meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The SelfWork Podcast

371 SelfWork: Hopelessness and Helplessness: When Depression Seems Impossible to Heal

The SelfWork Podcast

Margaret Robinson Rutherford PhD

Education, Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement

4.81.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2023

⏱️ 27 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

I received an email from one of you that saddened me. It opened with, “Listening to today’s podcast has left me feeling more hopeless than ever.”

Hopelessness. Feeling despair. And its counterpart – helplessness, which is believing that nothing can be done to prevent what’s happening - are two of the worst feelings of depression, and two of the ones non-depressed people often can’t seem to understand. Maybe even my own mantra that I repeat in almost every episode, “Look for what you can do about," for those who are fighting these two demons – sounds like I’m skimming the surface of deeper depressions and not talking about the heavy burden and darkness that you might feel.

Since I’ll be using much of this one listener’s email, we won’t feature another for today. I promise you this listener’s life holds much to be understood, and to have compassion for.

She did say toward the end, “I felt the need to write this.  Much of it has never seen the light of day.  Perhaps that alone might help?

I can only hope that featuring her email might help as well.

Advertisers' Links: 

We have a brand new sponsor of SelfWork - moonbird. What is it? It's the world’s first, tactile breathing coach designed to fit in the palm of your hand. To try it yourself, click here and use the code SELFWORK!

Have you been putting off getting help? BetterHelp, the #1 online therapy provider, has a special offer for you now!

Vital Links:

Dr. Margaret's podcast episode on "stinkin' thinkin'

You can hear more about this and many other topics by listening to my podcast, SelfWork with Dr. Margaret Rutherford. Subscribe to my website and receive my weekly newsletter including a blog post and podcast! If you’d like to join my FaceBook closed group, then click here and answer the membership questions! Welcome!

My book entitled Perfectly Hidden Depression is available here! Its message is specifically for those with a struggle with strong perfectionism which acts to mask underlying emotional pain. But the many self-help techniques described can be used by everyone who chooses to begin to address emotions long hidden away that are clouding and sabotaging your current life.

And there’s another way to send me a message! You can record by clicking below and ask your question or make a comment. You’ll have 90 seconds to do so and that time goes quickly. By recording, you’re giving SelfWork (and me) permission to use your voice on the podcast. I’ll look forward to hearing from you!

 

 

 

 

Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is self-work and I'm Dr. Margaret Rutherford.

0:13.0

At self-work we'll discuss psychological and emotional issues common in today's world and what to do about them.

0:20.0

I'm Dr. Margaret and self-work is a podcast dedicated to you taking just a few minutes today for your own self-work.

0:29.0

Hello and welcome or I hope welcome back to self-work. I'm Dr. Margaret Rutherford. I'm a clinical

0:35.4

psychologist out of Fable Arkansas and eight years ago we started self-work so that I

0:40.6

could extend the walls of my practice to those of you who might already be very interested in therapy or you're very psychologically savvy to those of you who might be looking for answers, but also to those of you are pretty skeptical about

0:55.6

mental health treatment, but you're also, sadly, in trouble enough or you're

1:00.9

searching enough to finally begin to reach out for help and I hope that

1:04.7

self-work will show you that you can do that safely and it'll make sense to you.

1:08.8

That's my job here as I see it at self-work. When I choose topics for self-work, I often get them from your emails or voicemails.

1:16.6

Sometimes I get them what's going on with my own clients or clients I've had in the past.

1:21.5

And sometimes, like an episode a couple of weeks ago from my own state

1:25.3

of being.

1:26.3

This past week I received an email from one of you that saddened me.

1:30.6

It opened with, Dear Dr Margaret,

1:33.0

listening to today's podcast

1:35.0

has left me feeling more hopeless than ever.

1:38.0

Everything so simplistic, laugh,

1:41.0

about what?

1:42.0

Ask for help. There isn't any. I've not just been asking I've

1:46.5

been practically screaming for it for what seems forever. Hopelessness feeling

1:52.1

despair and its counterpart, helplessness, which is believing that nothing

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Margaret Robinson Rutherford PhD, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Margaret Robinson Rutherford PhD and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.