Learned Helplessness

But what if no matter what a person does, she truly feels she can 't change her situation? That person develops what is called "learned helplessness". These traits include: lack of motivation or activity sadness & listlessness lack of hostility when hostility is warranted cognitive problems depression If the unchangeable situation continues, the person will begin to make attributions that everything is out of his or her control including: what happens to them is their fault (internal) they can never change things (global) their difficulties will continue (stable) Then, the helplessness becomes a self fulfilling prophecy because they give up. Learned helplessness has been used to explain the symptoms and high rates of depression found in people who have a lot of stress and very few ways to control it. INDEX.... HOME.... BRAIN FOOD.... BRAIN and YOU... Alcoholism