Learned Helplessness Quotes

“All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.”
― Noam Chomsky

“In a dependent relationship, the protégé can always control the protector by threatening to collapse.”
― Barbara W. Tuchman, The March Of Folly: From Troy To Vietnam

“For instance, feeling helpless and hopeless after watching news about the state of international politics? Don’t distract yourself or numb out; do a thing. Do yard work or gardening, to care for your small patch of the world. Take food to somebody who needs a little boost. Take your dog to the park. Show up at a Black Lives Matter march. You might even call your government representative. That’s great. That’s participation. You’re not helpless. Your goal is not to stabilize the government—that’s not your job (unless you happen to be a person whose job that is, in which case you still need to deal with the stress, as well as the stressor!)—your goal is to stabilize you, so that you can maintain a sense of efficacy, so that you can do the important stuff your family and your community need from you. As the saying goes, “Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something.” And “something” is anything that isn’t nothing.”
― Emily Nagoski, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

“Breaking, in modern psychology, 'learned helplessness.' This is where you crush an animal's desire to fight. Why is it that we believe broken things are tamed possessions?”
― Rebecca K. O'Connor, Lift

“You can't forge a relationship with learned helplessness, you can only force one and it will always be tenuous. There is always the possibility the peregrine will rediscover the strength of his heart.”
― Rebecca K. O'Connor, Lift

“Everyone secretly wants to be owned.”
― Alicen Grey, Wolves and Other Nightmares

“Repetitive, forceful corrections had taught this gentle dog that at a specific spot the handler would always yank the lead. Thus, each time the Newf arrived at that point, she'd freeze for a beat and close her eyes in anticipation of the impending blow. This caused her to lag, which led to another correction, which resulted in more lagging, another correction, ad infinitum.
It was a classic example of canine learned helplessness, whereby a dog learns to accept abuse as a natural, inevitable consequence of living with humans. Repeated corrections had only frightened and confused the animal, and she was trying to protect herself in the only way she knew how.”
― Joel M. McMains

“Where do you refuse to grow up, wait for certainty of wisdom before choosing, hope for solutions to emerge fully formed, expect rescue, or wait for a guru to make sense of it all for you?”
― James Hollis, On This Journey We Call Our Life: Living the Questions

“It's philanthropy, but it's good politics, too. Mighty good politics. The poor are some of the most grateful people in the world. George Washington Plunkett.”
― H.W. Brands, American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900

“The beating soon had Laurelene nearly senseless. The carbineer began to tear away her hempcloth robe and when she tried to crawl away he dragged her back and punched her face until she lay unresisting, her legs bare and apart. He's done this before, so this is what it's like to be violated, she thought as he settled down on top of her with a long, shuddering sigh. Anything, anything, just no more beating, she thought, her eyes closed.”
― Sean McMullen, The Miocene Arrow

“...many of my young patients are genuinely incapable of managing their own lives. Their parents have taken the reins...They have reached the conclusion that not only are they poorly equipped to deal with life, there's nothing they can do about it. They have no options or sense of agency. The term for that is learned helplessness: the belief that nothing you do can impact your environment. Accumulated disability is "I don't have the skills to do this." Learned helplessness is "It doesn't matter what I do. I'm powerless." These two conditions are intertwined - the teenagers' accumulated disabilities give credence to their belief that they don't have the skills or courage to change their situation.”
― Madeline Levine, Ready or Not: Preparing Our Kids to Thrive in an Uncertain and Rapidly Changing World

“1 Minute Wisdom to Wake the Frog Up! #WTFU : Today's politics is WAR, dressed up as democracy, to hoodwink those too comfortable in their comfort zones.
If you don't get actively involved in controlling your future, "they" will...gladly take control of your future, for their own personal advantage.”
― Tony Dovale

“There is also a risk that repeatedly telling people they are victims may lead them to develop a sense of “learned helplessness” and a belief that they have no control over their lives, leaving them vulnerable to depression. Yet, CRT would accuse anyone from a minority group who expressed such contrary views of having “internalised oppression” or of “acting white”.”
― Dr Val Thomas, Cynical Therapies: Perspectives on the Antitherapeutic Nature of Critical Social Justice

“When groups experience learned helplessness, the dynamics closely resemble those seen in individuals. Prolonged exposure to external forces—like systemic policies or enduring patterns of exploitation—can lead the group to internalize a belief that it has little to no control over its circumstances. With repeated failures to bring about meaningful change, collective confidence begins to fade. Over time, this belief in powerlessness results in disengagement, as the community stops participating actively or fighting to alter its conditions. Instead, they find themselves waiting for external solutions rather than taking charge of creating their own.”
― George K'Opiyo, Rethinking Leadership in Afria: Reflections on Dependency and Learned Helplessness