Being a Victim is Hazardous to Your Health

A few years back, I had an opportunity to hear Professor Marty Seligman speak at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the leading proponent of "learned optimism," but before he studied happiness, he looked at the flipside, "learned helplessness." He described an experiment by one of his graduate students, Madelon Visintainer, that has stunning implications for any person with cancer.

In the experiment rats were injected with cancer cells that were expected to give half of them cancer under normal conditions. The researchers placed one third of the rats in a control group. Another third was in a helpless situation where they were shocked without any way of preventing it. They learned helplessness. The last group of rats received shocks but could stop them by pressing a bar. They were able to achieve mastery over the situation. In the control group, half the rats developed cancer, as expected. For the rats that had learned mastery (with the bar), only about 30 percent developed cancer. But for the rats that had learned helplessness, more than 70 percent developed cancer. The ones that experienced mastery actually did better than the control!

If you are passive victim, you decrease your chances of living. If you feel helpless, you may be helpless. It is tempting to play the victim role. Since the time when you were young, you learned to sit on the ground and wait for someone to kiss your boo boos. There are plenty of people willing to treat you as a victim. Don't let them. Don't take the free pass. It is not a small indulgence. It could cost you your life. Remember that helplessness kills. Optimism leads to a longer and better life.

Even when all is lost, don't give up. In Rowboat #6, as the Titanic was sinking, the officer in charge thought that there was no point in rowing since they'd be drawn under by the sinking ship. But the "unsinkable" Molly Brown, took the oars and brought them to safety, even picking up a few additional survivors from the icy water. No matter how strong the current, keep rowing. Don't ever give up. Don't be a victim. Don't give into helpless. Talk back to your doctor, just to keep in practice. Talk back to those who would hold you down, however well intentioned. Stand tall. Take charge. And, as 25-year cancer survivor Greg Anderson says, "keep looking up."