The Drama Cycle
Karpman uses a triangle to map conflicted or drama-intense relationship deals. The Karpman Drama Triangle designs the connection in between personal responsibility and power in conflicts, and the destructive and moving functions people play. He defined three functions in the dispute; Persecutor, Rescuer (the one up positions) and also the Victim (one down position). Karpman placed all of these three roles on an inverted triangle and described them as being the three aspects, or faces of drama. Karpman, who had interests in acting and belonged to the Screen Actors Guild, picked the phrase “drama triangle” rather than using the term “conflict triangle” as the Victim in his design is not intended to represent a real victim, but rather somebody sensation or imitating a victim.
The Victim: The Victim’s position is “Poor me!” The Victim feels taken advantage of, oppressed, defenseless, helpless, helpless, embarrassed, and appears not able to make decisions, fix issues, take pleasure in life, or accomplish insight. The Victim, if not being maltreated, will look for a Persecutor and likewise a Rescuer who will save the day but likewise perpetuate the Victim’s unfavorable feelings.
The Rescuer: The rescuer’s words may be is “Let me assist you.” A timeless enabler, the Rescuer feels guilty if they do not go to the rescue. Yet their rescuing has unfavorable impacts: It keeps the Victim dependent and provides the Victim consent to fail. The benefits derived from this rescue function are that the focus is then taken off of the rescuer. When they focus their energy on someone or something else, it allows them to overlook their own stress and anxiety and problems. This rescue role is likewise pivotal due to the fact that their actual primary interest is really an avoidance of their own issues camouflaged as a primary concern for the victim’s needs.
The Persecutor: (The Villain) The Persecutor says or insists, “It’s all your fault.” The Persecutor is controlling, blaming, crucial, oppressive, mad, authoritarian, stiff, and remarkable.
Initially, a drama triangle develops when an individual handles the function of a victim or persecutor. This person then feels the need to get other gamers into the conflict. As typically happens, a rescuer is encouraged to go into the situation. [4] These employed gamers take on roles of their own that are not static, and therefore numerous scenarios can occur. For instance, the victim may switch on the rescuer, the rescuer then changes to maltreating.
The motivations for each participant and the factor the scenario sustains is that each gets their unmentioned (and often unconscious) psychological wishes/needs satisfied in a manner they feel warranted, without having to acknowledge the more comprehensive dysfunction or harm carried out in the circumstance as a whole. And as such, then each participant is acting upon their own self-centered requirements, rather than acting in a genuinely accountable or selfless manner. [citation required] Thus any character from all of three in this triangle might “normally come on like a plaintive victim; it is very clear that the one can change into the function of Persecutor providing it is ‘unexpected’ and the one apologizes for it”. [4]
The inspirations of the rescuer are the least apparent. In the regards to the drama triangle, the rescuer is someone who has a combined or covert intention and is in fact benefiting egoically in some way from being “the one who saves”. The rescuer has a surface area motive of fixing the issue and appears to make great efforts to solve it, but likewise has a surprise intention to not succeed, or to succeed in a way that they benefit. For example, they may get a self-confidence increase or receive reputable rescue status, or derive pleasure by having someone depend on them and/or trust them– and act in such a way that ostensibly appears to be attempting to assist, however at a deeper level plays upon the victim in order to continue getting a benefit. [citation needed]
In many cases, the relationship in between the victim and the rescuer can be among codependency. The rescuer keeps the victim depending on them by encouraging their victimhood. The victim then gets their needs met by having the rescuer take care of them.
In general, the participants tend to have a primary or habitual role (victim, rescuer, persecutor) when they participate in drama triangles. Participants initially discover their habitual role in their household of origin. Even though individuals each have a function with which they most recognize, as soon as on the triangle, participants turn through all the positions, going totally around the triangle.
Each triangle or cycle has a payoff for those playing it. The antithesis of a drama triangle depends on discovering how to deny the actors of their reward.
Video Transcript
This is a model to help us understand how conflict arises between people often in dramatic or intense relationships or interactions. And it was by a guy called Stephen coffin in 1968.
And it involves three different roles. One that’s kind of called a one down rule and two that a cold one up close. These three roles are the victim the rescuer and persecutor.
And I think understanding how these roles to work can help us to identify how we could be resolving potentially destructive interactions that are quite draining on our energy.
So let’s start with the victim. I think the victim role is quite self-explanatory. It’s the person who feels helpless. And powerless like they can never cut a break, or they can never get ahead in life. They often think things like this always happen to me. Another role in this drama trying is the rescuer. And this person. Is someone who takes responsibility for other people’s problems.
They kind of make it their problem. But at the same time, they don’t look at their own lives which could be a complete mess, and they’ll see people who might be going through a difficult time and think oh look at that person. You know they need help. I’m nice, so I’ll help them. Or maybe something. A bit more parental alike. If that person did what I said, they’d be happy. And I think. The dynamic that we often see play out between the victim. And the rescuer is something that we see in the movies and romantic comedy all the time.
It’s something that we almost think is normal. But it is an unhealthy interaction.
So the third person in the drama cycle is the persecutor. This is a frustrated person. They’re self-righteous and a bit of a bully. You know, and they might think things like you know they’re wrong and I’m right. They need to do what I say, or that person will get what’s coming to them.
Another thing that’s important to recognize about this triangle is that each of these roles moves between each other. So you know the rescuer can become the prosecutor or the persecutor can become the victim or the victim can become the prosecutor. So they all kind of move around. Another concept that’s important to understand when talking about the drama triangle is this idea of the starting gate. We tend to have this one role that we most naturally sort of entering into. So for instance, you know one person might often go straight to the victim role where someone else might jump into the rescuer. And the other thing that’s interesting about this is that.
Our Starting Gate role sort of is part of what we see as our own identity. And like I said before we shift from one role to the other. Inevitably we all end up in the victim role feeling powerless and helpless and able to do anything. And that’s why it’s really important to work out strategies for how to get out of this. So I guess that brings me to the next question how do we get out of this drama cycle. So. Let’s take it.
By looking at each role again in the one down victim role. We need to become a survivor to do this. We need to think like a problem solver and ask ourselves questions like, What do I want and what steps can I take to get what I want. Another useful thing to do is to reflect on the good things that are going our way. So we can make a note of it in a calendar or a diary. You know to ask ourselves questions like What are three things that I’m grateful for today. Or at the end of each wait, we could ask ourselves. What did I achieve this week? So.
Let’s move on to the rescuer role again. If. This is where you tend to find yourself sitting need to think of yourself as a teacher or a support person. Rather than as a rescuer, you need to remember the golden rule about teaching to fish.
So you need to support and encourage the person in ways who identify and solve their problems rather than rushing in to solve it for them. You can ask them things like What is it that you want to see happen in this situation or what do you think you can do to change this. Also, you need to make sure that you set boundaries setting boundaries around the time that you’re able to listen to the person and letting them know that.
In some ways, it’s a similar situation with the starting gate persecutor who like the rescuer puts themselves in this sort of one-up dominant position. The difference is with this role is that you need to become a challenger need to be firm but fair in your approach to people and to help the person recognize how you’re feeling. You need to sort of address the consequences of their actions and set boundaries. So, for instance, you can say something like if you keep your side of the agreement I can keep mine. As with the rescuer, it’s important to remember.
o set these boundaries and recognize that this isn’t your problem to solve by freeing ourselves from the drama cycle, we’re able to have happier healthier relationships with people won’t feel so drained and powerless. And we’ll also be able to identify toxic relationships that we may, in fact, be better off without.
