Learned Helplessness (Martin Seligman)- this is the concept of voluntarily submitting to a stressful situation. When an animal believes it can’t escape from a stressful situation, it’s heart slows down instead of accelerating.
Usually in a stressful situation, the heart rate would race – but in a trapped situation in which the animal doesn’t “believe” it can escape, the heart rate slows down.
Given too much stress, it would actually stop.
If the animal in the stressful situation didn’t think escape was impossible, it struggles for days to escape, like a mouse thrown into water, it will swim in the tank until the last moment.
But, Without the expectation of hope, it gives up quickly.
When we consider ourselves to be “trapped” in our situation, work overload, deadlines, dark weather, lack of exercise, many people give up, turning to stimulants, alchohol, drugs. There is little effort to change the situation.
We “give in” to the situation.
Environmental Enrichment – the opposition of trapping. This is the shift of the animal from it’s current habitat (and habits) into a new environment and new stimulation. Colours, tasks, stimulation. This encourages the building of new neural pathways, and growth of the neocortex as shown in rat studies.
If we feel we are in a “trapped” situation, a singular experience of environmental enrichment such as a low stress holiday, a retreat or weekend away can change our outlook.
When we have run retreats, we notice that a single exposure has an ongoing effect on those who have attended. Their perception of their work, relationships and environment shifts dramatically.
Furthermore, when a partner, a colleague or friend is able to experience environmental enrichment, we can also see that as possiblity of change – this too can be powerful in reducing learned helplessness.
