How do you overcome the hopelessness
Hello, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia, I can accept taking medicine the whole life, but I am living in the fear of the disease will relapse, feel hopeless, do not know the meaning of living such a difficult life, anyone has the similar thinking and how do you overcome it?
@plum6459
Hello!
I’m sorry to hear that you are feeling this way.
I appreciate that you opened up about yourself and your worries to the
community. I can’t imagine the difficulty. I hope you find comfort in this
community. <3 🌿🌺
@innateJoy9602
Thank you for the reply and willing to listen to me and emotional support. The difficult thing for me is that feel it is a life long journey to struggle with the disease, and the fear is that if it relapse, I might lose job and friendship, I could not find some friends to talk about my struggle and get support as I am afraid they will leave me if they know it.
@plum6459
That's understandable. Just know the community are also your friends. We are here for you. <3🌿🌺
@innateJoy9602
Thank you for the help, I feel better today as I know there are people can understand and willing to support. This hopelessness feeling is because I have some anxiety and depression, I need to use more positive thinking instead of negative thinking and try to balance my thoughts, I know there is CBT(cognitive behavior therapy), I am trying to learn it and use it to see if it works.
Hello, i feel better from yesterday. Thanks for the support and help. I want to share how I use CBT(cognitive behavior therapy) to cope with such depression and anxiety/hopelessness.
Date: 8/15/22, 9:17 PM
Title: Hopelessness to calm
Mood: Good
Activities:
Friends
Emotions:
Calm
Relieved
Details: I feel good because Online friend told me my hopelessness is because of my anxiety
I feel calm because I thought there is no future but this is my negative thoughts as no one know the future, only my attitude/behavior can affect the future, and it might be good
Unhelpful Thought: Hopelessness because I think my disease will relapse and will lose my job/friends/family/money, and there is nothing better for me, and I could not raise the kid because I am dependent on him, and it is difficult life long journey, even want to give up
Cognitive Distortions:
• Filtering Out Positive
• Fortune-telling
• Catastrophizing
Challenge: There is someone with disease handle it well for 9 years, and someone with disease have job until retire, if I try my best, I can handle it well.
It does not happen now, and whether it will happen in the future depends on my attitude and action.
Everything will be difficult if think it whole life, even eating food, just do it step by step.
I can try to learn do things independently.
Whether there is something better, you do not know the future as I did not know I would be in CA and live a good life, just focus on present and do it good if you do not have a long-term goal, then good things will come.
It is because of my anxiety, so I feel this, it is not the fact, I need to break the negative thinking cycle and build positive thinking cycle, cycle is not only in relationship, but also in thinking/action.
There is someone willing to help and support even they know my disease, I just need to find more support from people have the similar issue.
Alternative Thought: I actually am in anxiety.
I now think maybe I can have a better future if I do it well, even I do not know what it will be.
I can learn to cope with anxiety and things will be good
I have similar feelings. I am all the time hopeless and in fear that my schizophrenia will relapse but I closely work with my doctor to make sure it doesn't. I have a good psychiatrist who talks with me on phone as well. So that any crisis can be prevented.
I hope you can manage your schizophrenia.
@plum6459 You have to give yourself a cooling-off period, and then you have to think about the reasons. Turn despair into motivation. And can also find someone you like to talk to.
