Thought of the Day - October 5 2021 - Learned Helplessness

There is a much-studied phenomenon called Learned Helplessness. It is defined as behaviour exhibited by a subject after enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control. Learned helplessness theory is the view that clinical depression and related mental illnesses may result from such a real or perceived absence of control over the outcome of a situation.

Welp, there you have it. So why did I mention it? Of course, because I am finding more and more that people's reaction to the continuing saga of COVID-19 is likened to Learned Helplessness. The problem with this (others call it the more innocuous terms like "COVID fatigue" ( Thought of the Day - August 7 - Corona Fatigue )) is that we have stopped, for the most part, looking for solutions. We balk at the idea people are protesting, or the realization despite the billions of dollars spent that current methods have been only marginally successful ( Thought of the Day - February 8 - So Sad We Still Don't Get It ).

We have been told that the solution to COVID is Social Distancing. We have been told that the solution to COVID is Vaccines. But these are only part of the puzzle. A year or so ago we talked about COVID as an old person's disease. Now we are talking about COVID as a non-vaccinated person's disease. But there is far more. COVID is a disease of the obese - gasp, I know you are not allowed to say this in the western world, but it is true. The elderly, the unvaccinated and the obese now make up a similar proportion of the folk that are dying. Moreover, it is a disease of those who refuse to use, or have no access to, prophylactic treatments like: Vitamin-D, Vitamin-C, Zinc, Ivermectin and others.

You have to remember that one of the strengths of the BC messaging has been its consistency. However, you also need to note in the fullness of time this may be a weakness also, manifesting in an unwillingness to embrace new or conflicting information.

Folks, COVID is not an easy problem to solve. We are in this for the long haul. We are going on two years since cases first broke out in China and Europe, and it is likely the COVID pandemic will be with us for at least another year more. Therefore, this is not the time to resign ourselves to Learned Helplessness.

Cheers

Cliff