Learning is essential to our existence. What happens when what we learn leads to sadness, depression, and hopelessness; all threats to our existence?
According to professors Seligman and Maier (1967), “learned helplessness” occurs when humans become conditioned to believe that nothing they do matters in terms of controlling or changing their situation. Remarkably, even when an opportunity for change becomes available, they no longer try.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), when a person repeatedly faces uncontrollable, stressful situations, they become passive in the face of trauma, they resist the idea that their response can control trauma, and their stress levels can continue to increase. This maladaptive coping method can lead to depression and other emotional disorders.
It’s not surprising that even someone previously happy, engaged, and hard-working can find it harder to perform well and easier to eventually give up in the face of empty promises, lack of protection or support, and unrealistic expectations. What may be surprising, is how little time it takes, in this environment, to develop apathy and a sense of powerlessness.
Psychology Today (2020) wrote, “Seligman subjected study participants to loud, unpleasant noises, using a lever that would or would not stop the sounds. The group whose lever wouldn’t stop the sound in the first round stopped trying to silence the noise subsequently”.
The good news is that even if you’ve fallen into “all-or-nothing thinking”, believing “nothing I do matters – I still always lose”, you don’t have to stay there. Research also shows that learned helplessness can be overcome by cultivating resilience and restoring a sense of control. #leadership #growth #mindset #positivity #leadclearly