“Playing Victim Culture”
This is something that I've been thinking about for a long time. You see, as a human being, we have a certain perception about ourselves: How good and moral we are, how we are harmless, smart, attractive and so on. However, the real question is how accurate is this perception?Â
For example, no one wants to be a villain ( Unless they are a psychopath without remorse, in a grip of homicidal rage and spiraling out of control I suppose? )  No one wants to take responsibility for whatever is happening in their life ( Just a disclaimer sometimes the events leading to a particular accident is out of one’s hand, and I despise VICTIM BLAMING culture even more than playing victim)Â
Verily, I am not saying that if someone is in a shitty relationship with a shitty person, that’s all their fault, but they are responsible to some extent.Â
I am actually guilty of it too. For so long I believed that “I am such a nice person, why my Bf is such a jerk or my friends are jerks and treat me like dirt” then the ” they will realize their mistake and will know what they’ve got in you” part would start. It was such a vicious circle. It was exhausting, but to make the matters worse deep down, I wasn’t the saint I was projecting to the world. I was an ordinary girl who wanted ordinary things, I didn’t have the patience of a saint. I swallow my resentments and anger because I was afraid of being alone. And they fester, like an old ulcer, a wound that never quite healed, and when the next incident happened, it would be ripped open all over again, each time more infected than the last. That was how my relationship became toxic. In all that, most people were enabling me by reinforcing that mindset, that I was the victim,  the poor sweet girl that no one appreciates. Until one day I couldn't take it anymore. I was tired and scared and feeling undeserving of love and affection. So I sought out help.
7 Years, 3 Psychotherapist and a couple of broken relationships later, I finally realized that I was part of the problem. Not the whole, but part of it. I found out my part was that I did not set boundaries, because I was never taught to do so. I had abandonment issues, No self-esteem ( Although what I was showing the world was the opposite), and I was willing to put up with anything just so the other person would not leave me and most importantly I was this skewed idea about love that it meant there was no place for me and my needs Becuase it would be selfish.  If you love someone YOU are the one that has to sacrifice everything and put everything they have going for them on hold. If you love someone, YOU are the one that has to be always available, shouldn't complain and give the other person whatever they need and never ask for anything. Gaaawd that was exhausting.Â
After the initial, shock and denial wore off and I finally accepted my part in the whole mess I was making out of my life, Â I set out to right the wrongs, to heal. I started to learn I deserve love and loyalty, that I am smart and hardworking, that I'm not perfect and I will never be. That I'm allowed to get angry or upset, and I have a right to express my feelings without fear of losing someone because I'm human. That I'm allowed to make mistakes. What I AM NOT ALLOWED to do is to let people walk all over me, to let them they can treat me like dirt and it is ok because at worst they would throw a half-assed apology my way and I'll forgive them. Â To let people demean me or my accomplishments.Â
So, since I walked the walk myself, I feel like I'm qualified to point out a few things:Â
1- If all the people you are meeting are self-absorbed, self-serving jerks who never appreciate you, maybe you should stop, take a deep breath and look at yourself first because although this world is full of jerks, the chances of you and me meeting only them are slim.Â
2- Playing the victim, never helps, so you feel like you are unappreciated? why are you putting up with it? that would be the most important questions. ( again I'm not talking about certain types of relationships)
3- Maybe just maybe this is a direct result of your actions, let's say you are unintentionally acting like an insensitive and entitled jerk bcoz it is what you've been taught, then how do you expect others to put up with you?Â
4- No one wants to see their own flaws, everyone always blames others, but what we perceived ourselves to be might be far from the truth, so bear that in mind.Â
5- Finally, learn about you the way you want to learn about others when you are at peace with you, you will be at peace with the world too.Â














