Learned Helplessness
Understanding the Effects of Abuse
Learned helplessness is a term I had never experienced until recently. I had felt helpless and out of control of my life, but the words learned helplessness took me by surprise.
In this article, we shall explore learned helplessness and what it means for survivors of childhood trauma.
What is Learned Helplessness?
Learned helplessness is a psychological phenomenon that has been observed in humans. It is caused when humans are conditioned to expect suffering, pain, or discomfort without hope of escape. After enough conditioning, the person will stop trying to escape or to avoid the pain even if there is an opportunity to do so.
Once humans begin to believe that they have no control over their lives or what happens to them, they begin to feel, act, and think like they are completely helpless.
Learned helplessness is a psychic force that includes self-doubt, interfering, and blocking that keeps the person from continuing on to success when success is within their reach. The result is that people will turn away from trying to succeed and instead diagnose themselves as no good and without hope.
A great example of learned helplessness is how an elephant behaves after it has been tied to a tree with a…
