The poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s words “No feeling is final” are prominent on the wall of my counseling office these days, scrawled on an chalkboard that could as easily be used for grocery lists or ye-olden-days math problems.

At the center of despair and pain is often the terror that we’re stuck where we are — doomed to feel what we’re feeling until we die. Everything feels permanent in these moments. Everything feels locked in and locked down.

If it’s hard to believe Rilke’s words today, that’s fine. But do know that I am convinced that there is more out there for you than what you’re experiencing right now. Life can be better. Things can change. No feeling needs to be final.