Dear throm-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question. First we should understand that human emotions, feelings and
states of mind are largely subjective. In other words, what you may
define as a feeling of hopelessness another might define the same
relative experience as helplessness. Generally speaking though, these
feelings you mentioned are not considered ?emotions? per se, but are
more accurately defined as only a few of the various levels of
?psychological distress? (along with anxiety, guilt, depression and
many others). Having said that, they do tend to have some subtle
differences but in the end each is often related to the other. Let's
take a look at each one seprately:
HOPELESSNESS
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?db=*&q=hopelessness
Having no hope; despairing. Despondent.
Offering no hope; bleak.
Incurable.
Having no possibility of solution; impossible.
Hopelessness is generally the overwhelming feeling of pending defeat
and dashed expectations. It is basically the loss of optimism. One who
experiences this feeling sees no positive outcome or solution, at
least not in his immediate future. The feeling of dread often
accompanies this experience, as one often considers the possibility
that he may have no alternative but to submit. Keep in mind that the
?feeling? of hopelessness is not always indicative of a truly hopeless
situation. One can feel hopeless on many different levels so the
experience does not necessarily include or require depression. In
addition, hopelessness can be a ?learned? state of mind; that is to
say that one can adopt a hopeless outlook in general and it can become
an unfounded part of their personality, whereas despair is usually an
end result after experiencing prolonged hopelessness of a genuine
nature.
HELPLESSNESS
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?db=*&q=helplessness
Unable to help oneself; powerless or incompetent.
Lacking support or protection
Impossible to control; involuntary
Helplessness is generally a feeling of oneness or being left alone to
confront an issue for which you cannot conceive a solution. It is
basically the feeling and perception of intense pessimism. A person
who is experiencing the feeling of helplessness is destitute and does
not or cannot foresee a positive outcome if left alone to his own
resources. With this sometimes come feelings of inadequacy or
incompetence; weaknesses so profound as to be completely overcome or
defeated by an obstacle. If allowed to persist, the feeling of
hopelessness and despair often ensues. Again, in some instances
helplessness can be experienced on many different levels, from trivial
to life threatening, so depression is not always a co-existing state
of mind. Like hopelessness, helplessness can also be a ?learned? state
of mind. A person with a submissive personality might project a kind
of helplessness about them, and they may truly believe they are
helpless in many matters. While helplessness can indeed produce
depression, it doesn?t normally result in despair unless the helpless
feeling is founded and prolonged to a point that his worst
expectations begin to actually manifest themselves.
DESPAIR
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?db=*&q=despair
To lose all hope
To be overcome by a sense of futility or defeat.
Complete loss of hope.
Despair is the absolute loss of all hope, resolution or positive
outcome. Founded or not, this is usually accompanied by profound
melancholia, dread, resignation and/or mourning. Despair always
includes some form of depression and is often an after effect of
prolonged helplessness or hopelessness that manifests itself well
beyond the concession of defeat. Despair is not a "learned" state of
mind. Except in those with mood disorders and other mental illnesses,
it is often the ?end result? of true, prolonged helplessness or
hopelessness rather than a symptom of them.
While each of these is commonly defined using the terms of the other,
as you can see they are clearly different on close examination.
Linguistically, reference materials often list one as a synonym of the
other, but medically and technically speaking they are not precisely
the same. I hope this research provides you with some valuable insight
into these issues.
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
DICTIONARY.COM
http://dictionary.reference.com/
ARVID KAPPAS - HOW CAN EMOTIONS BE STUDIED?
http://www.iu-bremen.de/hss/akappas/31024/index.shtml
BARTLEBY
http://www.bartleby.com/110/859.html
INTRODUCTION STO CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
http://cp.yahoo.net/search/cache?p=differences+helplessness+HOPELESSNESS&ei=UTF-8&n=20&fl=0&url=rwB_knVJaLAJ:www.psychology.uiowa.edu/classes/31013/slides.pdf
MANUAL OF IAHCP
http://www.hospicecare.com/manual/IAHPC5.htm
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
Yahoo! http://www.yahoo.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Despair
Helplessness
Hopelessness
Defined
Psychological distress
Psychological stress |
