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Facing Up to Hopelessness: A Dialogal Phenomenological Study

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Abstract

Hopelessness is a fundamental human experience, and yet is often considered evidence either of sin or of illness. This dialogal phenomenological study, based on in-depth interviews, takes a fresh look at despair as experienced by people across a variety of ages and contexts, and at the consequences and outcomes of these feelings. At the heart of despair is a sense of isolation, impotence, and an immutable future, and yet it may give rise to new purpose or a new understanding and acceptance of life with its possibilities and limitations. The therapeutic implications of this understanding of despair are discussed with a focus on how “presence” can be healing.

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Beck, B., Halling, S., McNabb, M. et al. Facing Up to Hopelessness: A Dialogal Phenomenological Study. Journal of Religion and Health 42, 339–354 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025816827553

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025816827553

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