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With finals approaching, the idea of learned helplessness is most prevalent among college students. This phenomena occurs when “an individual continuously faces a negative, uncontrollable situation and stops trying to change their circumstances, even when they have the ability to do so.” As college students face continuous academic, social or internal challenges, they develop a stagnant mentality for change, impairing the potential of success.

Learned helplessness damages students’ self-confidence because overwhelming feelings are coming from all aspects of a person’s life. Students may feel like success is unattainable. Raquelle Rodriquez, a sophomore at Syracuse University, said she tends to spiral when she gets low grades in a class, and struggles to hope for improvement.

It’s especially difficult to rise above such internal negativity when you may not have a solid support system on campus. According to SU, the student population represents all 50 U.S. states and 126 countries. It’s difficult to cope with challenges when away from family, especially if they reside across the nation or world.

Freshman Sophia Zaninovich moved across the country from California to attend SU. She said living at a school so far away is a mental challenge, especially when she’s homesick, because of the money and time it would take to return home.

During finals, feelings of helplessness have detrimental effects. Stress levels heighten and student well-being tends to decline. Within this time of high stress, it is essential to prioritize one’s mental health and realize that adversity can be redefined as the beginning of a positive shift.

Recurrent poor grades, rejection from peers and uncontrollable anxiety do not necessarily correlate to incapability. Rather, the power to change one’s outcomes remains on the individual. Students often forget that they are in control and focus on the negatives instead.

Remaining optimistic lies in the person. While the past may seem daunting, the flexibility of the future should create a motivation.

In order to challenge one’s learned helplessness, especially during finals, students can chase a sense of accomplishment by performing physical activity. These breaks allow for students to apply perspective to their adversity.

As it’s the first school year without impending COVID-19 restrictions, students can use campus resources to relieve stress. Whether it’s the Barnes Center’s rock wall or on-site counselors, students can gain the strength to overcome their obstacles.

Overall, students must keep in mind that their possibilities are endless. Restraints are commonly self-created and the ability to move past adversity just takes strength and the utilization of one’s resources. While learned helplessness hurts students’ wellbeing, it can also be overcome, especially as SU has an abundance of resources accessible to students.

Hannah Karlin is a Sophomore Magazine, News and Digital Journalism major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at hekarlin@syr.edu.

Published on December 5, 2022 at 10:38 pm