today I'm going to talk about how to step out of the stress drama cycle
Vesna:this is a really juicy and it's one of the most powerful things that
Vesna:you can learn if you really see it.
Vesna:It can really transform your life in all areas and I'm going to share
Vesna:about how it's made a massive impact within myself, within my relationship
Vesna:and my business I'm going to talk about it in a very empowering way
Vesna:because sometimes it's spoken about in a very disempowering way, but.
Vesna:I have some nuance to it, which will make a huge difference.
Vesna:Okay.
Vesna:So what I'm going to talk about is the drama cycle so it's kind
Vesna:of this psychological framework where we tend to find ourselves
Vesna:caught in a particular area.
Vesna:So we've got the rescuer, we've got the victim and we've got the aggressor.
Vesna:So the rescuer, which is what I have identified with for many years and
Vesna:I didn't know how to get out of that place, felt really stuck in that place.
Vesna:So the rescue is trying to save people.
Vesna:the beliefs behind it is don't worry, I'll fix everything for you.
Vesna:So we want to help people, but sometimes we don't.
Vesna:Take on too much and we can make people feel a little bit powerless
Vesna:or helpless to do it on their own.
Vesna:So a rescuer really comes from a nice place because you're trying
Vesna:to help people, but there's underlining reasons for it.
Vesna:The second type is the victim.
Vesna:The victim is the kind of language that they use is I can't do it.
Vesna:that's way too hard.
Vesna:It's all too hard and they feel sad.
Vesna:They feel helpless and they think that they can't solve their own problems.
Vesna:And then we have the aggressor, which is someone who says, it's all your fault.
Vesna:They blame others.
Vesna:They get angry.
Vesna:They try to control things through their temper.
Vesna:And while all of these types, you may be thinking, well, I don't
Vesna:really identify with any of them.
Vesna:I can assure you, you are sitting in one of them Okay.
Vesna:And I'm going to share with you my story so you could really see this in action.
Vesna:So for me as a practitioner, maybe other therapists out there and other
Vesna:practitioners and other carers and people looking after anyone of mothers.
Vesna:We'll relate to this, okay?
Vesna:So as a carer or as a practitioner, I felt like other people's health
Vesna:was my responsibility I took on way too much of their responsibility
Vesna:of their health journey.
Vesna:So if they had a problem, it was up to me to fix it.
Vesna:Okay.
Vesna:That was my job.
Vesna:I would try and make things so easy for everyone in order to do so, to make the
Vesna:health changes, to take actions, to make dietary changes, exercise, whatever it is.
Vesna:I would try and make it as easy as possible for them to execute.
Vesna:And if they weren't able to do it, then I felt like, Oh, I
Vesna:wasn't making it easy enough.
Vesna:Right?
Vesna:So it took on a lot of the responsibility.
Vesna:this was exhausting.
Vesna:And I felt like I was overworked and undervalued and I became
Vesna:frustrated in the process myself.
Vesna:What I didn't realize, so while I'm working hard to make everybody happy
Vesna:all the time, so there's a people pleasing element to this, right?
Vesna:people would say to me, it's not your responsibility, you know, like everyone
Vesna:comes in with different health complaints.
Vesna:The best you can do is show them the way, They have to take
Vesna:that path themselves, right?
Vesna:And that all made sense to me on a logical level, right?
Vesna:But what I didn't realize through that whole process is, when I think
Vesna:that it's my job to fix everything, It's my responsibility, not yours,
Vesna:then I see you as the victim.
Vesna:I put you into that victim place where you are helpless and you
Vesna:don't have the ability to do it on your own, unconsciously that's
Vesna:what I'm doing and you may be doing that as well in your life.
Vesna:So unconsciously you're saying, you don't have the inner resources, you
Vesna:don't have the mental strength, you can't make it happen without me.
Vesna:So I make you the victim.
Vesna:Now, like I said, it's unconscious.
Vesna:I thought I was making things easier for everyone.
