This volume demonstrates how learned helplessness develops and operates, and how it can lead to depression, anxiety, childhood failures, lack of motivation, and in extreme cases, sudden death. This is no "cure yourself" guide, but the theory Dr. Seligman presents does should offer hope, suggesting that depressed adults and children can "unlearn" helplessness and regain control of their environments. It offers important information for those who suffer from depression, their families, and anyone interested in one of the most pervasive of all psychological disturbances.