Learned Helplessness

When bad things happen, we like to believe that we would do whatever is necessary to change the situation. Research on what is known as learned helplessness has shown that when people feel like they have no control over what happens, they tend to simply give up and accept their fate.

What Is Learned Helplessness?

Learned helplessness is a phenomenon in which someone has been conditioned to anticipate discomfort in some way without having a way to avoid it or make it stop.?After enough conditioning, the person will stop any attempts to avoid the pain, even if they see an opportunity to escape.

When people believe that they are powerless to control what happens to them, they start to act helpless. This concept is referred to as “learned helplessness” because it is not something that anyone is born with—no one believes from birth that they can’t control their surroundings and that it is pointless to even try.

This learned behavior is conditioned through experiences where a person either actually has no control over their circumstances or believes this to be the case. It is one of psychology’s major theories and has been associated with various psychological disorders.

Psychology Behind Learned Helplessness Theory

Martin Seligman and Steven F. Maier are two psychologists who stumbled upon the idea of learned helplessness after observing the helpless behavior of dogs that had been conditioned to expect to feel a shock after hearing a tone.

Seligman and Maier found that when these conditioned dogs were given the option to escape an electric floor by jumping over a small barrier, they simply chose not to escape the shocks.

To further look into this concept, the researchers created another experiment that also involved dogs. Here, the dogs were separated into three groups:

Group 1: The dogs were secured in harnesses but were soon released.

Group 2: The dogs were secured in harnesses but subjected to electric shocks. But the shocks would stop if the dog pressed a panel with its nose.

Group 3: The dogs were secured in harnesses and subjected to random electric shocks that they were unable to control.

All three groups of dogs were then put in a shuttle box. The dogs from groups 1 and 2 were able to figure out that jumping the barrier allowed them to escape the shock. But the dogs from group 3 did not try to escape the shocks. Because of their prior experience, they had learned to expect that they were powerless to avoid the shocks.

The dogs in group 3 believed they were powerless. They were unaware that they had the option to avoid the shocks. These poor dogs simply dealt with the electrified floor because they thought they had no control. They learned to be helpless.

Learned Helplessness in Humans

The impact of learned helplessness has been demonstrated in different animal species, but its effects can also be seen in people.

Consider one often-used example: A child who performs poorly on math tests and assignments will quickly begin to feel that nothing he does will have any effect on his math performance. When later faced with any type of math-related task, he may experience a sense of helplessness.

1. Weight loss

If you’ve consistently failed at losing weight through different diets and exercise routines, you will probably begin to think that you will never lose weight, no matter what you do. You have put forth so much time and effort to achieve this goal, but you see no results, so what is the point of trying?

You may even succumb to the “What the Hell” effect, which will cause you to slide down a slippery slope every time you mess up on your diet. For example, it may be someone's birthday in the office, and you eat a piece of cake. Since you already “messed up” for the day, you figure?Why stop now??and indulge in a calorie-rich dinner.

2. Building good habits

If you grow up thinking that your bad habits (such as smoking, eating unhealthy food, or drinking too much) are just part of who you are and how you were raised, and you think there’s nothing you can do to change your habits, you are experiencing learned helplessness.

If you have done certain things for your entire life, it can be very difficult to change your ways and take control of your life. But learning?how to break bad habits?is an important part of overcoming learned helplessness.

3. Learning a new skill

People often get stuck in their ways, to the point that they assume they aren't good at something they may not have even tried. The saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” reinforces the idea that once someone believes they are doing everything they can in life, they stop trying new things. But forming new neural pathways that deepen with repetition helps people?develop new skills?and behaviors.

With a growth mindset, you will always believe that you can learn new talents and improve on the skills and talents you already have. Having a growth mindset is an important part of overcoming learned helplessness.

4. Eating healthy

The idea of?eating healthy?may seem overwhelming to people who don't typically do it. Some may believe healthy food is expensive, that it takes too much work to make, and that it is easier and cheaper to just stop by a drive-through for meals.

Learned helplessness also leads to the flawed thinking that you will inevitably go back to your old habits and you will not be able to resist your favorite foods down the road.

