Learned Helplessness occurs in response to stressful situations or traumatic experiences in which a person feels they have limited control over the outcome. This leads to feelings of helplessness and a loss of motivation which remain, even once they have the opportunity to make changes to their circumstances. It is particularly common among people who have experienced trauma, childhood neglect, abuse. Often learned helplessness has its origins in childhood.
Some of the common signs associated with it are - failing to ask for help, putting less effort into tasks, giving up too soon, feeling a lack of control over the outcome of situations.
During childhood, when caregivers do not respond appropriately to a child’s need for help, the child may learn that they cannot change their situation. If this occurs regularly, the state of learned helplessness may persist into adulthood.
Learned Helplessness in adults shows up as a person not using or learning adaptive responses to difficult situations.
People who have Learned Helplessness typically accept that bad things will happen and that they have little control over it. They also tend to feel, nothing they do – matters. When Learned Helplessness takes over, you don’t feel so sure of your ability to handle challenges; you don’t believe that what you do makes a difference, and this makes it hard to see a way out. Remember, it is possible to have Learned Helplessness in some areas of your life but not in others. For example, one may do well at the work place but may have a tough time setting boundaries with parents.
How do you know you have Learned Helplessness? Here are few common signs to look out for
- Low Self-esteem – When having Learned Helplessness people feel badly about themselves and doubt their ability to accomplish even small tasks.
- Frustration – because one feels like everything is outside one’s control, people with Learned Helplessness have very low tolerance for frustration and therefore they get easily overwhelmed or flustered.
- Passivity – people who have Learned Helplessness have an attitude that says “Bad things will happen to me “ , so they do not put effort into trying to avoid difficulty or improve their odds to succeed.
- Lack of effort – Learned Helplessness can cause you to procrastinate and engage in decision-avoidance. People often will not try to complete tasks or projects, assuming that nothing good will come of it – even if they try.