What is learned helplessness syndrome and why does it usually affect men?

Learned helplessness

is a condition that occurs after a person has repeatedly experienced a stressful situation. He comes to believe that he cannot control or change the situation, so he does not try - even when opportunities for change arise. Psychologists first described learned helplessness syndrome in 1967 after a series of experiments on animals and suggested that their findings might apply to humans. Learned helplessness leads to increased feelings of stress and depression. For some people, it is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

What is learned helplessness?

Acquired helplessness syndrome occurs when a person is repeatedly exposed to uncontrollable, stressful situations. The person considers himself helpless in this situation and does not try to change the situation, even when change is possible. Once a person discovers that he cannot control the events around him, he loses motivation. Even if an opportunity arises that allows a person to change his circumstances, he does not take any action. Learned helplessness may increase the risk of depression.

Martin Seligman, one of the psychologists credited with defining learned helplessness, detailed three key features:

• the person becomes passive in the face of trauma;
• does not understand that reaction can control trauma;
• a person's stress level increases.

Prerequisites for the theory

In 1967, Professor Seligman and Professor Steven Maier first described their theory of learned helplessness. Scientists conducted studies on dogs in which they exposed the animals to a series of electrical shocks. The dogs that couldn't control the kicks eventually developed signs of depression and anxiety, while the ones that could press the lever to stop the kicks did not.

In subsequent studies, dogs that were unable to control the shocks in the first experiment did not even try to avoid the shocks, even though they could have done so by jumping over a barrier. They became helpless. However, many years later, Professor Mayer conducted a neurobiological study that showed that the dogs did not actually become helpless - instead, they lost control.

Do you recognize modern Russia?

Geert Hofstede
Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede first coined the term “power distance.” We are talking about how high we place each representative of power above ourselves, how inclined we are to submit to power and deify it.

So, in terms of the “power distance” indicator, only countries with actual monarchical principles of governance are ahead of Russia. The main participants in any of our relationships so far are the king and the slave. And this manifests itself from the family and school to the Duma, the government and the presidential administration...

It is learned helplessness that does not allow us to open the necessary doors, leaving behind us a trail of unmade attempts, unresolved problems and a dream that we did not even dare to approach.

In terms of the “power distance” indicator, only countries with current monarchical principles of governance are ahead of Russia. The main participants in any of our relationships so far are the king and the slave.

Learned helplessness in adults

In adults, acquired helplessness manifests itself in the fact that a person does not use or learn adaptive responses to difficult situations. People in this state usually accept the fact that “bad things” will happen and that they will not be able to control them. They fail to solve problems even when a potential solution exists.

Examples of situations that can lead to acquired helplessness in adults:

1. People continue to smoke despite several attempts to quit. A person may believe that he will always smoke.
2. Inability to lose weight after making various diet or lifestyle changes. Failure can make a person believe it will never happen and they give up trying.
3. Leaving a domestic violence situation can be very difficult. Women who have this experience tend to leave several times before making it permanent. A person may believe that they will never be able to escape violence, even if help and support are available to them.

About people

In the same year, two other American psychologists continued studying the phenomenon of learned helplessness. This time the girls are Ellen Jane Langer and Judith Roden. They conducted a famous study in a nursing home called Arden House (Connecticut, USA). No one was forced to suffer here—helplessness was taught gently.

Participants were randomly selected from residents of two floors of a nursing home. The experimental group included residents of the fourth floor (8 men and 39 women), and the control group included residents of the second floor (9 men and 35 women). Total – 91 people.

The control group led a normal life, they were surrounded by the care and attention of the staff. The experimental group had the fate of bearing increased responsibility for themselves and their actions.

The nursing home administrator called a meeting in the hallway of each floor. He addressed the residents of the second floor with the following message: “We want your rooms to look as comfortable as possible and we will try to do everything for this. We want you to feel happy here and we hold ourselves responsible for making sure that you can be proud of our nursing home and be happy here... We will do everything in our power to help you... I would like to take this opportunity to give everyone of you is a gift from Arden House [the employee went around everyone and handed each patient a plant]. Now these are your plants, they will stand in your room, the nurses will water them and take care of them, you won’t have to do anything yourself.”

To the inhabitants of the fourth floor, the administrator voiced similar instructions, but with a completely different meaning: “You yourself must decide what your room will look like, whether you want to leave everything there as is or if you want our employees to help you rearrange the furniture... You yourself must tell us your wishes, tell us what exactly you would like to change in your life. In addition, I would like to take advantage of our meeting to present each of you with a gift from Arden House. If you decide that you want to have a plant, you can choose the one you like from this box. These plants are yours, you must maintain them and care for them as you see fit. Next week we will be showing the film on two evenings, Tuesday and Friday. You need to decide what day you are going to the cinema and whether you want to see the film at all.”

