“ You see it every day.”
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Ever notice how many victims there are in this world?
I am not talking about those who are truly going through tragedy but rather individuals – and we all know someone – who seem to spend their entire lives in a state of victimhood. They are consistently pointing to someone else as the source of their problems and persecution.
In a business environment this can become an unbelievably difficult situation to deal with.
Dr. Paul Friday in his book “Friday’s Laws: How to become normal if you’re not and how to stay normal when you are” discusses this phenomenon in detail. It is known as the “Drama Triangle or the Victim Triangle.” Friday’s Laws
The Drama Triangle is a concept in psychology that describes a cycle of conflict and dysfunctional interaction where people take on one of three roles:
2. Persecutor: Blames, criticizes, or oppresses others, keeping the victim in a powerless state.
3. Rescuer: Tries to save the victim, but in doing so, enables their helplessness instead of empowering.
People often shift roles within the triangle, perpetuating unhealthy relationships with potentially tragic results.
A real long-term difficulty results if the person involved reinforces this perspective to the point of becoming part of their self-identity and cannot see their own victimhood.
Perhaps the most dramatic example of this phenomena is when a police office response to a domestic dispute. He often enters as the “rescuer” but quickly can be viewed as the “persecutor” with devastating consequences.
The way out of this cycle is to adopt more constructive roles: taking responsibility (instead of victimhood), setting boundaries (instead of persecuting), and offering support without enabling (instead of rescuing).
Recognizing the “Drama Triangle” is a valuable tool and I am willing to bet that you will now see an example or two this evening on your favorite news broadcast.
