Helplessness

HELPLESSNESS, such a state of a person, his physical and mental forces, when he cannot defend himself nor take the most ordinary measures to preserve his life and health and often needs outside help to satisfy his basic life needs. Helplessness can be physiological (e.g., newborns, small children, and the elderly are helpless; to some extent, sleeping people are helpless). Often helplessness is a consequence of disease - pathological helplessness. Depending on its nature, helplessness can be transient, prolonged, or permanent. Special attention should be given here to short-term helplessness (e.g., during epileptic seizures, hysterical attacks, even during simple fainting, etc.). Finally, there is pathological helplessness caused externally, artificially; it is brought about by a number of external factors, with the characteristic feature here also being helplessness or a deep disturbance of consciousness. This should include helplessness from intoxication, narcotics and hypnotics, hypnosis, as well as helplessness as a consequence of mechanical injuries (e.g., concussion, deep asphyxia, etc.). The state of helplessness is very important in forensic medicine. Helpless persons can be objects of all kinds of violence against them. In a number of cases, even simple leaving of such persons without help already leads to their death (e.g., leaving newborns without care); persons guilty of not providing help in such cases are punished according to the Criminal Code. Sometimes violence is committed against helpless seriously ill persons; but more often the aforementioned purpose is served by transient helplessness, especially when it is artificially induced. Robbery and murder often begin with stunning, i.e., bringing the victim into a helpless state by blows to the head, compression of the neck, etc. The same is served by alcohol and narcotics. Particularly rich in forensic medicine is the casuistry of using helplessness of women during rape. Pathological helplessness, even transient (rare epileptic seizures), always reduces capacity for work. Constant and continuous helplessness (e.g., in severe somatic and mental diseases, blindness, loss of limbs, etc.) results in 100% loss of capacity for work and requires outside HELP.