What is Learned Helplessness?  -Causes and Coping Strategies-

Have you ever had the feeling in your daily life that you can’t accomplish anything anyway, that there is no way you can succeed even if you do your best, or that doing so is a waste of time and energy?

As a result, you may end up giving up without trying.

This does not mean that one’s will is weak, but it is a very natural feeling for those who have experienced failure and hardship in the past.

If things don’t work out the way you want them to, despite your best efforts, and if you are mentally beaten down again and again, it is inevitable that you will feel powerless and helpless, thinking that nothing you do will ever work again.

In psychology, this feeling of giving up is called learned helplessness.

As the term implies, we become helpless as a result of learning (experiences).

Through various experiences, we may feel helplessness.

But if it becomes chronic, it can develop into mental health issues such as low self-esteem, increased stress levels, anxiety disorders and depression.

Learned helplessness was theorized in 1967 by an American psychologist Martin Seligman who conducted an experiment on dogs.

In that experiment, two groups of dogs, Group A and Group B, were created and placed in separate rooms.

The floor in both rooms had electric shocks running through it, with a part that was free from the shock across a small wall.

The dogs in Group A were trained to escape from the shocks by crossing a small wall in the room.

Group B was also given the same shock.

However, the dogs in Group B were not trained to escape from the shock, and the electric shocks continued to be applied.

As a result, the dogs in Group A screamed and ran over the wall when the electricity was applied, but the dogs in Group B sat still, whining, as if they had given up, and did not try to escape, even though there was a place for them to escape.

As a result of experiencing something painful that people cannot control, they would not even try to find a way out, even though there may actually be a way out there.

Once again, this is called learned helplessness.

If you have a tendency to give up and not feel like doing anything, or if you just withstand a difficult situation, then the damage to your mind and body can accumulate.

It is not easy to regain hope or confidence from negative past experiences.

However, because we have learned helplessness from the past and it has become a habit, we can also “unlearn” by consciously abandoning it and learning new thinking habits.

How can we “unlearn”?

1. Remind yourself of your experience of achievement.

Helplessness is formed by the past experiences that did not go your way.

They form your thought that it would be vain trying anything, and that kind of thought undermines your motivation.

But on the other hand, there must be experiences where things went your way and you reached your goals through hard work.

It doesn’t matter what it is.

For example, you learned to ride a bike, your test score went up 10 points, you were able to make your friends laugh, you endured painful dental treatment, etc.

Reflect on your life, remember what you have accomplished in the past, and if possible, write them down.

By doing so, you can gradually break the idea that nothing is worth trying.

2. Do what you can control.

According to Seligman’s theory, people become helpless in situations they cannot control.

This means that doing something that you can control enables you to feel “capable” of doing it.

For example, if a person who never tries jogging sets the goal as 10 km from the beginning, he or she will get tired halfway through, and as a result, may decide that jogging is impossible or not suitable for him or her.

First, try things at an easier level than you usually set for yourself, and see if you can do it.

By doing these things one at a time, you will feel a sense of control, and that will motivate you to take the next step.

3. Do the best you can do now.

First of all, it is important to understand that there are things that we can control and things that we cannot control.

For example, being ill is out of our control although it is often upsetting.

However, researching the treatment, changing our diet, and sometimes asking others for help are things we can control.

If you are in a difficult situation or feel helpless, try to understand and accept what is beyond your control and what you can do about it.

And take actions.

Of course it’s easier said than done.

It is difficult to accept a painful situation.

But by realizing that you are under the situation of helplessness and that you can also unlearn to get out of the situation, you can move yourself to the secure and comfortable place.

If you are doubting your capacity and feel stuck, think if you really exhausted all the ways to deal with the difficult situation.