4 Easy Ways to Challenge Your Helpless Feelings

Are you plagued by constant feelings of helplessness? You may not realize that your inability to solve problems is often caused by feelings of failure and frustration. When you feel totally helpless, it's hard to stay motivated enough to even change your own situation. Fortunately, there are things you can do in order to feel better capable to confront the obstacles life presents. It helps to evaluate and assess the root cause of your negative feelings when you believe that there's nothing you can really do to alter the current situation. Below are several tips for dealing with challenging situations that leave you feeling helpless.


Evaluate the root cause of your negative emotions: One important strategy to help you deal with a difficult emotion like feeling helpless is to look at your reaction to the problem. The more you focus on your negative reactions and thoughts, the worse your emotional response is likely to be. This is because focusing on your negative thoughts and emotions can increase your sense of helplessness. In order to counter a negative emotion like helplessness, you need to replace it with a more positive one.

Remind yourself that "being" is not an option: One good strategy to help you cope with negative emotions like feeling helpless is to remind yourself that "being" isn't always an option. When you believe that there's absolutely nothing you can actually do, this attitude can become very powerful and empowering. It forces you to make the decision to do something, even if it's going against your more conventional thinking. By forcing yourself to take action, you're less likely to feel bad about yourself. This can be particularly effective when dealing with difficult times or tough situations.

Identify negative thoughts and replace them with optimistic ones: Another strategy to help you cope with feelings of helplessness is to recognize the source or cause of your negative thought patterns. One way to do this is to identify what specifically made you feel powerless and decide how to respond to that now rather than reacting in a way that might make you feel worse. You may find that identifying the source of your negative feelings gives you the power to treat them positively.

Exercise will calm you down: One of the ways you can make yourself feel better when you're feeling helpless is to engage in regular exercise. Exercise has many positive health benefits. It helps to strengthen your immune system, heightens your energy level, and boosts your mood. It's also been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, which are often associated with feelings of helplessness. Regular exercise also makes you more flexible and more able to concentrate, so that you'll be better able to handle tough situations when they come.

Challenge your negative thinking patterns: If you still think that you are helpless even though you know you aren't: That's a sign that your negative emotional states are rooted in deep-rooted patterns. That's when you need to stop repeating the same patterns. Think new thoughts, but use them in a positive way. For instance, if you thought that because you were hurt in the past, you now feel like helpless, tell yourself that you are going to get through this difficult emotion like everyone else. Tell yourself that you have every reason to be proud of yourself and that no matter how difficult the experience was in the past, you've learned how to move on.

Challenge your own cognitions: Many people who suffer from these feelings have trouble accepting reality. One way to help them do that is to challenge their own cognitions about themselves and their abilities. If you're doubting your abilities to do something, challenge that belief. If your negative beliefs are holding you back, challenge those too.

End Procrastination: It's very easy to procrastinate. The problem with feelings like these is that they give you so many reasons not to take action that you end up putting it off indefinitely. Challenging those negative emotions can help you take immediate steps to overcome the situation at hand.