Lesson 343: How to deal with the hopelessness of "I've always been like this"
Duration:75 minutes
Topic Introduction (Overview):
“"I've always been like this," "I may never get better," "This is just who I am"—these are the most familiar inner monologues for many people with long-term depression. This sense of hopelessness stems from two sources: first, the "exhaustion" brought on by chronic fatigue, and second, the "learned pessimism" resulting from repeated failures. When you fall back into despair time and time again, your brain begins to develop fixed thoughts: things won't get better, there are no choices, and effort is meaningless.
However, hopelessness is not a fact, but rather an "emotional lens" that blinds you to the parts of yourself that have changed and makes you overlook the small steps that are still happening. This course will guide you through dissecting the mechanisms that form hopelessness, teaching you how to build "micro-evidence," rebuild a sense of change, and find new anchors of reality for long-term recovery.
The important thing is: you are not "that kind of person," you are just "that kind of time." Emotions are not identities, but states of being.
▲ AI Interaction: Deconstructing My Hopelessness
Enter your common thoughts (e.g., “I am a failure”, “I have never succeeded”, “I can’t change”).
AI will do it for you:
① Analyze the root of this way of thinking
② Point out the cognitive distortions involved.
③ Tell you which "small improvements" are already happening.
④ Provide currently feasible strategies to reverse the feeling of hopelessness.“
○ A monotonous melody of hopelessness and subtle advancing notes - Musical introduction
“"I've always been like this" is like a monotonous, endless cycle.
Pick a piece of music: the first half remains almost unchanged, while the second half introduces subtle new elements.
Feel it through listening: Change doesn't have to be huge; it can start with a single note.
Let the music tell you: feeling hopeless is just you getting stuck in a loop, not that you can't change it.
All you can do is allow a little bit of new sound into your life.
○ Herbal Healing Tea: Calendula + Lemon Balm Soothing Tea
Recommended reasons:Calendula relieves feelings of heaviness in the heart; lemon balm is most effective for long-term fatigue, hopelessness, pessimism, and nervous tension.
practice:Steep 1 teaspoon of calendula and 1 teaspoon of lemon balm in hot water for 6 minutes. Drink in the afternoon or evening to help slowly boost emotional energy.
○ Ancient Roman Natural Dietary Therapy: Warm Olive Oil Wheat Porridge (Pulmentum)
Pulmentum is a basic energy food for ancient Roman soldiers—wheat porridge with olive oil. Its characteristics include warmth, slow-release energy, and a boost of recovery, making it ideal for people experiencing prolonged low moods, decreased energy, and morning despair.
Wheat provides stable energy, while olive oil improves the nervous system and hormonal balance, preventing drastic mood swings. For those suffering from fatigue-related depression who feel "I've always been like this," it can provide a sense of "real stability."
○ Chinese Calligraphy (Running Script) · “If the thought never dies, then light can come.”
Practice sentences:
If the thought never fades, then light will come.
Key points to note:
- “The two characters ”念念” are quickly linked together, symbolizing that hope will always remain a faint flame.
- “The word "undying" should be written steadily and forcefully, symbolizing not being swallowed by despair.
- “The character ”光可来“ should be open and expansive, allowing the final stroke to create a momentum that ”leads towards the future.”
Image Healing: The Mandala of Hopeless Transformation · 343
Draw a black dot in the center to symbolize a sense of hopelessness.
Draw three concentric circles of shimmering light on the outermost layer:
The first lap reads "I am still persevering";
The second circle reads "I have changed";
The third circle reads, "The future is not a repetition of the present."
Draw bright lines on the outer edge to show yourself that hopelessness is the center, but not the whole picture.
[mandala_course lesson=”343″]
Lesson 343: Drawing Evidence that "I haven't always been like this"
Purpose:Help your brain see the changes within itself, instead of being blinded by feelings of hopelessness.
step:
① Draw a long timeline from "the past three months" to "today".
② Mark all the small changes that have occurred in your life: stepping out of the door once, replying to a message once, cooking once, staying awake once.
③ Use green to depict even the smallest progress.
④ Write a sentence:
“"I'm not completely unchanged, I'm just changing very slowly."”
Please log in before submitting your drawings and feelings.
○ 343. Log Guidance
① What is my "despair statement"?
② What emotions and experiences lie behind these statements?
③ Have I experienced any "minor changes" in the last three months?
④ What do these changes indicate?
⑤ Write a sentence:I am moving toward change, however slow it may be.
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Despair doesn't tell the truth. It's just a state of extreme exhaustion, not your true destiny.
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