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Have you ever blamed others for your misfortune?
Have you ever felt sorry for yourself?
Have you ever had the feeling that nobody can understand you, or nobody ever will?
Have you ever felt powerless and isolated?
If you have experienced any of these situations, congratulations โ you have played your victim role. It sounds harsh, but it is the truth.
All of us have acted like a victim at some time in our lives, some more often than others. At this point, we are not talking about actual victims โ persons who have been harmed as a result of a crime or accident. We are talking about individuals who tend to take the victim role in order to manipulate others, get attention, justify abuse of others, or as a coping mechanism. (1)
However, nobody has the right to judge you for this, nor should you harshly judge yourself.
Playing the victim role comes so easily. It is simpler to blame others for our mistakes and not to take responsibility. It is easier to live in a state of self-pity than to get out of our comfort zone. It is easier to wait for someone to help us or save us, rather than to do things yourself.
How to Recognize Victim Mentality
If you are concerned that you are playing the victim in your life, or someone close to you is, and want to change that, these are the signs you should pay attention to:
1. You manipulate or abuse others (verbally or physically) and then blame the other person for provoking you.
2. You rely on and try to influence other peopleโs sympathy to gain support and compassion. You commonly use the phrase: โYou are the only one who can help me.โ
3. You are stuck in your life. You have a long list of the reasons why you are stuck without any plan on how to change circumstances.
4. You tend to form romantic relationships or friendships with individuals who are disrespectful towards you, mistreat you, or even abuse you. These unhealthy relationships confirm your biases.
5. You avoid taking responsibility for your life and your mistakes. Everything bad that happens to you is either a result of mistreatment by others or unfortunate circumstances, and you have no control over it. You always overlook your contribution to the problem.
6. You have a problem with being assertive. You live in repeating patterns of submissiveness and passivity.
7. You see yourself as too good or too kind-hearted, and you talk a lot about how others take advantage of that.
The main problem is that a victim role doesnโt let individuals who play it live up to their full potentials. Also, it causes low-self esteem and poor communication and relations with others. It is sad to know that people who have a victim mentality donโt see themselves as controllers of their happiness and life in general.
If you recognized yourself in these statements, donโt lose hope! There are many ways you can quit this lifestyle and choose another, much better for your well-being.
Self-Awareness is the Key
Abandoning victim mentality and becoming accountable is possible through many ways. You can do it by yourself or with the aid of your therapist. However, it is not something that comes quickly. Once you become more accountable, you still must pay attention not to slip easily back into the victim role if in crisis. You will slip into it from time to time: notice it, forgive yourself for it, and change the direction.
Any path you choose for this process will include empowerment. (2) Becoming more self-aware implies taking responsibility and gaining power over your life. It is a good direction to go.
Here are some general guidelines to help you become more self-aware and stop playing the victim all at once:
1. Understand the benefits of the victim role โ The role you have played must have provided you with some meaningful outcomes that you didnโt know how to get otherwise. If there werenโt any, you wouldnโt play it in the first place.
For starters, it may have provided you with attention and a feeling that people care about you. If someone is ready to help you he must like you – doesnโt he?
Also, the victim role allows you to maintain the self-image youโve created. If you donโt take any risk or action, there is no chance you will be rejected or fail. If you donโt fail, or no one rejects you, that means you are okay. Do you see the error in this logic?
Likewise, if you fail, and accept that it was completely, mostly, or at least partially your responsibility, it means you did something wrong. Victim role says, โNo, that cannot be! I always do everything right! It must be someone elseโs mistake!โ In this way it preserves your self-esteem.
When you see and understand these benefits, you can start thinking about alternative methods to achieve them without playing the victim.
2.Change is OK โ You have decided youโll work on breaking out of the victim mentality, but there are doubts and a strange feeling of emptiness. If you do stop playing the victim, who would you be? Wouldnโt you lose yourself? If you let go of all of those behaviors, what should you do instead?
Understand those fears, but embrace the change. โThe Victimโ is just one of many roles in your life; it doesnโt define your whole personality. You will still be the same person underneath, just improved. Youโll act differently, but youโll gain many positive things out of it.
These two steps, understanding what you are leaving behind you and accepting the fear of change, are most important in developing self-awareness. The aim is to understand your personality, your emotions, strengths, weaknesses, beliefs, and motivations. This is the first step towards it.
3. Take responsibility for your actions and emotions โ We have a role in almost anything that happens to us. Even when something happens as a complete accident, we choose how to interpret it and how to react to the event.
Admitting that your actions, thoughts, and emotions are under your control will help your self-esteem. Youโll feel more powerful, more in control. You will stop relying on external validation to feel good about yourself. As the days pass by, youโll build up stability and inner-mechanisms that fuel your life with positive emotions no matter the circumstances. (3)
4. Let go of the blame โ It is okay to feel hurt, neglected, and abused. However, it is not okay to live your whole life confined by those feelings, while blaming others for it. Blame is just as pointless as the guilt.