Vesna:And I thought it was failing when they weren't able to make changes,
Vesna:and the biggest catalyst for me to change was that Once I could see
Vesna:that I was robbing their ability to step into their greatness right?
Vesna:I'm robbing your ability to step into your greatness if I don't
Vesna:think you can do it without me.
Vesna:If I don't think that you can step up, find a solution, tap into your inner
Vesna:resources, step up into your potential and prove to yourself that you can do it.
Vesna:I'm robbing you of that.
Vesna:When I'm trying to jump in and do it all myself, right?
Vesna:When I'm, overdoing it by trying to, take control of that situation.
Vesna:So, I'm stopping people from stepping up into their greatness.
Vesna:I'm stopping them from stepping into their potential, right?
Vesna:And that was huge for me, right?
Vesna:I could really see that I was trying to help them, but
Vesna:really I was hindering them.
Vesna:And I was making them into victims.
Vesna:And so naturally, What do victims do?
Vesna:So the victims felt like, well, I can't do this anymore.
Vesna:This is too hard.
Vesna:And I was so confused because I thought I'm working harder than ever.
Vesna:Why is this not landing?
Vesna:And then I'm getting frustrated, right?
Vesna:So what happens is.
Vesna:I became the victim I became helpless.
Vesna:I became powerless, right?
Vesna:And the victim who I had turned into the victim by overdoing it
Vesna:and over caring and trying to fix everything and make it as easy as
Vesna:possible, they became the aggressor.
Vesna:So I recently had this in my program and my group, you know, some people
Vesna:were unhappy and they were struggling, you know, they were really coming
Vesna:from that victim consciousness.
Vesna:It's all too hard.
Vesna:I can't do it.
Vesna:I've got too many limitations, this, that, the other, right?
Vesna:So the language, you can really hear it in the language.
Vesna:Yeah.
Vesna:And I just went even more hardcore on Rescuer and then they became
Vesna:the aggressor, so they attacked me.
Vesna:Okay, they blamed me, they got angry at me and this aggression helps
Vesna:to take control of a situation.
Vesna:And so I become the victim and then I become the aggressor and as you can
Vesna:see that cycle keeps repeating itself.
Vesna:Now we do this in our relationships, in your work, in your mothering, right?
Vesna:I see a lot of mothers when they hear about this, they're like,
Vesna:yeah, I do everything for my kids because if I don't it won't happen.
Vesna:But there's also that part where you don't allow them to step up and
Vesna:take responsibility for themselves.
Vesna:They're never going to learn that lesson.
Vesna:Yes, some things may be dropped and not done, you know?
Vesna:But eventually that lesson will be learned.
Vesna:They will step up and take responsibility and step into their
Vesna:power and to the greatness and be able to tap into their inner resources.
Vesna:But if we're jumping in and doing everything for everyone, we are
Vesna:saying, you can't do this on your own.
Vesna:And therefore, that energy, that dynamic is a victim rescuer relationship.
Vesna:And it's not healthy, right?
Vesna:It's not a nice energy exchange.
Vesna:And so the victim can become the aggressor and your kids can fight back
Vesna:with you and blame you for things.
Vesna:And then you feel unappreciated and you feel like the victim
Vesna:and the cycle continues.
Vesna:I say this in my work, obviously I'm, I'm focused on burnout and in health
Vesna:and making lifestyle changes and making mental shifts, and this is a big part
Vesna:of it, but I can see when people come into the program or when I work with
Vesna:people, the kind of language that points to victim consciousness, right?
Vesna:And I'm not saying this from a judgmental place because, We all go
Vesna:into these areas, but there is power in identifying if you're currently in
Vesna:that area, because you are not going to get the results that you want when
Vesna:you're coming from victim consciousness.
Vesna:You just don't win from that place at all, okay?
Vesna:You can't win by giving up, saying it's too hard, and then blaming other
Vesna:people in the aggressive phase, right?
Vesna:You, you're never going to win and get to where you want to get to.
