How History Helps Overcome Feelings of Hopelessness
Learning how to overcome feelings of hopelessness is a battle many people face at one time or another. Thankfully, faithful men and women from history have shown us that hope has the power to illuminate its shining light through the suffocating darkness.
Some time ago, my teenage daughter and I spent the evening discussing such things.
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The Conversation Began Like This
“I feel so (negative emotion).”
“I am so excited about __________!”
“My stomach constantly feels _________, and I’m not sure why.”
“I’m looking forward to __________. It will be so much fun!”
“I’m tired of feeling __________.”
“I feel like God is inviting me to share my _________ talents with others. I can’t wait to get started!“
Read 21 Mental Health Self-Care Tips: What is your Cow? HERE
A Mixture of Emotions
This is a brief (and privacy-protected) glimpse into a conversation my daughter and I recently had, where we went back and forth sharing with each other both the wonderful and the difficult emotions we were experiencing in the moment.
The good.
The bad.
The beautiful.
The ugly.
All happening simultaneously.
Such a mixture of exciting dreams for the future and overwhelming negative emotions creates quite a stir in one’s soul (and stomach), the symptoms of which have no easy remedy.
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Lesson from History
Well into the early hours of the morning, in a last-ditch effort to find solace before retiring to bed, we found ourselves discussing individuals from history:
Martin Luther
Martin Luther suffered from a severely debilitating kind of spiritual depression, or a lack of trust in God’s promises. Yet, he pressed forward and, in later years, his brave actions would put into play a chain reaction of events that would forever change the world.
When I first entered the monastery it came to pass that I was sad and downcast, nor could I lay aside my melancholy. On this account I made confession to and took counsel with Dr. Staupitz (a man I gladly remember) and opened to him what horrible and terrible thoughts I had. Then said he: ‘Don’t you know, Martin, that this temptation is useful and necessary to you? God does not exercise you thus without reason. You will see that he intends to use you as his servant to accomplish great things.
Luther’s Letters of Spiritual Counsel, Tappert, 85-86
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln led our country through the great and terrible battles of the Civil War, yet his greatest battle, by far, was his own depression. Despite this never-ending battle, he pressed forward, became the President our country needed during that pivotal time in history, and on January 1, 1863, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, an event that would change the course of history. Lincoln’s personal hobbies included walking and wrestling.
I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me.
abraham lincoln, In a letter to john t. stuart, January 23, 1841
Charles Schultz
Charles M. Schultz, the creator of characters like Charlie Brown and Snoopy in his comic series Peanuts, suffered from intense anxiety issues. Shultz once shared in an interview that he had awful feelings of impending doom, and that he woke each day to a funeral-like atmosphere. Shultz, however, chose to press forward. He continued to spread happiness and laughter throughout the world, by way of his Peanuts characters, despite the negative emotions that threatened to hold him hostage.
My daughter and I drew strength from these examples of faithful individuals who chose to continually press forward, despite the personal obstacles they encountered in their daily lives.
They endure hard things, and accomplished great things.
I’ve developed a new philosophy. I only dread one day at a time.
charles schultz
Charles Dickens
Popular novelist, Charles Dickens, suffered from bouts of depression every time he began writing a new book. Walking for miles at a time brought him some relief. Today, generations of families are grateful for the impactful novels, filled with moral lessons, left to us by Dickens–novels such as The Adventures of Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations. Dickens personal hobbies included acting, taxidermy, and philanthropy.
Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.
charles dickens, great expectations
Winston Churchill
Manic depression led Churchill to work day after day on very little sleep. These circumstances did not prevent Churchill from being a soldier and a politician, and writing dozens of books and innumerable articles and papers. A painting hobby, begun at the age of forty, brought him much-needed peace during his darkest days. His contributions and achievements are recorded in the books of history for the benefit of generations to come.
Like a sea-beast fished up from the depths, or a diver too suddenly hoisted, my veins threatened to burst from the fall in pressure. I had great anxiety and no means of relieving it … And then it was that the Muse of Painting came to my rescue – out of charity and out of chivalry … – and said, “Are these toys any good to you? They amuse some people.
winston churchill
In Good Company
So, if you ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed by anxiety or depression or feelings of hopelessness, wondering how you’ll ever make it through, remember that so, too, did some of the greatest individuals in history.
Rest assured that you and I and my daughter are in good company.
Inspiration
- “The rewards for those who persevere far exceed the pain that must precede the victory.” – Ted Engstrom
- “Press forward…” (2 Nephi 31:20)
- “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7)
