Patients with incurable cancer want to be informed about their disease and its treatment, but must also maintain hope. This inner conflict can affect how they process information about their prognosis.
People who hold higher levels of hope will be less likely to experience symptoms of depression. Shared hopes are also important for expectations of national and international futures.
Embracing hope in the good, alongside recognizing the bad, can reduce eco-anxiety, improve mental health and may just be the key to driving strong and meaningful climate action.
Ritesh Shah, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
A four-year survey of Palestinian school children in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem found hope and wellbeing already seriously declining. The situation now can only make it worse.
Reliance on the support of others after an accident showed philosopher David Newheiser the power of solidarity. We need a similar sense of communal connection in our approach to COVID, he writes.
There are ways to convey the hard scientific facts about climate change and help young generations adapt in the face of adversity and manage change over time.
Rather than tolerating divisiveness and intolerance, we can and we should embrace this important moment to create a more participatory form of democracy.
Rachel Hadas says that despite the cascade of scary news, humans will adapt, as they always have – and provides evidence of that resilience in the literature she loves and teaches.
As the Jewish community prepares to celebrate the High Holy Days, a scholar of the Bible explains their history and why they might offer consolation in times of uncertainty.
Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Associate Research Professor, Political Science, Co-host of Democracy Works Podcast, Penn State