We might see depression as some kind of outlier, as if we have the “well” people over here and a separate group, the “unwell” folks, over there. But that’s really not the case. Experiences of psychological distress like chronic anxiety and depression are part of the human condition. They can affect anyone, any time. In fact, I have struggled with both in my life—and depression was a dark cloud hovering over me for much of my 30s and 40s. I have been there, so I know only too well how awful it can feel, how it drains the color out of your days and leaves you feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and devoid of hope that things will ever get better.

If you’re living with this dark cloud, I’m truly sorry. Dragging yourself through the days is so hard; it’s like walking through quicksand. Your thoughts are probably uncomfortably bleak and very negative, making it hard to see any good in yourself, your life, or your future. Losing hope is the most natural thing in the world. Again, I have been there and felt that, so I understand it with painful clarity.

But please remember there is always hope, even if you can’t feel it right now and the very idea of hoping things will change or improve seems far-fetched, as if someone is saying you could easily run an ultra-marathon. Take it from me, as a therapist who has helped hundreds of people recover from debilitating problems like anxiety and depression. And as someone who lived with depression for many, many years and is now depression-free, apart from normal—and entirely manageable—fluctuations in my mood. Here are three reasons for you to feel hopeful right now.

1. Depression Almost Always Passes With Time

When you’re struggling through a depressive episode, it feels like it will never end, as if you’re in a tunnel with no light up ahead. This is partly because of the way depression affects your mind, skewing your thinking negatively, making you ruminate over and over about all the things that are wrong with you and your life. These circling, painful thoughts focus on everything you ever said or did that was shameful or embarrassing, your perceived mistakes and failures, magnifying even the smallest error into something irrevocable and cringe-inducing.

You may also be trying to numb your painful thoughts and feelings with a substance (alcohol, weed, junk food) or activity (pornography, gaming, spending). And although this is entirely understandable, it doesn’t help. For example, we know that alcohol is a depressant, so the more you drink to numb yourself out, the worse you feel the next day.

It might help to know that, however severe the episode, depression almost always eases over time. I know this through personal experience, as even the most stubborn, hard-to-shift period of depression always passed. And through observing clients who seemed stuck in their low mood, whatever we tried in therapy, until something finally did help, there was a shift, and they began to emerge from the fog. Doing all the right things—therapy, sobriety, meditation, regular exercise, plenty of sleep, and a healthy diet—will help, but even without these positive changes, most depressions usually lift with the passing of time.

2. Neuroplasticity: the Most Hopeful Word I Know

One of my favorite things to teach clients at the beginning of therapy is the concept of neuroplasticity. This is the idea that your brain is plastic, meaning it’s malleable and its neural architecture can change over time. This is a relatively new idea in psychology, as we used to think the brain was largely formed in childhood and adolescence and was then basically set for the rest of a person’s life. Thanks to the miraculous ability of fMRI machines to watch the brain’s activity in real time, we now know this is not true.

Your brain is changing every single day of your life. If you learn something new like, say, Mandarin, your brain needs new structures and pathways to hold all that knowledge. It does this by forging new synaptic connections between neurons and forming new neural pathways, allowing you to think novel, oft-repeated thoughts more quickly and hold all that Mandarin-related information in easily accessible memory networks.

Why is this hopeful? Because it means that, even if you have been struggling with depression your whole life, nothing about these unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors is set in your brain. It can all be changed, with the right help and support. Forging new, more helpful ways of thinking means developing new neural pathways, making use of that miraculous neuroplasticity to shape and mould your brain, through learning something helpful and then repeating it over and over.

For example, change a negative core belief like “I’m a failure” to something more nuanced and realistic, like “I’m not perfect, but nobody is. We all fail sometimes; that’s just part of being human and nothing to be ashamed of.” And for the new belief to take hold, we have to think, speak, or write it over and over until it gets wired into the brain.

That’s why we speak of a meditation or yoga practice, because doing something helpful once makes little impact. But doing it daily for a few months helps wire it in, making it both more effective and easier to do each time.

3. There Is a You Who Is Not Depressed

Let’s add a little internal family systems (IFS) wisdom to this hope-nurturing discussion. In the IFS model, which features various parts of the psyche, such as young, wounded parts and protectors trying to keep them safe, there is another “you” living inside you. This version of you is wise, kind, loving, and nurturing. He or she lives in your heart and mind (well, in your prefrontal cortex if we’re being neuroscientific) and wants nothing but the best for you. This is your self, what Richard Schwartz, founder of IFS, describes as “Who you are deep down.”

And even on the worst, darkest day, your self is not depressed. It’s like the metaphor often used by mindfulness teachers: your depressive thoughts and feelings are like dark, stormy clouds passing across the sky. And your self is the sky, so it is not harmed in any way by the weather, even at its stormiest. And this can be such a helpful, hopeful idea, because knowing there is someone inside who stays balanced, grounded, and robust, while that storm plays itself out, helps you remember you have—perhaps untapped—resources inside to help you recover.

My clients seem to love this idea and resonate with it, even when they are suffering. Knowing there is a way out of that suffering can be life-changing, and in some cases life-saving. I hope it strikes a chord with you too.

And if you are struggling right now, I am sending you warm, healing thoughts and wishes for a swift, lasting recovery.

If you are experiencing depression, especially if you are having suicidal thoughts, please do see your doctor or seek help from a mental-health professional. To find a therapist near you, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.