The learned helplessness is perhaps one of those psychological phenomena whose importance affects the existential plane of the human being, and whose research and answers that science throws up in this respect should be capable of improving the way we relate to each other. Minimizing learned helplessness will mean progress both for society and for individuals in particular.

But, what exactly is learned helplessness, and why is it so important to know this concept? In today’s article we will explore this phenomenon and its implications in our daily lives.

Learned helplessness: a syndrome to be considered

Learned helplessness is something that can affect people as close as a family member and even oneself. It is not, therefore, just an academic concept with no relevance to reality, but something that affects the daily lives of many people and, on many occasions, their lives may depend on the effective help of a family member or mental health professional who tries to mitigate this learned and dysfunctional behaviour.

What is learned helplessness?

But what exactly is learned helplessness?

Broadly speaking, it refers to the condition by which a person or animal is inhibited in the face of aversive or painful situations when actions to avoid them have not been fruitful, ending up by developing passivity in the face of this type of situation. Understanding the way this phenomenon develops is vital in order to understand and help people who suffer from this psychological bias, since it can be a limiting belief that acts as a strong burden for their personal development and self-esteem.

The contributions of Martin Seligman, the researcher who discovered learned helplessness

Seligman and Overmaier were among the first researchers to raise the question of why an animal or a person suffering in their own flesh from constant adverse and painful conditions did nothing to leave that situation. This finding was reported in research with dogs, and was later followed by some researchers such as Watson and Ramey , who studied learned helplessness in humans.

On the other hand, there is no specific situation that generates helplessness , that is, many people can live the same adverse situation (even in a group) and yet react differently to it. It was Bernard Weiner who considered the influence of the interpretation and perception that each individual has of the event in the development of helplessness and also in the way of facing it.

Signs of learned helplessness

When someone falls into helplessness, it manifests itself in three deficits: the motivational, the emotional and the cognitive. A person who begins to fall into helplessness or who already suffers from it begins to show a delay in the initiation of voluntary responses until little by little there are no longer any (motivational deficit). Similarly, a series of behavioural disorders begin to exist, the most common being states of anxiety and depression (emotional deficit), which make a dent to the point that the affected person is unable to see solutions to the problem that is tormenting him or her (cognitive deficit).

The answer to the question of why a person in a situation clearly does not do anything to get out of it lies precisely in the integral affectation not only of these three spheres (motivational, emotional and cognitive) but also at a physiological level. In a word, the whole person, the different psychic and somatic spheres, are added to this syndrome. Consequently, it is not enough to make the decision to break the negative cycle, but it also implies unlearning how to process the aversive or painful situation.

Why do some people develop learned helplessness?

How do you reach helplessness? An easy way to understand it is the story of the frogs. It is said that to cook a live frog you have to put it in cold water and gradually increase the heat until it boils. On the other hand, if to cook the same frog we decide to put it in the already boiling water, the frog will jump; it will escape from the boiling water. With this example I want to explain that the learned helplessness is a thought pattern that develops gradually and that little by little eats away at the psychic and bodily strengths to the point of bending the will.

The sad thing to consider is the ease with which the learned helplessness can be developed. We are all vulnerable to adopting this type of thinking, since there is rarely an emotional education to be able to deal with it.

It is enough to continually expose the potential victim to adverse circumstances, to lower his morale, to overload him with work, to shut off external support for a long time and repeatedly. The person who has been treated in this way will soon show deficits in the areas already mentioned: affective, emotional, cognitive and even somatic. And no, it is not something that does not happen every day: domestic violence and/or partner violence are common examples in which different degrees of learned helplessness on the part of the victim are often perceived.

But these are not the only scenarios in which relational patterns can be generated that can lead to learned helplessness. L a is at school, at work, in groups of friends … Communicative and relational styles that generate learned helplessness do not necessarily translate into physical violence. In many cases, violence can be of a psychological, economic, or moral nature, among others.

Solving learned helplessness

As for the need to generate dynamics to try to help a person with learned helplessness, several things can be said.It is of little help if someone tries to help by constantly repeating to the victim what they should do or how they should think. It would be like wanting to tell a flu patient not to feel bad: both the flu virus and the mental schemes that lead to learned helplessness are sufficiently rooted in the person to resist mere well-meaning words or summary advice on how to cope.

In fact, the person who suffers from learned helplessness does not feel bad because he wants to but because his psyche has consolidated dysfunctional schemes that inhibit him when it comes to changing his own situation. Therefore, it is necessary to de-stigmatize the victim. To understand that he has lost the capacity to see the solutions that others without the problem can see and that the help he requires is not only that others tell him what he “should” or “shouldn’t” do, but to reaffirm him in his capacity and self-esteem; to give him back control over his life so that he is able to take charge of what he once saw as unsolvable .

Psychological therapy to treat these cases

In this regard, there are mental health professionals who can treat the cases of people with learned helplessness. One of the most frequently used therapies for this purpose is cognitive-behavioral therapy. Through several sessions, the psychologist will help the patient restructure his thoughts and emotions , as well as the learned behaviours that prevent him from moving forward.

Finally, defenselessness is not just an individual matter . It can go “viral”, if I may say so. That is, defenselessness can be transmitted to a whole society or a social group. The Second World War was an extreme case where all the cruelty of which human beings are capable became evident, and the Nazi concentration camps witnessed thousands of human beings who, having lost all hope of survival, practically gave themselves up to death.

Anyway, there’s no need to go so far back in time or space. Family violence, bullying, mobbing are just some everyday examples that show us that this phenomenon is very present in our societies. It is up to us to start becoming aware of it and to fight not only to minimize its effects, but also to combat its causes.

Bibliographic references:

  • http://www4.ujaen.es/~rmartos/IA.PDF
  • http://mariangelesalvarez.com/igualdad/relacion-de-control-o-igual/la-indefension-aprendida