Thus, residents of the fourth floor could control everything that happened to them and participate in solving issues that were important to them. The latter could only indifferently accept their situation, and although it was more than bearable, they had no opportunity to influence anything - everything had already been decided for them.

The experiment lasted three weeks. During this time, the medical staff observed the activity, level of sociability, general tone, habits and nutrition of the participants. At the end of the experiment, surveys were conducted among the subjects that showed life satisfaction.

Learned helplessness in children

Often acquired helplessness begins in childhood. When parents do not respond appropriately to a child's need for help, he begins to believe that he cannot change his situation. If this happens regularly, the state of acquired helplessness can persist into adulthood.

For example, children with a long history of abuse and neglect may develop learned helplessness and feelings of powerlessness. Some characteristics of acquired helplessness in children include:

• low self-esteem;
• low motivation;
• low expectations of success;
• less persistence;
• the person does not ask for help;
• attributes lack of success to lack of opportunity;
• attributes success to factors beyond his control, such as luck.

In childhood, acquired helplessness often occurs at school. If a child studies hard to do well in school but ends up getting poor grades, he or she may feel helpless and hopeless.

A 2004 study examined the effect of learned helplessness on student test performance. Each student took one of two tests. The first one started with very difficult questions, and the second one with easier ones. Students who took the first test seemed frustrated, doubted their abilities, and skipped easy questions. The authors speculate that learned helplessness affected their test scores. Those who took the second test did not experience these effects.

Children can avoid learned helplessness by building resilience. Among the many factors that can contribute to resilience are positive attachments to parents and caregivers, humor, and independence.

Why does learned helplessness occur in some people and not in others?

A person's experiences can increase the risk of developing learned helplessness. It typically begins after repeated traumatic events, such as childhood abuse or domestic violence. However, not everyone who goes through this develops learned helplessness. Explanatory styles also play a role in its development. Explanatory style is a person's way of explaining an event to himself. People with a pessimistic explanatory style, which causes them to view negative events as inevitable and due to their own shortcomings, are more likely to experience learned helplessness. People with an optimistic explanatory style are less likely to do so.

Link to mental illness

Learned helplessness is associated with depression, PTSD and other health problems. Research shows that it increases feelings of stress, anxiety and depression in both humans and animals. One study, for example, shows that learned helplessness may increase the risk of PTSD and major depressive disorders in women who have long lived with domestic violence.

How to overcome acquired helplessness

People with acquired helplessness can overcome it. The most common treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). She helps people overcome these types of problems by changing the way they think and act.

In therapy, people can:

• receive support and encouragement;
• explore the origins of acquired helplessness;
• develop ways to reduce feelings of helplessness;
• identify negative thoughts that contribute to helplessness;
• identify behaviors that reinforce learned helplessness;
• replace thoughts and behavior with more positive and useful ones;
• increase self-esteem;
• work through difficult emotions;
• review cases of abuse, neglect and trauma;
• set goals and objectives.

Although there is no research on the specific effects of exercise, physical activity generally provides mental health benefits and can reduce or prevent anxiety, depression, stress and other health problems. A healthy diet, meditation, and mindfulness practice—these and other lifestyle changes can improve a person's mental health and outlook.

Treatment

To get rid of acquired helplessness, you need to start focusing on positive actions that bring results, on positive experiences and emotions. This will allow you to break habitual patterns of behavior and thinking.

Treatment involves consciously seeking motivation for tasks, learning and work, positive self-talk, attributing positive emotions to your experiences and affirmations.

The hardest things to break are the thought patterns that allow a person to maintain their condition, whether it be depression, anxiety, or a pessimistic mood. These patterns can exist in the form of smoking, drinking, drugs, and other self-destructive behaviors.

The best method is acquired optimism . This is another term coined by Martin Seligman. Like helplessness, optimistic thinking can also be acquired.

Seligman and many other psychologists believe that people with an optimistic outlook are more successful and physically healthy. At the same time, it is pessimism that is developed in most people.

A person with an optimistic outlook views failure as an event that was simply unfortunate, or as a new challenge, rather than as a permanent reflection of his abilities.

To develop your acquired optimism, you need to once again pay attention to the explanatory style.

Explanatory style is a psychological attribute that indicates how people explain to themselves why they perceive a certain event as positive or negative. Psychologists have identified three components of this style:

• Consistency : This is how a person interprets his life. Optimistic people tend to believe that negative events are temporary rather than permanent and recover quickly from setbacks, while others may require longer periods to recover. Optimists believe that failures are temporary, pessimists believe that failures are permanent and eternal.
• Permeability : Optimists believe that failure is not a reflection of their personality, while pessimists think the opposite. The former, in case of failure in one area, calmly try themselves in another. The latter do not want to try to succeed in other areas.
• Personalization : optimists tend to attribute failures to external factors, pessimists - to internal ones. Thus, optimists are able to cope with mistakes faster and have high levels of self-esteem and self-confidence.