Learned Helplessness

There are some things which we have no control over and there are some situations we may be unable to change, but learned helplessness is a psychological phenomenon where an individual learns to feel helpless and unable to control or change a situation, even when they can.

This video outlines different ways people can develop learned helplessness such as trauma, abuse and neglect and even over protectiveness, gives examples and looks at the affects learned helplessness can have on people.

Further Reading:

Seligman, M. E. P., & Maier, S. F. (1967). "Failure to escape traumatic shock." Journal of Experimental Psychology, 74(1), 1–9.

Alloy, L. B., & Abramson, L. Y. (1979). "Judgment of contingency in depressed and nondepressed students: Sadder but wiser?" Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 108(4), 441–485.

Peterson, C., Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1993). "Learned Helplessness: A Theory for the Age of Personal Control." Oxford University Press.

Stajkovic, A. D., & Luthans, F. (1998). "Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis." Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 240–261.

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#learnedhelplessness #mentalhealth #personaldevelopment

[yamlwoz]

Totally convinced this is why I have panic attacks. I grew up with constant shame, blame and guilt. Not allowed to show any tiny negative emotions. Not allowed to be happy enough to make mother jealous. And definitely with no control over anything that happened to me. This is definitely what I need to work on now. At age 67 I am finally ready (though scared) to start saying No to my mother. She expects me to wait on her hand and foot, but it's not going to happen any more. Bless you Darren, you've hit on the perfect lesson that I need, yet again. Thank you ❤

[jeffreyjackson]

My mother had that effect on my two siblings. She always came to the rescue. Consequently, their lives are basically a mess today.

[Bpdbryan]

in midst of abuse, i learned that being in crisis led to a temporary stop to the abuse and occasionally received kindness so I picked up learned helplessness. something that has been a process to unpack and unlearn but getting there! 👏💙

[antonypradeep]

Wow! you shared the whole therapy field's secret in simple videos! Good for you sir! and yes please put more video about "combating Learned helplessness!"

[weaviejeebies]

In therapy, I struggled with seeing/admitting learned helplessness until I realized I was objecting to the 'weak' characterization I felt the term 'helpless' implied. Helpless, to my deepest self, means the skills, knowledge, and physical ability to change things are just absent, as they actually were when I was a child. I felt like using that term on adults implied some kind of laziness or opposition to us fully embracing the autonomy we now have. In short, it felt kind of victim-blaming. I know that's not true, that's just how it felt, and I'm hypersensitive to literally anything that might suggest my cptsd is a choice on my part. It's yet another example of how internalized negative messages pop up to interfere in healing and growth. So I decided to personally relabel this term as "the holographic electrified cage" and "entrained hesitation".That makes me feel that although I know am fully capable of changing my situation, it's hard to tell if the cage is actually still as real and dangerous as it once was (it certainly looks real) and whether there's still a shock coming (it seems highly likely) until one reaches out and touches the bars. Not wanting to touch the bars and find out is an appropriate response when everything looks so real and the shocks used to be so bad, and if I hadn't been purposefully conditioned to stay in the cage by someone else, I wouldn't have developed that response. Reframing it like this helps me work with it because it engages a sense of defying the narcissist in a way I couldn't before. It feels empowering. It's like I look at him (my father) and say, I'm gonna keep touching the bars. I'm gonna risk that shock. Because the jig is up, I know the bars are just holograms, and the little cub in the cage has grown into a full-sized, pissed off, hungry tigress. 😈 Sorry for the long post but I wanted to put it out there that if you're struggling with this concept, maybe change the wording. Whatever shows it to you at the right angle for your adaptive system to get a hook into. 🙏 many blessings ❤

[cintiameirelles]

I struggle with my upbringing Narcissist family...and I have a suggestion for a future video! I love the title of this one, só I thought you could do another one with the title " the pain of coming from a Narcissist family. And it's impact on mental health..."
Thank you

[lowellanderson]

Thank you for this video! Would like very much to hear about Learned Optimism.

[Marcia_Toms]

I can strongly relate to this. I was “rescued” from parents home by my ( now ) husband and he has rescued me from many situations over the last 40 years where I’ve thought I couldn’t cope otherwise. I can see it has been a pattern, something I’d like to learn more about for sure. Thank you.

[procion]

Years ago back in 2010 I read an Article about learned helplesness and the dogs, I must admit I cryed my eyes out. I knew exactly how those dogs felt. The reason this was discovered was the second pack of dogs didn`t jump when the electricity was turned on, they just layed down. They discovered that the dogs had been used in another experiment with electricity with no rewards for jumping.

[cp]

Could fearful avoidance fit into learned helplessness?

[imnoel]

Thank you Darren. I appreciate your videos about toxic behavior patterns and how to recognize them; these are important. Even more I appreciate your videos that help us learn about ourselves, make sense of what happened to us, and regain our own power. I'd also like to learn more about combating learned helplessness.

[rosalitalyn]

Hello thank you for this video. Could you please make a follow up video on how to learn a sense of control in order to heal this?

[jeffreyjackson]

My children environment was act my greatest motivation for change. I was like, "Man, got to get out of here!" I did: military, college, relocated, and a better life. The latter part of my life is truly better than the former.

[bellaluce]

*Success is a vitamin.* Between my narcissist mother's sabotage and the endless failures of late-diagnosed ADHD, my life has been chock-full of opportunities to learn helplessness. When I first heard about the concept, it reduced my shame and gave me an important key: I can *intentionally* give myself opportunities to learn success and self-efficacy instead. Huzzah!

[ladycampion]

Thanks! I think there are definitely times in my life where I have found myself in this frame of mind... Thankfully, I _think_ that's truly past tense. 🙂

[officiis]

I appreciated the last bit, especially the cheeky smirk.

[ginaiosef]

Thank you, Darren, it was very helpful!❤

[richardgoreilly]

Marvelous precis on Seligman's Learned Optimism's foundation in helplessness - I remember reading it in the 90's (you were probably still in the pram)

[KgwittheTEA]

You answered my question thank you very interesting

[michaelgarrow]

Jealous people punish you every time you progress. The better they know you the harder they punch.