At times, do you feel powerless or helpless? Do feelings of despair creep in during the day? Are you in a situation that feels to have no solution?

The purpose of this article is to present a simple approach to handling feelings of helplessness, so that you can easily devise a step-by-step approach to empowerment and decisive action.

Tip #1:  Check into your family history and  beliefs. Did you grow up in a family where your parents felt dominated or pessimistic?  Did your parents discourage you from asserting your opinion or your power? Did the family system ascribe to the belief that it is better to eat cold soup at a restaurant, rather than to send it back to be re-heated?  If yes to any of the above, perhaps you may need some help from a trusted friend or a licensed psychotherapist in order to better evaluate your perception of helplessness. It may be your own resistance to addressing an issue that gets in the way.  Ask for some help to be more comfortable being assertive.

Tip #2: If your situation is very challenging, evaluate if your feelings of despair are being “clamped down” by unexpressed anger. There are situations in which a little healthy anger, expressed in a safe and healthy manner, can energize a person to take action.  When anger is not expressed, depression and despair can take over.

Tip #3: Do your research. If you are feeling helpless, powerless, or discouraged, seek information. There are very few situations that have absolutely no solution. By brainstorming creative approaches, you may be happily surprised to find a simple solution was always there, waiting to be discovered and implemented.

Hopefully, your next bout of helpless or despair can be rapidly transformed into a powerful strategy  for decisive action!

This article is copyright © 2024 Ellen Anmuth MS, MSW, LCSW - "The Language of Solutions®"