Instead of blaming others and thinking in โme vs. themโ terms, start focusing on your own actions and reactions. See yourself as equal to other people: equally worthy of love and equally capable of doing good. Accept that everyone has the right to mess up, as long as you learn from your experience and move forward in life. (4)
5. Be thankful โ If you notice you are playing your victim role, do this little experiment. Make a list of at least ten situations that would be worse than yours. Make a list of at least five people, whether you know them personally or not, who seem to have a more unpleasant life than you.
Then, think again about your current situation and break out of the self-pity. This will change your perspective away from a narrow and self-centered one. Ask yourself what challenges and opportunities is this situation offering to you?
Things may be unpleasant but they are never the worst. They are never catastrophic as long as you are alive. Be grateful that you are where you are. Be grateful for the opportunity to work on yourself.
Donโt be hard on yourself, a tendency towards the victim role wonโt go away overnight, nor will it magically turn into self-awareness. The sole decision to change is already a significant step forward. Stay persistent and do your best to understand every piece of your personality, no matter how unlikeable it is.
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I have a son who always plays the victim in every situation that he is put into, he points the finger at everybody but himself never admits when he is wrong…I do believe throughout the years of raising him…I’ve tried to get him some type of counseling but to this day it’s still the same way with him…So,I’ve had to block him from my life because he has broken his ties with me a long time ago…He doesn’t seem to care about how he treats me, or wanting to change his behavior,so,to make myself have some peace…I choose that over him…
This was a timely word for me.. I suffer from the identity crisis of who am I if I am not that hurt and abused lady. Even though I maEdwand continually make choices that dont edify my life.. Accountability is what I am focusing on and stepping into my future
Thank you so much for the post. I feel so overwhelmed by the things that are happening in my life and events that have hurt me from the past…and what gets to me is that every time someone has tried to put me down it seems more and more true in the reality I am living now. It has made me more passive aggressive and constantly seeking affirmation from others. I want to build myself from the inside out, I want to know who I am and so to continue living to my potential and my truth. I believe this post has opened my eyes to reality and most importantly to myself. I’m looking forward to the journey.
This is a good read, however I don’t fully identify with it, in my case, I blame myself for everything… and I don’t even know where I did wrong. I will do the exercises you propose, but I really feel I’m lost… I’ve gone through the same pattern in all my relationships and they all end the same, they break up with me, and I don’t even know why… I know I have to change, but I don’t know what to change… I am lost ๐
Hi Sofia,
I feel lost sometimes too. I encourage myself by affirming that I am enough. I am here, full of purpose and I am alive!
You need to be selfish with yourself sometimes, those people who have parted from you are also unlucky to no longer have you in their lives and you are yet to meet people who will light a fire and make a home out of your heart, and there are people who will feel like that about you too.
I hope you are encouraged to change your thoughts and live your best life.
I’m lost too. I have always found strength in numbers. Awareness half the battle. Congratulations on the recognition, me too. I am currently seeking help in losing my old ways of existing, and over and over failure in relationships. You will be great. Have faith. Be strong, kick ass.
become really aware of the positive things you have to offer. everything you want from another in a relationship, you can give that to yourself, and to others. realise that you dont need anything from anyone, even if you feel the need, be aware that it’s a feeling, and then think of yourself and what you have to offer, and experience feeling that instead. give yourself love, see your own value. that’s just the feeling i got from reading your note. love <3
I was moved, with this article!! It’s really difficult to understand it and work upon it.. I guess I have been playing the victim role till now and this is because I couldn’t get anything I wanted to have.. Thanks a lot!!
I couldn’t agree more with this and I think the hardest part for me is making the change because like you said I’ve been the victim so long what do I do now ? lol but there’s plenty to do !!! Which the sooner we realize the better and this article has reminded me of that and it has encouraged me to explore “who am I now” instead of fearing it accept the challenge of finding out how brave and courageous and self aware I can actually be . Thanks !
This is perfect for me. I have been “stuck” here and I knew it, however, I felt powerless to get out. I need to remember that it’s ME who has the power and that I am in charge of my life. I have the tools and skills necessary to live this life and to make the choices that will keep me happy.
What a lesson. How hard it is to admit you have this trait. I know I need and want something better for myself. I am committed to making a change. Thanks for the encouraging words to help me know who I have been.
Hey there, I couldn’t agree more with your statement. It’s very hard for one to see this in oneself (I might be there as well and in dire need of a check-up). Hope the change comes easily to you and you move forward, don’t know if some encouragement might help but I’ll be here rooting for you!
Thank you it is always nice to have someone who can relate
to cheer you on thanks.