# Learned Helplessness **Domain:** Psychology / Behavioral Learning / Trauma **Doc Type:** Canonical Concept Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **Learned helplessness** describes reduced effort or perceived agency after repeated exposure to adverse outcomes that appear uncontrollable or unrelated to one's actions. ## Iterative-Destruction Context Repeated destruction of successful recovery work can train the expectation that effort will not produce durable results. [[journal/2026-08-21 - Cyber Terrorism Is Terrorism|Cyber Terrorism Is Terrorism]] invokes this resemblance as an interpretation of iterated loss, not as a clinical diagnosis. ## See Also [[wiki/Human Resilience|Human Resilience]], [[wiki/Agency|Agency]], [[wiki/Recovery Topology|Recovery Topology]]