Health and fitness with Mikey Moon: Don't feel helpless

Learned helplessness is a phenomenon that comes when people just accept the situation they are in and stop trying to change it.

The original study was actually done on dogs all be it harsh, they found that dogs in poor conditions with no method of escape soon accepted their fate and stopped trying to escape, even when there was a clear escape path they refused to try.

Learned helplessness is also a huge thing in peoples lives. People accept the situation they are in and give up trying to change it, be that in general life or in their fitness goals. People try diets and try to lose weight, but soon stop after not seeing results, usually giving up on their pursuit of a better body, and blaming genetics, or the fact that they’re big boned etc.

The truth is they’ve just taught themselves not to try anymore, which in itself is really sad. Sometimes it takes a change of perspective or a change of environment to kickstart this person into their goals.

Just because a certain method didn’t work for you does not mean you’re for the scrap heap, it just means you haven’t found the method for you yet.

Don’t sit and accept your situation if you don’t like it.

Fortitude Fitness is on the Poulton Industrial Estate, Beacon Road. Visit www.fortitudefit.co.uk for more details.