Learned helplessness is especially common in women and children who receive verbal or physical abuse. Women and children often are financially and physically dependent on those who are producing the painful situations in their lives. They are in a situation like the dogs in the experiment mentioned above. They constantly fear that the pain could start again at any moment and that there is nothing they can do to avoid it or end it once it starts. A third common cause of psychological depression is lack of assertiveness.
People often overlook or neglect the needs of timid, shy persons.
Because of this shy people often believe that no one really cares about them. They often miss many positive experiences that make people happy to be alive, and this also can contribute to depression. Usually timid people learn to be that way early in life. They may continue to be timid even though there is no one in their present world who would respond negatively if they were more assertive. Such people can often be helped through assertiveness training offered from a Christian perspective.