Vesna:But sometimes we don't see it, and there's language points to it, right?
Vesna:So people will say, in that victim place, they'll say, I've tried
Vesna:everything and nothing works.
Vesna:It's too hard, I just can't stick to it, it's too hard.
Vesna:I don't have time for this, and no matter what I do, I always fail, Or I'm tired and
Vesna:I'm stressed to even think about changing anything in my diet and lifestyle.
Vesna:So that kind of language is very powerless, right?
Vesna:It's very helpless.
Vesna:And so that points to being in that victim consciousness.
Vesna:We can all change.
Vesna:It's absolutely a choice, okay?
Vesna:So I just want to bring awareness to this, if you recognize this for yourself.
Vesna:So when women come into my program, I highlight this, because I think it's
Vesna:really important that you see that you're going to, If that's your pattern,
Vesna:you are definitely going to step into that place during the program because
Vesna:you're going to be challenged, right?
Vesna:You're going to be challenged to take ownership, take responsibility,
Vesna:make changes, even when it's hard.
Vesna:And then eventually, the victim shifts into the aggressor and they become
Vesna:critical, they blame, they become confrontational, you know, it's like,
Vesna:it's because of my family, it's because of my work that I can't focus on my health.
Vesna:Nobody helps me.
Vesna:I'm stuck doing everything by myself.
Vesna:This is the kind of language.
Vesna:This program is useless and nothing anyone ever suggests works for me, right?
Vesna:I never feel supported.
Vesna:That's why I can't succeed.
Vesna:So that kind of language, points to an aggressor type.
Vesna:So again, we're going to move through these phases.
Vesna:If we don't catch ourselves, the only way we can change is by making a choice.
Vesna:I do not want to come from that victim place anymore.
Vesna:And absolutely.
Vesna:is a mental choice, okay?
Vesna:I can see now that as a rescuer, I can't really help people, right?
Vesna:Even though it feels easier for me to jump in and make it as easy
Vesna:as possible and try to do it for them, that's not helping them, okay?
Vesna:That's hindering them.
Vesna:That's not allowing them to step into their greatness.
Vesna:It's not allowing them to, see their potential.
Vesna:So, like I said, we fall into these areas and I can guarantee you that
Vesna:there'll be places in your life, maybe you're great with health changes, maybe
Vesna:you're great at work, but maybe you're the rescuer in your relationship, maybe
Vesna:you're the rescuer in your mothering, or maybe you're the victim, right?
Vesna:And so, these will show up differently in different areas and we do tend
Vesna:to be in these places in certain things that we do in our lives, okay?
Vesna:So, there's no judgment here, right?
Vesna:This is really part of this common drama cycle that we find ourselves in.
Vesna:So, the biggest lesson here is to really see that for yourself and
Vesna:that's when you can make significant change in your life, in your work,
Vesna:the way you run your business, in your relationships, in your mothering.
Vesna:the driver to these habits is for a rescuer we, we do these
Vesna:habits because we avoid rejection and we want to feel needed.
Vesna:As a victim, we do it to avoid responsibility and failure.
Vesna:So if we can avoid accountability, it takes the pressure off us, right?
Vesna:And we can put it onto somebody else.
Vesna:And as an aggressor, we avoid vulnerability.
Vesna:And we take control, right, by making, that emotional charge.
Vesna:We try to control the situation, okay.
Vesna:So an aggressor, there's an element of wanting to mask your feelings, but
Vesna:also wanting to control the outcome.
Vesna:And it's controlling the outcome because, um, of being able to deal with the
Vesna:outcome emotionally, okay, because it's all about suppressing those feelings.
Vesna:So, there are drivers to these patterns, okay, and these behaviours, and again,
Vesna:once we know what they are
Vesna:We can change them right?
Vesna:We can understand why we do the things that we do.
Vesna:We can understand why we're stepping into that rescuer role, but we
Vesna:can also see that actually we're not helping anyone by doing that.