Older people have watched a lot of stories end, the scary ones included. That’s worth a listen when yours feels like it won’t.

Anybody who has lived a long time has watched a great many frightening situations resolve, including ones that looked unsurvivable from the inside. That is not optimism, it is a sample size. When you are in the middle of something, the end of it is genuinely invisible to you, while people with more data are quietly aware of how often things turn.

If you are stuck in something that feels permanent, tell one older person and listen to what they have seen. You are not obliged to believe them. Borrowing a longer view for an hour can still be enough to get through a week.