Therapy is often spoken about as something we turn to when things have become unbearable. When life feels too heavy, when our thoughts are looping, when we are overwhelmed by anxiety, grief, or low mood. For many people, this is absolutely true, and therapy can be a vital source of relief and support during times of crisis.

But therapy does not have to begin from desperation alone. It can also begin from inspiration.

Therapy is often seen as a last resort

Many people come to therapy focused on what they want to get rid of. Pain from the past. Distressing thoughts in the present. Symptoms that feel intrusive or exhausting. This makes complete sense. When something hurts, we want relief.

Therapy for low mood or anxiety is often framed as a response to crisis, as something we reach for only when things have reached breaking point. And while therapy can be deeply supportive at these times, this framing can obscure another important possibility.

Therapy can also be a place to explore what draws us forward, not only what weighs us down.

What are glimmers?

For those who experience low mood consistently, moments of positivity still arise. They may be small and fleeting: a sense of lightness while walking outside, a moment of connection with another person, or a brief feeling of calm or motivation.

In recent years, these moments have sometimes been called glimmers — the opposite of triggers. Glimmers are the experiences that momentarily remind us that something else is possible.

They are not dramatic or life-changing. Often, they are quiet and easily missed.

Why positive moments are hard to hold onto

For many people, these moments pass almost as quickly as they arrive. We might notice them, but struggle to stay with them. They fade before we have had a chance to explore them, trust them, or imagine what they might mean for our future.

It is easy, in hindsight, to dismiss these moments as meaningless or unrealistic.

This is not a personal failing. Our minds and nervous systems are shaped by repetition. When low mood, anxiety, or threat has been present for a long time, the brain learns to prioritise what feels familiar and protective. Positivity can feel unfamiliar, even unsafe.

Old thought patterns of dread, self-criticism, or pessimism quickly intervene and hijack the moment. The imagination snaps back to what it knows best.

Starting therapy from a place of inspiration

In quieter moments, when optimism briefly surfaces, something else can happen. We might catch a glimpse of ourselves in a different future. A future where life feels more manageable, more meaningful, or more connected.

These glimpses are rarely clear plans. They are more like impressions than intentions. And they are often too short to explore on our own.

Before we know it, familiar inner voices return, telling us not to get our hopes up, not to trust the feeling, not to believe in change.

This is where therapy from a place of inspiration can be quietly powerful.

How therapy helps you stay with hope

In therapy, a therapist can help hold these moments of inspiration for you. They can help you stay with a glimmer long enough to really look at it, feel it, and understand what it might be pointing towards.

Therapy offers something rare in everyday life: time. Time that is not rushed. Time that is not demanding productivity or certainty. Time to linger with what feels alive, hopeful, or meaningful, even if it feels fragile.

A therapist does not have an agenda for your hopes or imaginings. They will not judge them, assess them, or rush to make them sensible or realistic. Instead, they offer curiosity and presence.

Gratitude without forced positivity

Gratitude can play an important role here, though not in the way it is often presented. In therapy, gratitude is not about forcing positivity or telling yourself that you should feel thankful despite suffering.

It is not about minimising hardship or comparing yourself to others.

Instead, gratitude becomes an act of noticing. Noticing what briefly softens the heaviness. Noticing moments that feel grounding, nourishing, or quietly affirming.

When approached gently, gratitude helps anchor glimmers, allowing them to register rather than slipping past unnoticed.

Therapy as a place of remembering

One of the most important roles a therapist can play is remembering on your behalf. When the darkness returns, when hope feels distant or inaccessible, the therapist holds onto the version of you that once imagined something better.

They remember the picture you painted in moments of clarity or inspiration, even when you can no longer see it yourself.

This shared remembering is not about insisting on optimism. It is about continuity. About gently holding a thread between sessions, between moods, and between different versions of yourself.

Over time, hopeful images can begin to feel more real and less like wishful thinking.

Moving towards a meaningful life

Therapy is not only about moving away from pain. It is also about moving towards something. Towards values, meaning, connection, and self-understanding.

It creates space to ask not just, “What do I want to stop feeling?” but also, “What kind of life do I want to build?” and “Who am I when I feel most myself?”

When therapy begins from inspiration, goals tend to emerge organically. They are not imposed or forced. They arise from reflection, curiosity, and compassion.

Therapy makes room for inspiration

Therapy does not avoid pain. Difficult emotions, memories, and patterns will still be explored. But they are held within a wider context that includes imagination, hope, and the possibility of change.

Therapy does not demand motivation or certainty. It does not require you to feel inspired.

It simply makes room for inspiration when it arrives, and helps you trust it enough to stay.

Thanks all

Tom

(Hammock co-founder)