A Massage Therapist Talks About Her Battle with the "Victim"
May/30/2009 05:22 AM Filed in: Ethics &
Archetypes
"My lowest archetype is the "Victim". I feel I was in
the victim for the early years of my teenage and
adult life. I felt powerless and disconnected from
life. I did what I was told but struggled with
feeling controlled and abused by others.
"My environment did not reflect me or my values and yet I did not know how to change my circumstances. I married young and to a man who was a bully. I just handed all my power to him in exchange for “love”. Healing this archetype has carried me through a great distance and I have such empathy for others as they are struggling with the "Victim". Now when I feel the "Victim" come up in my life (such a familiar friend, really) it reminds me to reconnect with my own wisdom and power. Now those feelings direct me to re-connect with my strength, not my weakness.
"This early experience effects my work in massage therapy as I can recognize and relate to the "Victim" very easily.
The "Victim" is a teacher for me. When I see the "Victim" in my clients, I remember what it feels like to be stuck, disconnected from life force and hopeless.
"It also can really push my buttons when I work with a client who stays in the "Victim" and seems unwilling to move forward or make changes. I can tend to resist the victim so much due to my earlier experiences and I know that this is not a helpful or wise choice either. Being in balance would be to remain compassionate and open and keep clear boundaries when dealing with the "Victim".
This is a powerful description from a massage therapist who has used her own past experiences, though painful, to become more effective with "Victim" clients, while empowering herself to go to her strength rather than her weakness.
"My environment did not reflect me or my values and yet I did not know how to change my circumstances. I married young and to a man who was a bully. I just handed all my power to him in exchange for “love”. Healing this archetype has carried me through a great distance and I have such empathy for others as they are struggling with the "Victim". Now when I feel the "Victim" come up in my life (such a familiar friend, really) it reminds me to reconnect with my own wisdom and power. Now those feelings direct me to re-connect with my strength, not my weakness.
"This early experience effects my work in massage therapy as I can recognize and relate to the "Victim" very easily.
The "Victim" is a teacher for me. When I see the "Victim" in my clients, I remember what it feels like to be stuck, disconnected from life force and hopeless.
"It also can really push my buttons when I work with a client who stays in the "Victim" and seems unwilling to move forward or make changes. I can tend to resist the victim so much due to my earlier experiences and I know that this is not a helpful or wise choice either. Being in balance would be to remain compassionate and open and keep clear boundaries when dealing with the "Victim".
This is a powerful description from a massage therapist who has used her own past experiences, though painful, to become more effective with "Victim" clients, while empowering herself to go to her strength rather than her weakness.