Dee Bernstein – It can be very difficult for a person to admit to themselves that they have a victim mentality; facing this fact means you have to admit you are rather accustomed to feeling self pity, as well as placing blame outside of yourself regularly. These are hard admissions to make, let alone try to understand. Yet every person I’ve met who has made this leap from victim to self-aware has benefited in so many ways, and has ultimately become a happier and more balanced person.

Victims are not born, they are made; it is usually through upbringing that a person becomes a victim. When a person is taught by those around them that they have no power, and learn by example of their parents and care givers that life is unfair and it isn’t their fault, it is simply a matter of transferring those feelings of victimization to young people.

It can be so detrimental to adopt this type of mentality however, as a young person with a victim identity grows into an adult who cannot see much less control their own part in their unhappiness, drama, or life experiences. A lack of accountability will ultimately lead to a dynamic disconnect between rational thinking, and hyper-reactive blame gaming.

Signs of Victim Mentality

• Feelings of being victimized by others, life being unfair, being treated harshly for unknown reasons.
• Lack of power to change ones circumstances, even if those changes seem rational to others.
• Misplaced anger directed towards family or friends who “don’t understand” or “never will!”
• Feelings of isolation, being misunderstood, alienated, shunned, betrayed by loved ones or the world.
• Inability to put ones self into a position of accountability for the way ones life is.

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