The Drama Triangle

Some time ago, a dear friend introduced to me the Drama Triangle, which has since saved me a lot of grief. Once I recognized such a construct operating in a relationship important to me, I was able to step back and see it with much less heartache.

The idea of the Drama Triangle is that in relationships we may be inclined to take the roles of victims, persecutors, and rescuers, none of which are healthy. When a particular relationship I was in was at its most heated, I drew a triangle with the word victim written at one point, persecutor at a second, and rescuer at the third point of the triangle, with the warning to "stay out of the triangle" written alongside. I posted it on my refrigerator as a constant reminder. It helped.

Wickidedia has a good explanation here. If you have not known of the concept before, maybe it will be a help to you to understand about the Drama Triangle, too. I'd love to hear your stories. Please share if you feel so inclined.

A thank you to Heather for her inspired teaching and to bram_app for sharing the above photo on flickr.