Helplessness and Coping: Psychology, Cancer, and Recovery

Defining Helplessness

Helplessness is defined in the dictionary as "powerlessness revealed by an inability to act." Alternative definitions include "a feeling of being unable to manage" and "the state of needing help from something." Helplessness is part and parcel of human existence. Given the natural order of life's processes, helplessness is a reaction to traumatic events in our own lives — mental, emotional, and physical anguish alike. In addition, helplessness can also be caused by sensitivity to the sufferings of others. After the events of September 11, 2001, most Americans felt helpless. This helplessness arose from the recognition of the fragility of life, as well as the inability to seek immediate redress for a grievous loss felt even by those far removed from the events.

In most cases, however, helplessness comes from events associated with oneself and those very near. Illness is a prime example, and this is particularly stark in cases of suffering from incurable diseases like cancer and AIDS. The feeling of helplessness has been implicated as a hindrance to cure and remission. The antidote to helplessness is coping. In a study of several Norwegian women whose husbands had recently died, it was found that problem-focused coping, the individual's health, and levels of anxiety and depression were strongly correlated (Lindstrom, 1997). The author averred that these three factors sat at the vertices of a triangle. This essay examines aspects of helplessness and coping as shown by the current literature.

Helplessness is generally characterized by the sense that a person has lost control of his or her life and is merely dependent upon fate. This loss of personal power is particularly strong. A person thus debilitated cannot make plans or set well-defined goals. Depression becomes commonplace, as does the absence of self-reliance. Such a person generally holds a negative outlook on life, never meets challenges head on, and is typically passive when confronted. A helpless person perceives that the surrounding environment and other people have greater control over outcomes. Such a person sees few reasons to live and experiences a definitive lack of self-fulfillment and self-actualization.

References

Bodner, E., & Mikulincer, M. (1998). Learned helplessness and the occurrence of depressive-like and paranoid-like responses: The role of attentional focus. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 74(4), 1010–1023.

Fredholm, L. (2003). Pavlov's dog. Nobel.se. Retrieved December 17, 2003, from

Lindstrom, T. C. (1997). Immunity and health after bereavement in relation to coping. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 38(3), 235–259.

Minor, T. R., & Hunter, A. M. (2002). Stressor controllability and learned helplessness research in the United States: Sensitization and fatigue processes. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science, 37(1), 35–43.

Parker, G., Snowdon, J., & Parker, K. (2003). Modeling late life depression. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(12), 1102–1109.

Petticrew, M., Bell, R., & Hunter, D. (2002). Influence of psychological coping on survival and recurrence in people with cancer: Systematic review. British Medical Journal, 325(7372), 1066.

Seligman, M. E. (2000). Optimism, pessimism, and mortality. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 75(2), 133–134.

Stipek, D. J., & DeCotis, K. M. (1988). Children's understanding of the implications of causal attributions for emotional experiences. Child Development, 59(6), 1601–1610.