The Consequences of Triangular Living
Real-life drama takes its toll...
Living on the victim triangle creates misery and suffering no matter what your primary starting gate position may be.
The cost is tremendous for all three roles and leads to emotional, mental and even physical pain.
Efforts to avoid pain, by blaming or looking for someone to take care of us, only ends up generating greater pain in the end. When we try to shield others from the truth, (rescue) we discount their abilities and this creates more pain.
[ The Three Faces of Victim - Part 3 © by Lynne Forrest. Thank you for making this information available ]
Consequences of Triangular Living
Living on the victim triangle creates misery and suffering no matter what your primary starting gate position may be. The cost is tremendous for all three roles and leads to emotional, mental and even physical pain. Efforts to avoid pain, by blaming or looking for someone to take care of us, only ends up generating greater pain in the end. When we try to shield others from the truth, (rescue) we discount their abilities and this creates more pain. Everyone involved in triangular dynamics ends up hurt and angry at some point; no-one wins. There are characteristics of and consequences to being on the triangle that all three roles bear in common. Let's talk about a few of them.
Lack of Personal Responsibility
Whenever we fail to take responsibility for ourselves, we end up on the triangle. Not even Rescuers, who pride themselves on being responsible, take responsibility for themselves. They take care of everyone else, but have no idea of how to do it for themselves. Not taking responsibility is a key identifying factor in recognizing when we are on the triangle. Persecutors shift responsibility by blaming others for their misery. Victims look for someone else to take responsibility for them. Not one of the three roles take responsibility for themselves.
As long as we chase ourselves and others around the triangle, we relegate ourselves to living in reaction. Rather than living spontaneously and free through self-responsibility and personal choice, we settle into dull and painful lives ruled by the agendas of others and our own unconscious beliefs. To experience a fulfilling life requires a conscious willingness to get off the triangle and extend grace to those still encumbered by their drama.
Painful Beliefs Rule
Unhealthy beliefs about ourselves and the world, instilled in childhood, become rigid rules that may need to be violated. Family dictums such as: "don't talk about it", "don't share feelings", or, "it's selfish to take care of yourself", are some of the old beliefs that have ruled us and must be challenged if we are to evolve. We can expect, and even celebrate uncomfortable feelings when they come up for us, learning to see them as opportunities for freeing ourselves of the painful beliefs that keep us trapped on the triangle.
Sometimes we simply need to sit with an uncomfortable feeling - such as guilt, without acting on it. Guilt does not necessarily imply that we have behaved wrong or unethically. Guilt is often a learned response. Sometimes guilt just means that we've broken a dysfunctional family.
I'm reminded of a story that has circulated among therapeutic circles for years about the way to cook a ham. Perhaps you remember it too. It goes like this:
A little girl noticed her mother cutting the butt end off the ham to cook it for the family holiday dinner and asked, "Why do you cut off the end to cook it?" The mother without giving it a moment's thought, replied, "Why, this is the way my mother always cooked a ham, so I know it's the right way to do it!" Well, the little girls grandmother happened to live close by, so she visited her and asked her the same question, "Grandma, why do you cut the butt end off the ham before you cook it?" Her grandmother replied that her mother had taught her to cook a ham like that. Great granny happened to be visiting for the holiday so the little girl went to her and asked the same question. This time the answer came... "Child, when I was cooking hams back then, I only owned one baking pan and it was too small to hold a whole ham so I would cut the butt end off the ham to make it fit!"
This is how it works. We follow, without question, family dictums and internalized beliefs that generate nothing but misery.
Painful Feelings
Frequently we get on the triangle through the port of painful feelings. It seems that many of us tend to let painful feelings rule us. We think a thought and it triggers guilt or fear, which prompts us to react in a way that puts us back on the triangle. Our reaction is usually a misguided attempt to control or get rid of the painful feeling so that we can "feel better".
For instance, we may rescue others as a way of both keeping ourselves and them from feeling bad. We tell ourselves things like, "She can't handle it" or, "It will hurt his feelings", so we "handle it" for them. We may notice that we feel better when we are fixing someone else - it gives us a false sense of being in control which feels temporarily empowering. We may fail to recognize that our increased sense of power is often at the expense of the other, leaving them feeling disempowered and "less than". An example...
Sam believed his son, Paul to be inept. The words he actually used to describe him were, "He's stupid... he will never be able to make it in the world." As a result, Sam's primary relating pattern with his son was as his primary Rescuer. Believing Paul was stupid brought feelings of guilt, apprehension and duty towards his son. "He's my son and I must provide for him... I must guide and advise him and bail him out of all the scrapes he gets himself into because he's too stupid to run his own life. I will just have to do it for him."
These were some of Sam's thoughts. And so he did.
