#hope

#hope

"You're OK, you're safe. You're not alone," Robby tells the baby, turning on Rosie Carney and Lisa Hannigan's 'Thousand' as a sort of lullaby.

This season became my way to honor Angus and all the kids who weren't offered a second chance. I wanted to tell a story where hope and light could still be felt in the darkness.

Savannah Guthrie's return is a refusal to give in to the personal horror that has become a widely followed national news story. Her decision to come back is simply a step whose time has arrived.

We're experiencing chronic stress, which blocks our ability to hope. Here's why: the amygdala, the brain's alarm center, reacts with fight, flight, or freeze (Akil & Nestler, 2023; LeDoux, 1996). This reaction can save our lives in an emergency. When we're in a crosswalk and see a car speeding toward us, we can react by stopping or jumping out of the way.

We've long misunderstood hope in the workplace. We've treated it as wishful thinking-a nice-to-have feeling that emerges when things are going well. But research from psychologist C.R. Snyder reveals something far more powerful: Hope is a cognitive process with three essential components: goals (what we want to achieve), pathways (our ability to identify routes to those goals), and agency (our belief that we can pursue those paths). This isn't passive optimism; it's an active strategy for navigating uncertainty and driving meaningful change.

And, I'm grateful for my work - for being able to bring music, something beautiful, into the worlds of those who are truly suffering and provide some reprieve that helps in a small way. That brings some comfort, and maybe even some joy during a joyless time. I'm grateful that I get to connect with them through the healing power of music.

Women in fertility treatment often feel they can't catch a break; the issues keep stacking up, cycle after cycle, complication after complication, diagnosis after diagnosis. It can feel like jumping through one hoop only to find three more waiting. Living in a state of fight or flight becomes the norm. What makes it even harder is that this pressure builds quietly over time.

I grew up believing courage was about heroes jumping off mountains and running into burning buildings, 300 Spartan warriors standing against the invading Persian army-the kind of thing that is celebrated in epic poems and Hollywood blockbusters. But life has taught me something different. Courage does not just have to look spectacular. In fact, much more often, courage lives in the everyday.

As I started writing this, folks were heading to the polls for the first time in a long, terrible year. Hyperbole somehow failed us when the White House was (is still being) destroyed. Plus, everyone's Social Security numbers were stolen, the world's biggest anti-vaxxer wants to ban Tylenol, and SNAP benefits were frozen for the first time. Yeah, it's been that kinda year. Pandora's box has been opened and all the maladies therein have been unleashed.

When things go wrong in our lives, we can experience stress, feeling a constant sense of threat that keeps us from solving our problems. In an emergency, this stress reaction can save our lives. The alarm center in our brains responds to a threat with the survival reaction of fight, flight, or freeze, causing us to take immediate action (LeDoux, 1996).

Optimism lives in a curious in-between space. It isn't an outcome so much as an expectation about one. Yet optimism and pessimism each have immediate consequences for mental health. When we expect good things, daily life feels safer and more enjoyable. Persistent pessimism, on the other hand, breeds emptiness and depression. As a psychiatrist, I often meet people who undermine their own positive feelings.

First and foremost, please be kind to yourself. I do not need to know much about you, dear reader, to know that you are likely struggling with something: regret, guilt, sadness, anger, or pain. The reason I know this is because these experiences are universal to us all. Please treat yourself with kindness as you navigate these challenges because it makes the journey more bearable.

I was at a point where I didn't want to live. Every day was another day that I didn't think I was going to be there. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and you will be able to get through it. Everything passes. This, too, shall pass. No matter what you're feeling, never lose hope."-Maurice Benard

"Well, you don't like to think about your mortality, but I was so fortunate to have some great people that sent me in the right direction. I got to be part of a trial that was propitious. It really worked. It's called PD-1 (therapy), and it really, really, really worked."

"In Every Brilliant Thing, the child tries to encourage his mother to re-engage with life by leaving notes containing a list of everything that makes life worth living."

Mental illness is just a part of you, not all of you. It's just like a lot of other serious illnesses. It's not your fault that you got sick. It happens a lot. And lots of people get well.

It was a fairly chaotic period for all of us, but over time things calmed down and we found a rhythm. It actually gave us more time to create together.

The story of Andy Dufresne's time in Shawshank provides a blueprint for smart financial choices, emphasizing the importance of hope and long-term planning.

Cullen describes the musical as a "knockabout romp" with themes of addiction, hope, and perseverance, showcasing his journey from despair to heroism.

"If you have ever followed a rainbow to its end, it leads you to the ground on which you are standing." ~ Alan Cohen

The central theme of the 2025 Jubilee Year at Sienna's Duomo is 'Hope,' symbolized by a unique marble inlay designed for the occasion.

In the wake of politically driven changes diminishing DEI efforts, it is crucial to focus on resilience and the potential for recovery in higher education.

"How you put the star on the cutting room floor? / No wonder every shot you take is always hella subpar / I was taught to stay humble, the meek shall inherit the earth / but being meek won't bring my meals / Now run my check, I know my worth."