Ways to deal with learned helplessness

• Be minimally aware of learned helplessness, especially of the early dog experiments. Ask yourself — Are the "shocks" inescapable right now, or do they just feel inescapable? (It's important to not make assumptions on this!)
  • For example, when I was a child, my home environment was traumatizing. Now that I've grown up and moved out, I'm able to remove myself from traumatizing events. However, sometimes it feels like I'm back in my childhood situation again. In those situations, it helps to remind myself that the shocks are escapable.
• ANY POSSIBLE WAY to build a sense of agency:
  • Celebrate even tiny wins. And that includes everything you put effort into, not just the things you succeed at. Focus on the process, not the product.
  • Momentum — start with a very small task, and tackle progressively slightly more difficult tasks over time.
• Read up on learned optimism.
• Be aware of attribution style. Check yourself to see if you're erring too far on the side of internal, global, or stable attribution.

Other ways I've seen suggested to deal with learned helplessness:

• grounding exercises?
• (list of other suggestions)
• (list of other suggestions)