Meanwhile, Paul had bought into the story too. He shared his father's perception that said he couldn't make it on his own. Believing that he was basically lacking in fundamental life skills created feelings of inadequacy and failure for Paul. The whole relationship between this father and son was based on the severely limited definition that they shared about Paul's lack of ability to do well in life.
So, how do you think someone like Paul, who believes he's truly inept, would live his life? What sorts of choices would you expect someone to make who sees himself as incapable and lacking? With such painful beliefs about himself, how could Paul make anything but "foolish" choices! And every time he does, he ends up verifying his father's story about Paul.
As long as these two share such a painfully limiting story about Paul, their relationship will remain on the triangle - Paul "screwing up" and Sam fixing it for him.
I can hear some of you asking, "But Lynne, what if it's true? What if Paul is totally incompetent?"
I only know this... it is our beliefs that make it so. We treat others according to what we believe about them. When we challenge these assumptions, our interaction with that person changes.
For instance, the whole dynamic between Sam and Paul changed as Sam began to examine his beliefs about his son. He began to treat his son with new respect once he was able to get honest with himself about his previously denied need to keep Paul dependent. He began to let his son experience the natural consequences of his own choices instead of rescuing and then berating him for making "dumb decisions". As a result Paul began to learn from his mistakes. Sam's relationship with Paul completely transformed simply because Sam chose to take responsibility for his own feelings and beliefs. By giving up playing Rescuer Sam was able to move off the triangle into a more satisfying and authentic daily exchange with his son.
We may attempt to manage the emotional affairs of others by keeping our opinions, feelings and thoughts hidden, even from ourselves at times. This can end up costing us our own well-being and inevitably creates distance between ourselves and the other. It is just one more way we continue the dance around the triangle.
What made Sam's move off the triangle possible was his recognition that his feelings were created by his own beliefs. He came to understand that his behavior was always determined by whatever thoughts he was believing at the time.
This is key to moving off the triangle. When we believe painful stories about who we are... like,"I'm only loved for what I do for others" or, "I don't matter" - or we hold distorted beliefs about those around us... like, "They're trying to hurt me" or "They're incapable of doing well" - these personal convictions will lead us to behave as if they're true. I'm saying that our painful feelings originate out of our limited ideas about ourselves and others. They cause us to react in ways that end up proving that what we believe is true. This is the vicious cycle of life on the triangle.
Denial
Anytime we deny our feelings we set ourselves up for a victim perspective. Feelings are real. They are "energy-in-motion". When we discount or undermine our emotions we end up overtaken by them, becoming impulsive reactors. We can't take responsibility for ourselves when we refuse to acknowledge our feelings, which means that these disavowed "inner tyrants" will go on driving our behavior from behind the scenes.
Although it is true that our feelings are generated by what we believe... it does not work to discount or deny what we feel. Instead we come to see that when we are feeling "bad", it simply means that there's a distorted belief close by. Instead of denying the feeling, we learn to follow the feeling in to the belief behind it. This is where true intervention is possible. The feeling dissipates once the belief behind it is made conscious and addressed. We learn to recognize that our feelings are what point us to the limiting beliefs that are keeping us stuck on the triangle.
Parents who never learned that feelings follow thought and who grew up without permission to acknowledge or express feelings often deny their children the same right. They may have decided early in life that certain feelings are wrong or bad, so they deny and repress them without examining the ruling thoughts behind the feelings.
Telling ourselves that our feelings are unacceptable does not make them go away. As long as we continue to attach belief to painful stories about ourselves and others we will go on generating these same negative feelings. When suppressed, these denied emotions become secret pockets of shame within the psyche. They only serve to alienate us from others and sentence us to a life on the triangle.
Sometimes we deny feelings in an ill-fated attempt to avoid feeling bad. Perhaps we tell ourselves that we can't handle our feelings, that they are too much for us. We may think we are at the mercy of our own misery because we don't know from where these feelings come or what to do with or about them. Maybe it is better to stay away from these messy inner states under such circumstances.
But when we know that it's our thoughts that produce painful feelings; that indeed our unhappy feelings act as gateways into greater understanding of ourselves - then we no longer have the need to suppress uncomfortable feelings. Until we are able recognize and grasp the implications of these simple truths however, we may go on trying to escape pain using various suppression tactics. These attempts at avoidance only keep us on the triangle where the guaranteed outcome is suffering and misery.
Dishonesty
Getting honest with ourselves is the most basic requirement for getting off the triangle. Getting off the triangle is impossible without self-honesty. Telling our truth is a key way of taking responsibility. We then must be willing to take necessary action for whatever that truth reveals.
