Hello reader! In this post I am going to outline for you the concept of the Karpman Drama Triangle.
I do feel that basic psychology is of great importance in a magickal life. This is because our actions and behaviours are rooted in how we think. Importantly, we all have the ability to change how we think, and to become more conscious of how we each respond in social settings, and, as continually improving individuals. Magick is about energy. Energy follows thought. So, awareness of how we think and behave is as much energy manipulation as is casting a circle.
This is about a social model that many of us might find ourselves a part of during our lives. When we are aware of it's nature, we are less likely to get trapped in it. We can recognise those who play in it, and learn to overcome both their dramas and our own. Additionally we can help to heal those who are caught up in a cycle of drama parts.
The Karpman Drama Triangle is based around three core players. These are:
The Victim.
The Rescuer.
The Perpertrator, or Persecutor.
The purpose of the drama is that every player has a means to avoid personal responsibility for their own lives. Every player relies on the others to perpetuate an artificail, mutually dependant, life game.
The core of the drama is the Victim. The victim plays the role of the person who genuinly feels they have no power over their lives. Their self esteem is poor, and they believe that they cannot survive without the intervention of another. They feel negative about their histories, and view their lives as something that happened to them, rather than anything that they did. A victim could be someone who was passive in an abuse situation, or was perhaps weak sibling who learned that tears and helplessness paid off. The payoff of being in victim is that it allows them to deny responsibility for failure or avoid making any attemps to improve their situation.
With the victim in place, the scene is set for the Rescuer. The rescuer can come in many forms. A resuer may be a marital type partner. It is normal in life for people to need help, and for others to help. However, in Karpman Triangle this becomes a life occupation. In this situation, solution must be avoided. Rescuers validate their lives by helping others. If the victim's problems were to be solved, independance would be called for, and avoidance of this is the point of the drama.
Do not be fooled. The Rescuer is playing a game as much as the victim. He has to devote his life to solving an impossible situation, in order to avoid his own independance. He needs to rescue as much as the victim needs to be rescued. The two validate each others' roles. The payoff for the rescuer is that they are viewed as a "good person" and given admiration from family, friends and community.
The next player to come into the drama is the Persecutor. This becomes interesting, because all three roles can be played out by two people. The rescuer can become resentful towards the victim, and move swiftly into the role of persecutor. This then re-inforces the victim's own role, which in turn moves the persecutor back into the rescuer.
Victims may move into the role of Persecutor if they feel they are getting a poor deal from their rescuer. It is a constantly shifting drama. The Persecutor can be an outside person or body. They could be a court, or a child agency. A therapist brought in by the rescuer could unwittingly find themselves in the role of persecutor, thus actually perpetuting the drama they were brought in to mend. Persecutors can have an origin of victim or rescuer. Equally, they may fall into either when they are dismayed by their behaviour. If someone tries to leave the game, they are likely to become the persecutor. A persecutor may act as a go-between with the victim and the rescuer. They blame each player for their behaviours, but offer no solution. The persecutor has an important role in prolonging the drama.
A Persecutor may well come from a background of abuse. They feel that they must fight with life. This could be as a reaction to abuse, or they may simply be copying and playing out the behaviour that they learned.
The payoff for the Persecutor is being able to deny their own inadequacies by focusing on everyone else's.
The relevance of this game, is that it occurs so frequently. It can be hard to detect because the roles are constantly shifting. It is rare that players will stick to one role each. A drama can last a day. Sadly, in some cases, it can last a lifetime. Education and awareness of social games are good armour. If you are in a social situation and you feel uncomfortable, it is likely that a game is being played. Game dramas typically occur in families.
If you wish to heal a game situation, make calm observations. It is too easy to fall into the role of persecutor when trying to help.
Be aware of your self. Look at your life roles, try to identify them. Ask yourself what payoffs you achieve when playing particular roles.
Above all, take personal responsibility! If you do this, you will not need to seek out validation for your life. People get stuck in these games becuse they source themselves from others. Remember that all the validtion you need is in your self!
Resources: Games People Play by Eric Berne,
I'm OK You're OK by Thomas Harris MD.
And: http://www.karpmandramatriangle.com/
Karpman Drama Triangle
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