What is Learned Helplessness in psychology and how can we cope with it?
Learned Helplessness is the giving up reaction, the quitting response that follows from the belief that whatever you do doesn’t matter. — Martin E.P. Seligman
When a difficult circumstance is encountered repeatedly, a person eventually develops a state of learned helplessness. People start to think that they can’t influence or alter the situation, therefore they give up even when there are chances for change.
Following several animal tests, psychologists first mentioned learned helplessness in 1967 and suggested that their findings might also apply to people.
Learned helplessness increases stress and depressive symptoms. It has a connection to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in some individuals.
This article examines the phenomenon of learned helplessness and offers some solutions.
What exactly is acquired or learned helplessness?
The American Psychological Association claims that when a person encounters stressful, uncontrollable situations frequently, they develop a learned helplessness that prevents them from using control when it becomes accessible.
