alarming Statistics On Mental Health In America: In 2025, nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. are experiencing some form of mental illness. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), this equates to about 52.9 [of the approximately 326 million population of American] million people dealing with mental health disorders. Moreover, mental health-related issues affect people of all ages, with the youth population (ages 12–17) seeing disturbing levels of mental health struggles, particularly in the wake of social media proliferation and societal pressures. A 2025 survey found that 1 in 3 adolescents have reported feelings of hopelessness or despair. Suicide, once rare among young people, has become the second-leading cause of death for teens and young adults. Among adults, anxiety disorders are the most common, affecting about 18% of the population, while major depressive disorder impacts roughly 8.4% of adults. In the past decade, suicide rates in the U.S. have increased by 33%, making it the 10th leading cause of death in the country. This represents a tragic consequence of the growing mental health crisis in America. These numbers highlight a grim reality that the mental health crisis in America is not an isolated phenomenon but an ongoing issue that has far-reaching implications for public health, society, and the economy” (https://mindforgefoundation.com/the-mental-health-crisis-in-america-2025/).

What are come coping strategies to help replace hopelessness with hope in such chaotic times as these?  According to Positive Psychology, here are some tips that are “supported by psychological research:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) - [it] is a well-established therapeutic approach that targets negative thought patterns contributing to hopelessness (Beck, 1993). By identifying and challenging these thoughts, individuals can learn to replace them with more realistic and positive beliefs. This cognitive restructuring helps reduce feelings of despair and fosters a more hopeful outlook (Beck, 1993).

•  Mindfulness [as a stress reducer] - incorporates mindfulness practices like meditation and mindful breathing to help individuals stay present and reduce the impact of negative thoughts (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). By cultivating a nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, [mindfulness] can alleviate the overwhelming emotions associated with hopelessness and foster a sense of calm and acceptance (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). [Mindfulness is “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations (www.oed.com).]

•  Gratitude journaling - Gratitude journaling involves regularly writing down things you’re grateful for, which helps shift focus from what is going wrong to what is going right. This simple practice has been shown to increase optimism and decrease feelings of hopelessness by fostering a more positive outlook on life (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

•  Humor - is a vital coping mechanism that helps protect psychological wellbeing by offering a way to reframe stressful situations positively. By interpreting challenges through the lens of humor, individuals can buffer the impact of stress and maintain a sense of identity and self-worth, even in difficult times (Kuiper et al., 1995; Fritz et al., 2017). [This is WHY we need our comedians!  Our ‘leaders’ need to develop a thicker skin when they are the focus of jokes.]” (https://positivepsychology.com/hopelessness/).  By the way, the rest of the article cited above is worth reading. They claim to have a free pdf booklet you can download, but that “free” download may cost $17.

What are other tips to help hopelessness turn into hope?

• Stop watching the news!  The mainstream media is now bullied into submission by the current ‘regime,’ so what you’re seeing / hearing on the mainstream media isn’t reality, isn’t truth, and is monitored to let us see/hear only what the ‘regime’ wants us to see/hear.  Instead, get your news from indie journalists and unbiased sources like the 1440 Digest (https://join1440.com/).

• Stop hanging out with people who are ‘downers’, who are constantly complaining and who are both generating and reflecting hopelessness. Instead, hang out with hopeful people.

•  Meditate and think peaceful thoughts. When dread and negative / anxious thoughts come up, replace those thoughts by meditating and then choosing to think calm, peaceful thoughts.

•  Get out in nature. take a walk, a stroll, sit on a park bench enjoying the fresh air.  Take off your shoes and socks to go barefoot; allow the electro-magnetic forces in the earth connect with your body.

•  Stop doom scrolling! It’s okay; you truly don’t need to stay connected all the time.  By the way, being online and on our phones texting and scrolling too much is, according to multiple research outcomes, a major contributor of stress and hopelessness in younger people.

•  Remind your body to relax.  Silently tell your face, shoulders, and hands to relax several times a day.  You may be surprised how much tension you are holding in your body.

• Go to the gym. Exercise can stimulate Human Growth Hormone and Endorphins.  Research, from the Mayo Clinic, shows that exercise releases ‘feel good’ hormones (https://www.theskimm.com/wellness/hormones-released-during-exercise-endorphins)

•  Hang out with animals.  Pet the dogs; snuggle the cats (if they allow you to); watch videos of baby elephants or whales or dolphins.

•  Stop reading dystopian fiction and seeing dystopian films.  These images likely contribute to the sense of hopelessness.

•  Stop listening to violent, misogynistic, and low-frequency music.  Low frequency musical lyrics get into your head and affect your outlook on life.

•  Stop playing violent, misogynistic video games. They can dehumanize and normalize killing others and treating others in further violent ways; they can encourage anger which may trigger hopelessness.

•  Make your personal peace a priority.  Anything that interferes with your peace isn’t healthy for you if you hang on to the trauma, tragedies happening today. Read these two of my blog posts from the past about maintaining peace in the midst of chaos: https://www.reimaginelifecoach.com/post/how-are-you-maintaining-peace-in-the-middle-of-chaos  and https://reimaginelifecoach.com/so/d3PUxrwjb?languageTag=en .

•  Do what you can do to lift others.  When we life up others with a smile or inviting someone else to share with us, providing a meal or sending a card to someone, texting a friend you haven’t heard from in a while, we are also lifted out of hopelessness. Participate in a PEACEFUL protest.

Applying coping strategies to replace hopelessness with hopefulness is a several-times-a-day, every day task in these chaotic times. What helps you maintain hope? I invite you to share your stories, thoughts, insights, and suggestions by either commenting below this post if you are reading this on social media, or, if you are reading this through your email subscription, please share, by emailing me, at reimaginelife22@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading and participating in this blog essay; I invite you to subscribe to my blog at www.reimaginelifecoach.com.