In our exploration of “The Drama Triangle” by Stephen Karpman, M.D., today we are looking another role, that of the Victim. Sometimes we learn in our lifetime to live as a victim; we have difficulty taking care of ourselves and turn to others constantly for that care. Other times, we feel victimized to a certain situation or relationship; in either case, the feelings are the same. If we are feeling victimized, we begin to feel helpless, hopeless and sometimes oppressed. We have difficulty solving our own problems, trouble making decisions and finding joy seems impossible. Essentially, the message being sent out to others and reinforced to ourselves is either “Poor me,” or “Why me?”
Sound familiar? We have all had one or two situations in our life where we felt lost to it, where we felt stuck as to how to make the decisions we needed to move forward from it, or escape it all together. Sometimes these same feelings come in the form of a relationship; either way it is the feelings of helplessness that are invasive and seem like a hard task to get through.
Tomorrow we will touch on the third role of the Drama Triangle, that of the Rescuer.
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