what types of environment might contribute to learned helplessness
Learned helplessness is a state that occurs after a person has experienced a stressful situation repeatedly. They come to believe that they are unable to control or change the situation, so they do not effort — even when opportunities for change get bachelor.
Psychologists starting time described learned helplessness in 1967 after a series of experiments in animals, and they suggested that their findings could apply to humans.
Learned helplessness leads to increased feelings of stress and depression. For some people, it is linked with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In this article, we explore the country of learned helplessness and propose some ways to overcome it.
Co-ordinate to the American Psychological Clan, learned helplessness occurs when someone repeatedly faces uncontrollable, stressful situations, and so does not exercise command when it becomes available.
They take "learned" that they are helpless in that state of affairs and no longer try to change it, even when modify is possible.
Once a person having this experience discovers that they cannot control events effectually them, they lose motivation. Even if an opportunity arises that allows the person to alter their circumstances, they do non take action.
Individuals experiencing learned helplessness are oft less able to make decisions.
Learned helplessness can increment a person'southward run a risk of depression.
Prof. Martin Seligman, one of the psychologists credited with defining learned helplessness, has detailed three central features:
- becoming passive in the confront of trauma
- difficulty learning that responses tin command trauma
- tin can increase in stress levels
In 1967, Prof. Seligman and Prof. Steven F. Maier commencement described their theory of learned helplessness.
The researchers conducted studies on dogs, in which they exposed the animals to a serial of electric shocks.
The dogs that could non command the shocks eventually showed signs of depression and anxiety. Those that could press a lever to stop the shocks did not.
In follow-upwardly research, the dogs that could not control the shocks in the first experiment did not even endeavor to avoid the shocks, despite the fact that they could have done so by jumping over a barrier. They had learned to go helpless.
Many years later, however, Prof. Maier conducted neuroscientific research that suggested that the dogs did not, in fact, learn helplessness — instead, they had not learned control.
In adults, learned helplessness
People in this land typically accept that bad things volition happen and that they have lilliputian control over them. They are unsuccessful in resolving bug even when there is a potential solution.
Below are some examples of situations that tin can lead to learned helplessness in adults:
- Continuing to smoke despite several attempts to quit may cause a person to believe that they will always be a smoker.
- Beingness unable to lose weight later on making various dietary or lifestyle changes may cause a person to believe that information technology will never happen and give up trying.
- Leaving a situation of domestic corruption can exist very difficult. Women having this experience tend to leave
several times before doing and so for practiced. A person may believe that they tin can never escape the abuser, fifty-fifty when assistance and support are bachelor.
Often, learned helplessness begins in childhood.
When caregivers do non respond appropriately to a child's demand 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.
Children with a history of prolonged abuse and neglect, for case,
Some characteristics of learned helplessness in children include:
- depression self-esteem
- low motivation
- depression expectations of success
- less persistence
- not request for help
- ascribing a lack of success to a lack of power
- ascribing success to factors beyond their control, such equally luck
In childhood, learned helplessness oftentimes presents at school. If a child studies hard in guild to practise well in their schoolwork, simply ultimately does poorly, they may experience helpless and hopeless.
A 2004 study examined the effects of learned helplessness on exam taking in students. Each child involved took one of two tests. The kickoff began with very difficult questions and the other with easier questions.
Students who took the offset test seemed to become frustrated, doubted their academic power, and missed the easy questions. The authors suggest that learned helplessness affected their test scores. Those who took the second examination did not experience these furnishings.
Children may avoid learned helplessness by building
A person'due south experiences can increment their gamble of developing learned helplessness.
It typically begins after experiencing repeated traumatic events, such as childhood abuse or domestic violence.
However, not anybody who goes through these things volition develop learned helplessness.
Explanatory styles also play a part in its development. An explanatory way is a person's way of explaining an result to themselves.
People with a pessimistic explanatory style — causing them to view negative events as being unavoidable and resulting from their own shortcomings — are more likely to feel learned helplessness. People with an optimistic explanatory style are less likely to exercise so.
Learned helplessness is linked with depression, PTSD, and other health issues.
Inquiry indicates that information technology increases feelings of stress, anxiety, and low in both humans and animals.
1 study, for instance, suggests that learned helplessness may increment the take a chance of PTSD and major depressive disorder in women who take lived with domestic violence for a long time.
People with learned helplessness tin can overcome information technology.
The most common handling is therapy, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT helps people overcome these types of challenges by irresolute how they think and act.
In therapy, people can:
- receive back up and encouragement
- explore the origins of learned helplessness
- develop means to subtract feelings of helplessness
- identify negative thoughts that contribute to learned helplessness
- identify behaviors that reinforce learned helplessness
- replace thoughts and behaviors with more positive and beneficial ones
- improve cocky-esteem
- work through challenging emotions
- address instances of abuse, neglect, and trauma
- set goals and tasks for themselves
Some research suggests that exercise tin can prevent learned helplessness in animals.
Though in that location is no research into this item effect of exercise in humans, physical activity usually benefits mental health and tin can reduce or prevent feet, low, stress, and other health issues.
Eating a healthful diet, meditating, and practicing mindfulness are other lifestyle changes that tin boost a person's mental wellness and outlook.
The effects of learned helplessness tin can be extensive, impacting a person's mental health, relationships, and other aspects of life.
It too increases the take a chance of stress, depression, and low self-esteem.
Certain factors, such as a history of abuse and a pessimistic outlook, tin make a person more than prone to learned helplessness.
However, it is possible to overcome it with therapy and lifestyle changes.
Anyone who believes that they are experiencing learned helplessness should consider speaking with a mental health professional person who can help them take control of their circumstances.
Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325355
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