Additionally, if you try to eat healthily, you may have an internal conviction that any success you have is only temporary. You may believe you will always revert back to the familiar foods because you are unable to make a change. This can lead to giving up and not even trying to eat a healthier diet.

There are two kinds of learned helplessness:

1.?????Universal helplessness?is happening when someone believes that there is nothing that anyone can do to alleviate their unfortunate circumstances.

?For example, the mother of a child with a terminal illness may try everything possible to save her child’s life, but the illness is incurable. When she realizes that there is nothing that will help to save her child, she is feeling universal helplessness.

?2.?????Personal helplessness?is when someone feels like there is a possible solution to their pain that other people may be able to find, but personally, they aren’t able to find a solution.

?Example:?a student puts forth all of their efforts and spends an excessive amount of time writing a paper, yet they fail anyway. This would lead to a sense of personal helplessness because they believe that by working hard they would have gotten as good a grade on their paper as their classmates did. It is likely that internal traits lead to a sense of personal helplessness.

Overcoming Learned Helplessness

A Step-by-Step Plan for Overcoming It (If You Feel Like You‘re Suffering From It)

Hopefully, these?examples of learned helplessness?also show you that?this is not the right way to deal with bad things in your life.

You have the power to change. You can improve yourself. You can extricate yourself from bad situations and?negative people?who hold you back and may even abuse you.

You have the power! SO let's look at the steps that can be taken to overcome learned helplessness and improve your life.

1. Recognize and accept your learned awareness and get to the root of it.

What is the origin of your feelings of learned helplessness? What are some things that may have happened in your childhood that could be contributing to your mindset today? When did you start to feel helpless?

This will help you identify the starting point of your feelings. Think about your behaviors throughout your life to see if you can identify a common denominator that has impacted who you are today.

2. Identify your limiting beliefs. Reframe them in a positive, optimistic light.

If your beliefs about yourself are overly negative, it will lead to a negative self-view and depression. Overcome your unhelpful thoughts by trying to find evidence to oppose them.

For example, if you think you are incapable of learning new things, look for evidence to support and oppose this thought. If you have learned anything new recently, this is not a factual thought, and it negates the idea that you can't learn new things.

3. Watch your self-talk. How do you talk to and about yourself? Change negative self-talk into positive.

Far too often we are our own worse critics. We put ourselves down. Think of ourselves in the worst light and make too many of the errors we make when things go wrong.

To stop learned helplessness we need to change the paradigm of self-talk.

Start by articulating and identifying thoughts that are bringing you down and don't serve any useful purpose. Then, start asking yourself questions instead of giving yourself commands to help you make a change.

This is as simple as tweaking the way you talk to yourself. If you hear your inner critic being negative, consider how you can turn the statement into a question so you can open up some room for exploration and possibility.

For example, instead of saying, “I failed at that again,” ask yourself, “What can I do next time to improve? Am I willing to do what it takes? When have I been able to do this before?” This type of self-inquiry will help open up the problem-solving areas of your brain and help you tap into your creativity. You're able to change negative thoughts into curiosity rather than defeat.

4. Improve your self-awareness through journaling

5. Set SMART goals

6. Change your environment in a way that helps you achieve your goals

7. Take one small action every day

8. Celebrate small wins and important milestones

9. Learn and implement self-care

10. Overcoming your self-defeating behavior

Final Word

Learned helplessness can have a profound impact on mental health and well-being. People who experience learned helplessness are also likely to experience symptoms of depression, elevated stress levels, and less motivation to take care of their physical health.

Not everyone responds to experiences the same way. Some people are more likely to experience learned helplessness in the face of uncontrollable events, often due to biological and psychological factors. Children raised by helpless parents, for example, are also more likely to experience learned helplessness.

If you feel that learned helplessness might be having a negative impact on your life and health, consider talking to your doctor about steps you can take to address this type of thinking.

Further evaluation can lead to an accurate diagnosis and treatment that can help you replace your negative thought patterns with more positive ones. Such treatment may allow you to replace feelings of learned helplessness with a sense of learned optimism instead.

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