Of course, when feelings are denied, honesty is impossible. Remember that denial comes out of negative self judgment. If we have decided on some level that we cannot accept our thoughts, behavior or feelings than, chances are, we will not be able to admit we have them. It's too painful to admit something about ourselves that we have judged as unacceptable. We must practice self acceptance if we are truly going to be able to be honest with ourselves and others.
In order for a SG Rescuer to get honest, for instance, they have to be willing to confess their previously unconscious need to keep others dependent on them. This means acknowledging that being a rescuer is what they do to get their own need for self-worth met. As long as the Rescuer continues to see the other as a weak, ineffectual and inept victim, they will continue to deceive themselves into believing that they must be the fixer and caretaker. Their own needs will not be recognized or met.
In the same way, a SG Persecutor is being dishonest when they insist on blaming others for their misery and suffering. There is no way off the triangle for a Persecutor as long as they insist on seeing themselves as blameless, innocent bystanders who have been unjustly treated.
In order for a SG Victim to get off the triangle, they must confess their investment in staying "little" - dependent and needy. This means getting honest about how they have manipulated others, using a self-deprecating story of ineptness, in order to get taken care of. Otherwise they will fall deeper and deeper into a downward spiral of despair and unworthiness.
Living in reality requires truth. To tell the truth, we first must first know what it is. When we react out of denied feelings and unconscious programming, we cannot possibly know our personal truth. This means we will not be in touch with reality. There will be hidden agendas and dishonesty. This is another primary trait of all players on the triangle. Only by knowing our truth, can we begin to speak from a place of personal integrity. Then exiting the triangle becomes possible.
Projection
We tend to deny feelings and beliefs that we have judged as negative or unacceptable. As previously mentioned, we rescue ourselves by pushing these unacceptable parts into the dark unconscious. They don't necessarily stay there, however. Whatever thoughts and feelings we don't own, i.e., take responsibility for, will end up being projected out into our world, usually on someone we "love". As soon as we judge some thought or feeling within us as unacceptable, we will unconsciously look around and find someone who has these same traits and hate them for it. This is called projection and it is a propelling force on the triangle. Projection ensures that the victim dance continues.
Lisa and Ted came in for couples counseling. In gathering their history, I learned that Lisa had a father who raged often throughout her childhood. She was afraid of anger as a result and did not allow herself to feel or express her own ill-humor. She judged anger as "bad" and denied that she had any. It's probably no surprise then that Lisa's biggest complaint about her husband was his "short fuse". "He's so angry all the time", she said. "He just wants to argue about everything!"
Her husband, Ted came across as upfront; open and communicative. He reported that he had not felt heard in his family growing up and expressed frustration with Lisa because, "Any time I disagree with her, no matter how calmly I express it, she accuses me of being angry and refuses to discuss it. It ends up that the only way I can get heard is to blow up!"
Can you place these two on the triangle? Let's take a look:
Let's start with Lisa, who was on the triangle before a single word was spoken out loud between her and her husband. She started out by judging her own anger (persecuting herself) and then denying it (rescuing herself). Lisa is on the triangle with herself. She rescues herself through denial. Denial is always an attempt to rescue ourselves. Lisa has learned to shut her anger down so quickly that she does not even register it consciously. But that angry energy has got to go somewhere.
That's where Ted enters the picture. Lisa needs someplace to project her disowned anger. Ted is the perfect fit. Lisa sees in Ted the angry self that she has denied. This is why she is so quick to label the slightest dissent from him as "bad" anger. She then castigates Ted for the "bad" feelings that she has projected and proceeds to criticize him harshly (persecutor) in the same way she has unconsciously judged herself.
Ted, just as when he was a child, feels misunderstood and unheard at first. He is in victim. But before long his anger arises and he moves into persecutor by "blowing up" at Lisa. This moves Lisa into victim, prompting her to remember the "angry dad" of her childhood. Both Ted and Lisa are unconsciously validating their own childhood dramas by projecting their painful beliefs and judgments about themselves onto one another. These sorts of interactions are why I call the victim triangle the "playing field" for all dysfunction.
You may wonder where the rescuer is in all this melee. Sometimes a role is played "beneath the surface". It may not be externally evident as in the case described above. Because Lisa cannot take responsibility for her own anger (because to see herself as being "bad like dad" would be too painful) she rescues herself through denial. She takes herself off the hook by projecting her unwanted feelings onto her husband. This allows her to pretend she's not angry (he's the angry one, not her). On one level it feels better to believe that she's not mean and angry like her dad was. The shadow consequences, however are that it sets her up to blame and persecute Ted and allows her to stay unconscious about her own personal anger. This is the nature of projection on the triangle.
