Why do i act helpless

Since nothing they do seems to make any difference, they will stop trying and their grades may suffer even more. Such problems can also affect other areas of the child's life.

Their poor performance in school can make them feel that nothing they do is right or useful, so they may lose the motivation to try in other areas of their life as well. Learned helplessness may also contribute to feelings of anxiety and may influence the onset, severity, and persistence of conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder GAD.

When you experience chronic anxiety, you may eventually give up on finding relief because your anxious feelings seem unavoidable and untreatable. Because of this, people who are experiencing mental health issues such as anxiety or depression may refuse medications or therapy that may help relieve their symptoms. As people age learned helplessness can become something of a vicious cycle. When encountering problems such as anxiety or depression, people may feel that nothing can be done to ease these feelings.

People then fail to seek out options that may help which then contributes to greater feelings of helplessness and anxiety. So what explains why some people develop learned helplessness and others do not?

Why is it specific to some situations but more global in others? Attribution or explanatory styles may also play a role in determining how people are impacted by learned helplessness. This view suggests that an individual's characteristic style of explaining events helps determine whether or not they will develop learned helplessness. A pessimistic explanatory style is associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing learned helplessness. People with this explanatory style tend to view negative events as being inescapable and unavoidable and tend to take personal responsibility for such negative events.

So what can people do to overcome learned helplessness? Research suggests that learned helplessness can be successfully decreased, particularly if intervention occurs during early onset.

Long-term learned helplessness can also be reduced, although it may require longer-term effort. Therapy can be effective in reducing symptoms of learned helplessness. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy that can be beneficial in overcoming the thinking and behavioral patterns that contribute to learned helplessness. The goal of CBT is to help patients identify negative thought patterns that contribute to feelings of learned helplessness and then replace these thoughts with more optimistic and rational thoughts.

This process often involves carefully analyzing what you are thinking, actively challenging these ideas, and disputing negative thought patterns. One animal study suggested that exercise may be helpful in reducing symptoms of learned helplessness. Learned helplessness can have a profound impact on mental health and well-being. People who experience learned helplessness are also likely to experience symptoms of depression , elevated stress levels, and less motivation to take care of their physical health.

Not everyone responds to experiences the same way. Some people are more likely to experience learned helplessness in the face of uncontrollable events, often due to biological and psychological factors.

Children raised by helpless parents, for example, are also more likely to experience learned helplessness.

If you feel that learned helplessness might be having a negative impact on your life and health, consider talking to your doctor about steps you can take to address this type of thinking.

Further evaluation can lead to an accurate diagnosis and treatment that can help you replace your negative thought patterns with more positive ones. Such treatment may allow you to replace feelings of learned helplessness with a sense of learned optimism instead. Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Learned helplessness at fifty: Insights from neuroscience. Its symptoms are similar to those….

What is learned helplessness? Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph. What is it? Theory In adults In children Who it affects Related conditions Treatment Summary Learned helplessness is a state that occurs after a person has experienced a stressful situation repeatedly. Share on Pinterest A person who experiences stressful or traumatic situations may develop learned helplessness. Background to the theory. Learned helplessness in adults. Learned helplessness in children.

Share on Pinterest A child with learned helplessness may exhibit a lack of motivation and low expectation of success. Why does learned helplessness affect some people and not others? Links with mental health conditions. How to overcome learned helplessness.

Share on Pinterest CBT can help people to overcome unhealthy thoughts and behaviors. Latest news Could 'cupping' technique boost vaccine delivery? Scientists identify new cause of vascular injury in type 2 diabetes.

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They demonstrate many of the same characteristics as older children and adults. Children exhibiting this pattern have difficulty acquiring and demonstrating cognitive skills in the face of adversity. They demonstrate dramatically poorer outcomes in a wide variety of domains, including social relationships, sports, moral development, and academics.

There is very little evidence at this point describing the antecedents of learned helplessness. Some research suggests a genetic component, noting that monozygotic identical twins are more alike in their explanatory style than dizygotic fraternal twins.

This is thought to be due to their higher level of genetic similarity but could also be explained by their greater degree of shared experiences. One promising area is looking at parental provision of structure and intrusiveness. Results suggest that paternal intrusiveness disrupts environmental contingency and may result in adoption of a helpless pattern in early childhood.

Clearly, more work needs to be done in this area. The primary application of learned helplessness has been to depression and other emotional disorders. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema and colleagues have studied the precursors of depression.

They discovered that explanatory style i. Pessimism and a general tendency to explain events as internal and stable are correlated with depression. However, it may be that the reverse is true; individuals with a learned helplessness pattern may be more likely to see problems when another person in a similar circumstance sees opportunities.

Nothing in life ever goes my way. Healthy self-talk inspires healthy action. I can get through this. Tuning into your senses and learning how to command them helps you develop stronger reaction skills, which helps you reduce helplessness, Serani said. To start sharpening your senses, simply close your eyes, and focus on what you hear.

Then focus on what you smell. What do you see? Pinpointing your personal patterns helps you feel empowered and avoid feeling helpless, Serani said. You can do this on a smaller scale by focusing on daily habits. Reflect on the events that preceded the circumstance. Were you pressed for time, rushed or unprepared? Is there a pattern that you can identify that keeps you in a helpless state?