Apart from being a gorgeous bird, the swallow is a symbol for many different themes. Being a migratory bird, the swallow reappears at the end of winter, bringing along with it the more colourful season of spring. They are therefore thought of as symbols for positive change. Another message they represent is that of hope: After long voyages, sailors would be filled with an immediate sense of hope when they saw swallows in the sky, as their sighting meant that they were nearing land. 

What is hope? 

It is not just wishful thinking. It is more than just a feel-good emotion. It is also different from other concepts such as self-efficacy, locus of control, and optimism. Hope implies there is the possibility of something better beyond our current difficulties. According to Snyder’s hope theory, hope is a multidimensional construct that involves (1) having something to hope for (goal) (2) believing you can come up with multiple strategies to reach this goal and formulate alternative plans when there are challenges blocking your way (planning), and (3) believing that you have the ability to begin and continue to pursue these strategies (motivation and determination).  

Your level of hope can be influenced by various factors, including environmental, physiological, and psychosocial conditions. For example, how hopeful you feel can be affected by your past successes while pursuing goals, your levels of social support, the presence of life stressors or health conditions, stress hormones, and engagement in treatment interventions.

Research demonstrates that having hope is important in overall well-being. It has been linked to positive outcomes such as academic achievement, life satisfaction, positive affect, resilience, adaptive coping styles, healthier lifestyle behaviours, pain tolerance, emotional adjustment, a sense of meaning, and decreased symptoms of mental health conditions. In summary, it is important to foster hope as it can have a protective effect on both physical and mental health.

Considering all the valuable effects of hope, it can be worthwhile to initiate strategies that can promote a hope mind-set. For example, you can:

  • Reframe negative thoughts.
    • Challenge negative thinking and replace it with more positive, realistic perspectives (e.g., Shift “I’m always going to feel anxious” to “It’s normal to be anxious, and there are things I can do to make it better”). 
  • Increase hopeful thinking.
    • E.g., “What specific, realistic goal do I have in mind?” 
    • “How can I break this goal into smaller steps?” 
    • “What is stopping me?” 
    • “Which strengths can I use to achieve my goal?” 
    • “When was I successful in similar situations in the past and why?” 
    • “What mistakes did I make while trying to attain my goal and how can I learn from them?” 
    • “Were there any setbacks and how can I view them as growth opportunities and persist through these obstacles?”
  • Become more self-aware and focus on the present.
    • Practice mindfulness activities 
  • Surrounding yourself with other hopeful and positive people.
    • Emotions are “contagious” so if you spend time with optimistic and hopeful people, you could start to feel that way yourself. 
    • This doesn’t mean that you isolate yourself from or become intolerant of other people’s negative mind-sets; simply that you don’t get overwhelmed by it. 
  • Strengthen your social support by bonding with family/friends. 
  • Cultivate positive emotions.
    • Engage in activities that will put you in a good mood (e.g., watch a funny movie). 
  • Practice gratitude 
    • Focus on what you have that you can be thankful for.
    • E.g., Keep a daily gratitude journal in which you record all the things you are grateful for each day. 
  • Limit negative media exposure. 
  • Find a sense of purpose.
    • Involve yourself in activities that you find meaningful and fulfilling (e.g., become involved in your community/charity work, engage in spiritual or religious beliefs/practices, etc)
  • Attend psychotherapy. 
    • Hope can be targeted directly through specially designed interventions to use it as a tool to help you through illness diagnosis and treatment. 
    • Increases in hope can also occur while attending psychotherapies that do not explicitly target hope. 
    • It has been suggested that instilling hope is one of the mechanisms through which psychotherapy facilitates change and recovery across diagnoses and psychotherapy modalities. 

Disclaimer: This blog post is for general educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on blog. If you need immediate support for a mental health emergency, please contact your doctor or psychologist, or go to hospital casualties, or call an emergency service immediately.

References

Corn, B. W., et al. (2020). The science of hope. Lancet Oncology, 21, e452-59. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30210-2

Gallagher, M.W., et al. (2020). Examining Hope as a Transdiagnostic Mechanism of Change across Anxiety Disorders and CBT Treatment Protocols. Behavior Therapy, 51(1), 190-202. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2019.06.001 

Kaufman, S.B. (2011). The will and ways of hope: Hope involves the wills to get there, and different ways to get there. Psychology today

Laranjeira, C., & Querido, A. (2022). Hope and Optimism as an Opportunity to Improve the “Positive Mental Health” Demand. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(Article 827320). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.827320

Newport Academy (2020). The Connection Between Hope and Mental Health. Available online at: https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/mentalhealth/hope-and-mental-health/

Tomasulo, D.J. (2023). How to cultivate hope: The secret is focusing on what you can control. Psychology today 

Vilaythong, A.P. (2003). Humor and hope: Can humor increase hope? Humour, 16(1), 79-89.