Failed Intimacy
Although most of us long for a sense of connection with others, many people are secretly terrified of intimacy. Allowing someone to really know us can be frightening. Intimacy requires vulnerability and honesty. Believing at heart that we are unlovable, defective or "less than," makes it difficult to reveal ourselves. We want unconditional acceptance, but when we haven't accepted ourselves, it's impossible to believe that anyone else could love us. Needing to hide our unworthiness makes distance imperative. As long as we maintain hidden agendas and deny our truth, intimacy is impossible. Victim-hood is designed to insure alienation, not only from others, but also from ourselves. Intimacy is not possible on the triangle.
Ego and The Story of Who We Are
We interact with others through old, unconsciously held and limiting beliefs that generate shame. Each starting gate position has a distinct type of core belief that drives their particular dance around the triangle. These core beliefs combine into unconscious stories. We believe these descriptions of ourselves and others without ever questioning them. Left to run unabated in the mind, they generate all sorts of painful feelings, including worthlessness, inadequacy and defectiveness. We reinforce and perpetuate these beliefs by moving around the triangle.
The ego is that part of us that manufactures and believes these limiting stories. The ego is totally identified with the stories it tells and wants to keep us identified with them as well. The ego uses the triangle to strengthen these painfully, limited identities of who we are. When I think of our relationship with ego I often think of the nursery rhyme that goes:
"Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her. So he put her in a pumpkin shell and there he kept her very well."
This is a great metaphor for our relationship with the ego. Peter Pumpkin Eater is the ego and the wife he couldn't keep is our own Inner Feminine. She is that part of us who remembers who we really are. The only way Ego can control this Authentic Essence is to keep it confined in the "pumpkin shell" of a limiting story. We are each held within the confines of such a story. The victim triangle is the playing field that ego uses for the purpose of reinforcing this dysfunctional story.
We certainly can see this with Ted and Lisa. They each were entrapped within a very painful story; Ted believing that he will not be heard and therefore expecting to have his feelings judged and discounted. He is in the role of a SG Victim who inadvertently acts in ways that guarantee he will come away feeling ashamed and worthless. Lisa is the SG Persecutor who sees herself as a victim. She believes Ted is trying to hurt her with his anger which justifies her attempts to control him. Lisa punishes Ted by ignoring him until he finally strikes out, thus verifying her story about him as being "angry and cruel, just like dad". Both have egos that are much more interested in verifying a limiting story than in feeling harmony between them.
In Summary
When we are ready to be accountable, we begin to sort through our genuine motives and feelings regarding our present situation. We become willing to experience our own uncomfortable feelings and we allow others their uncomfortable feelings too, without rescuing them.
If our loved ones or associates are also willing to participate in this process of self-realization we can cultivate a healthier relationship together. As a result there is less and less interaction based on guilt, fear or shame.
The good news is that whether or not our loved ones choose to get off the triangle, we can make that choice for ourselves! And that will change the whole dynamic between you and them. We are never victims, except by choice.
Getting off means knowing where you stand right now and being willing to negotiate boundaries when necessary. Setting boundaries is not about being in control or manipulating outcomes. We sometimes confuse the two. We learn to look closely at our motives with an attitude of curiosity an
Remember there will be times when we may be seen as the persecutor. Our challenge is to stay in touch with our truth and allow others the right (and they do have the right) to have their story. The two versions; your story and their story, do not have to match for you to be happy. That's a common, but mistaken, idea.
In reality, how others see us is not our concern. How we see ourselves is what can bring us transformation. We learn to focus on what we are believing. We notice the impact in own lives of believing those particular, and often painful, thoughts - beliefs like, "I'm only as important as what I can do for others"... or, "They're trying to hurt me" or "I'm a total failure" - these are just a few of the stories with which we torture ourselves.
Remember that just because we believe these stories does not make them true. But when we do believe them, we will act in ways that make them true! This is a profound and simple dawning of consciousness that holds a key to the door off the triangle. Used with sincere desire and rigorous, self-loving truth, these steps are the process that takes us all the way, straight through to the "Off" exit. As we liberate ourselves through self-responsibility and truth telling, we transform our lives. We actualize our Higher Selves, thus realizing the possibility that lies within each of us to live, not out of an ego limited story, but to expand into a much bigger and wonderful experience of life.
"Getting off the triangle is not something we do once and for all. We get on and off all the time. Understanding tools like Stephen Karpman's victim triangle brings us a map. It shows us where we are in our relational life and where we're headed. Studying this map helps us find the best route for getting off the triangle. Again, it's a process, not a final destination. I invite you to relax into the role of curious, creative explorer and willing student . . . may your thoughts and feelings be teachers for you as you travel the route to freedom from the triangle."
[ The Three Faces of Victim - Part 3 © by Lynne Forrest. Thank you for making this information available ]
