SPC Newsletter

Holding onto Hope

Counsellors' Corner

No one is immune to the emotion felt when witnessing the re-telling of people’s stories. Naming how these stories affect us can be quite powerful and assist us in finding hope when experiencing some tough times in our own lives. 

Also, the use of metaphors is useful when assisting us to give relevant meaning and context to our own experiences. 

In addition, having images that we cling onto can bring us closer to our connections of care, and remind us that we are not alone. 

Opening our heart to these possibilities can bring comfort and happiness. 

We hope you gain something from what we are sharing with you, here are some tips from a couple of students!  

 

Tips for hanging onto hope: 

  • Holding onto giving 100%, and not the self-destructive behaviours 
  • Holding onto our memories, through photos, that remind us of stuff we enjoy, the inspiration we gain from people around us: 
    • This may be family, friends, team members in your sporting club. 
    • The inspiration we gain may be from team members who we can learn from…pushing us to be a better player.   
    • The inspiration we gain from siblings who may have moved away… reflecting on what they are doing now, for instance, working and/or studying, I can get there as well. 
  • Holding onto these memories, having them close to us, gives us strength and reminds us that we too can feel good about ourselves. 
    • To be reminded what feeling good about yourself is like is important. As well as living in the moment and enjoying the experiences that you are having now, appreciating the people around you is also important. You don’t want to miss these moments. 

Using the metaphor of rock climbing, these memories are the stable rocks to hold onto, especially when the other rocks that represent the tough times, the overwhelmingness of life, are moving and are unstable. Grab hold of the stable rocks to lift you up. 

 

Reminding ourselves to keep our head above water, and not to drown in all the bad stuff…the memories can remind you to keep treading water… to grab onto the rocks of support that remind you to hold onto hope!!