Hopelessness in the Dark Night of the Soul: A Different Kind of Suffering

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When I used to sit in church services and hear people speak about hope, I could rarely relate to it. The word sounded sentimental to me—abstract, almost like a religious advertising slogan. Even when I began to develop spiritually, “hope” still felt empty, as if it implied that I had not yet reached my goal. And according to my self-understanding at the time, I believed I was already close to it.

Yet it was precisely in the Dark Night of the Soul that this word gained an entirely different depth and meaning—not as hope in the sense of “everything will be fine soon,” but as an inner attitude that exists beyond feelings, certainty, and consolation.

What Is the Dark Night of the Soul? — A Brief Definition

Originally rooted in theological and mystical tradition, the Dark Night of the Soul describes a state in which all familiar spiritual and emotional supports suddenly fall away. Prayer and meditation feel empty, the sense of connection disappears, and everything that once provided meaning, comfort, or certainty becomes inaccessible. It is a state of inner emptiness, of perceived divine absence, and of profound disorientation.

Within the spiritual tradition, this is not understood as a mere crisis or depressive phase, but as part of a process of maturation—one in which layers of experience are stripped away because they no longer correspond to the depth of the inner life that is unfolding.

For a detailed theological and structural account of the Dark Night, see my separate article on the subject.

Why the Dark Night Hurts So Deeply — and What Is Actually Happening

There are several reasons why the Dark Night cuts so sharply and is often experienced as distinct from ordinary low moods or sadness.

1. The Loss of All Former Sources of Consolation

In the Dark Night, it is not only the felt closeness to God or the transcendent that disappears—it is familiarity with spiritual experience itself. Practices that once brought peace suddenly feel empty or even repellent: meditation, prayer, rituals, sacred music, spiritual language.

This creates a double emptiness:

  • the emptiness of everyday life,
  • and the emptiness of inner spiritual experience.

The soul’s habitual points of orientation fail, giving rise to the feeling of being cut off from everything—even from what once carried and sustained one’s life.

Photo by Peter Burdon on Unsplash

2. The Absence of God Is Experienced as Personal Failure

In many spiritual paths, contact with God, the Absolute, or the inner ground of being is part of lived experience. When this intimacy suddenly vanishes, the absence is often interpreted as a personal failure—a sign of insufficient faith, devotion, or spiritual competence.

Yet according to the mystical tradition, this experience is not evidence of failure but part of a deeper transformation. John of the Cross describes it as a process of darkness, in which all light first disappears so that a new and deeper form of light may eventually become possible.

3. The Ego Dissolves — and Identity Breaks Down

Modern spiritual interpretations often describe the Dark Night as a process in which the ego collapses—the familiar patterns through which a person has previously shaped their life. Identities that once provided stability (“I am spiritual,” “I meditate daily”) lose their foundation, and one no longer feels like the same person as before.

This “ego death” is not merely a loss, but an emptying in which the former inner structure of the self no longer functions. It is therefore hardly surprising that this process generates one of the deepest forms of inner pain and disorientation—not only emotionally, but existentially.

Hope Within This Emptiness — What Does It Really Mean?

In the Dark Night, hope does not exist in the form we usually understand:

  • “Things will soon be fine again.”
  • “God will comfort me again.”
  • “I will regain confidence.”

Instead, hope becomes an inner attitude of endurance and trust, even in the absence of certainty.

1. Hope as Not Abandoning the Process

When all familiarity dissolves, the feeling quickly arises:

“I am alone—and without consolation.”

Within the spiritual tradition, hope here means:

I remain within the process, even when I feel no comfort.

This differs fundamentally from a shallow hope that merely promises a positive outcome. This hope is an inner stance that refuses to abandon the path, even when everything is dark.

2. Hope as Trust Beyond Experience

In ordinary language, we would say: Hope is trusting that things will become brighter again.

In the Dark Night, however, hope exists beyond experience itself:

“I trust, even though I feel nothing.”

This is why many struggle so deeply in the Dark Night: they expect a return to a previous state of consolation, while the actual path leads into an entirely new condition—beyond feeling and certainty.

3. Hope Is Not the Same as Expectation

Hope in the Dark Night is not:

  • the expectation of former experiences returning,
  • the desire for quick resolution,
  • belief in external relief.

Rather, it is:

  • an inner orientation within darkness.

Mystical language often uses imagery here: darkness not as absolute non-being, but as a space in which everything familiar disappears so that something deeper can be born.

Why Hope Is Not Sentimental — but Radically Real

In many spiritual contexts, hope is equated with positive thinking, affirmations, or emotional uplift. In the Dark Night, all of this proves ineffective—and often obstructive. This is not pious optimism, but a different form of hope altogether:

  • not dependent on feelings,
  • not oriented toward consolation,
  • not fixated on the return of experience.

Instead, it is hope as the willingness to endure without comfort or certainty.

This form of hope is radical because it is not focused on outcomes, but on fidelity to the path itself.

Consolation in the Dark Night: Where It Comes From — and Where It Does Not

A key distinction from ordinary depression is this: in the Dark Night, many conventional sources of consolation no longer work.

Forms of Consolation That May Fail

  • Meditation and prayer that once soothed
  • Feelings of closeness or belonging
  • Spiritual practices that once guided
  • Rituals and routines

These may feel empty or inaccessible—not because the person has failed, but because these forms belong to earlier layers of experience, not to the depth the Dark Night opens.

Where Genuine Consolation Can Arise

Genuine consolation emerges where the expectation of experience is relinquished—and where endurance, awareness, and silence are allowed to take space.

This does not mean: “I do nothing and simply wait.”

It means: I accept what is present, without strategies of escape or avoidance.

This radical presence creates a space beyond hope-as-feeling and hope-as-promise—a hope closer to reality precisely because it does not depend on pleasant experience.

A Brief Clarification: Spiritual Crisis and Clinical Depression

It is important to state clearly: the Dark Night can resemble clinical depression, but their structures differ.

  • Depression often has identifiable causes (life events, neurochemistry, prolonged stress).
  • The Dark Night emerges when familiar spiritual experiences and identities collapse.

Both states can coexist. Seeking professional psychological help in cases of prolonged or severe hopelessness is legitimate and does not negate the spiritual dimension. Both can be true at the same time. However, this article focuses on spiritual suffering and the form of hope that is possible within that process.

For a detailed differentiation between clinical depression and spiritual crisis, see the corresponding episode on my English-language blog.

Conclusion: Hope as a Stance Within Darkness

If you find yourself in the Dark Night—or are accompanying someone who is—the deepest form of hope is not the promise of imminent relief, but:

the willingness to remain inwardly present, even when everything is dark.

The hope of the Dark Night is not soft, romantic, or sentimental. It is a radical, sober, enduring presence of the spirit that says:

“I remain, even if nothing returns that I once knew.”

This form of hope is not only deeper than ordinary optimism—it is the only way through the darkness without losing oneself.

Authored by Rebekka Waldesruh
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