I just recently published a short article to my site about how specific beliefs underpin tension, anxiety and stress and anxiety. One of the main beliefs I briefly introduced issues helplessness. Helplessness is a huge part of these health problems so let’s take a look at how you can reduce the effect this problematic belief has.

Believing you are powerless in life is a really horrible sensation and I write from individual experience here. For 5 years, a number of terrible occasions led me to the point where I thought life held nothing but pain and distress.

I genuinely thought life would unfold in such a way that would damage me and there wasn’t a single thing I could do about it.

Perhaps you’ve felt this way too?

The underlying belief is the important factor here. It is a company belief that life is something that occurs to you and you have NO CONTROL over anything. In other words, you are a powerless, passive recipient for whatever life chooses to throw at you.

It is an awful state to be in. Moreover, this belief just isn’t true.

Let me give an example. Say you and your partner broke up. Now, this can be one really distressing experience, I have actually been through it, so have many others. You react in an extremely negative and mentally exciting method:

” I’m ravaged. He/she was my whole world and now my world has actually broken down.

Everything I perform in life constantly fails and this is another disaster. I’ll never ever enjoy once again.”

I’m sure you, like me, have either responded this way to an occasion or you’ve heard somebody react this method. It is an extremely damaging method to assign a meaning to an event you are faced with.

The last two sentences expose the belief in vulnerability. When you react in such a method, you are telling yourself that you are defenseless due to the fact that absolutely nothing has actually ever gone right for you and you’ll never ever be delighted no matter what.

How do you believe you’ll feel when you react like this? Exactly.

You’ll feel deeply unhappy, baffled, disappointed and obviously, defenseless to change your life. Why would you feel anything else? Whatever ALWAYS goes wrong and you’ll NEVER EVER be happy again so what’s the point of doing anything to develop change?

Do you see how vulnerability works? But it simply isn’t real. Obviously, there are numerous things in life that are totally beyond your control. Other individuals and Mother Nature to name but two. There are things in life you have some control over– where you live and work for example.

It is necessary to keep these truths about control strongly in mind.

Here’s the most crucial reality about helplessness: There is something you have complete control over in your life and that is how you respond and designate meanings to whatever you are challenged with. In the example above, a much better response would be:

” OK, my relationship hasn’t worked however other things in my life are going well and I’ll concentrate on them for a while as I pertain to terms with what’s occurred. Even if this relationship hasn’t exercised, it doesn’t mean future relationships will fail and when I have actually overcome this, I’ll go out there and find somebody much better.”

See the difference? You’re keeping control by designating a less emotional meaning, a meaning more in keeping with truth.

You’re acknowledging that you’re hurting, but that this is temporary and when you’re ready, you’ll try again. You know you have other things in your life that you can concentrate on and this reaction will avoid a sensation of vulnerability arising.

See you soon.

It is a firm belief that life is something that happens to you and you have NO CONTROL over anything. In short, you are a powerless, passive recipient for whatever life chooses to toss at you.

You’ll feel deeply dissatisfied, baffled, disappointed and of course, powerless to alter your life. Of course, there are lots of things in life that are completely beyond your control. There are things in life you have some control over– where you live and work.