Learned helplessness and hopelessness are two very difficult conditions to deal with. They are behavioral processes that are different from each other, though they are both linked through feelings of guilt and fear. First off learned helplessness is a condition that is arrived at after degrees of apathy and feelings of a lack of control are increased within a person. This can happen when they are placed in a situation where they have very little or no impact on what happens to them. A person will start feeling depressed and he or she may feel removed from the situation because he or she has no control over it. This is typical of learned helplessness: A person feeling as if they can do nothing to stop the negative consequences they incur every day.

Learned hopelessness is different. Instead of feeling as though they have no relationship to what happens to them, a person will feel that every negative thing that happens is entirely their fault. They will feel the weight of the world on their shoulders because no matter what happens, it is not only their fault, it will be their fault forev

er, no matter what they do. It is important to make the distinction that the person will feel this way even when it is obvious to outsiders that none of the negative things are their fault.

As an example of learned helplessness, we could examine the typical schoolyard bully situation. A child goes to school every day and is picked on every day, perhaps his lunch is stolen or worse, he is beaten up. This happens every day, no matter what the child does. The child will begin to feel that he or she has no control over what happens to him or her, because he or she will begin to learn that the assault is outside their agency of control. The child will begin to think they cannot do anything about it, and may generalize further that they can’t do anything about anything. They become helpless, withdrawn, apathetic, and depressed.

The sad fact is that in many social situations, learned hopelessness and helplessness can be found. This suggests to me a need for intervention programs in gang-filled neighborhoods, in schools, and in abusive relationships. The only way to break the cycle of learned helplessness or hopelessness is thro

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