learned helplessness

As Yuning already explained the concept of learned helplessness in her post, I will refrain from describing it too much. Put simply, learned helplessness (as Yuning described it), denotes how, when someone repeatedly fails to change its environment, it will eventually stop trying to, even when they are finally able to. It was this concept that resonated most with me, as I can see parallels in not only my own life, but in the lives of those around me. Many times I hear of people struggling with something, be it a vice like alcohol, a dead-end job, or a relationship they do not want to be in anymore. In most of these (anecdotal) circumstances, the way out seemed exceedingly clear. Sometimes it could be done within a matter of minutes/hours. However, those who actually took the action to get themselves out of these situations are often the exceptions. What I want to say is that, people often choose to continue struggling in an environment they know well, rather than remove themselves from that familiarity in the hopes that the unknown "outside" is more benificial for them. This might be due to a number of reasons. Some that come to mind are the fear of losing something that has been with you for a long time (even if that thing is demonstrably harmful) or the thought that, if you are still unhappy with your new environment, it would be a failure, which would then elicit shame.

a hypothetical work

Yuning already proposed a very fitting hypothetical creature in her own post. It depicts a creature in a glass room with an open door, signalling that it could leave at anytime. However, it would always choose to stay inside its cage, even returning to it when it is forcibly removed from the enclosure. 

My proposal, however, would try to illustrate someone refusing to let something harmful go, instead of someone refusing to remove themself from an environment. I imagine a creature holding an object which is actively harming it. Maybe a wooden puppet holding a slightly burning piece of charcoal. Over time, the object starts to inflict visible, but manageable injuries to the creature. In the case of a wooden puppet, imagine its hands starting to blacken as the object is slowly burning it. Next to the creature would be a some sort of readily available solution to its problem (a small bucket of water to extinguish the charcoal, for example). However, the creature never shows even a glimpse of wanting to resolve their issue, choosing instead to accept their situation and the pain it is accompanied by. This would try to invoke the feeling of a person who has completely given up any hope of turning their situation/circumstance/life around, in favor for painful familiarity.