15/09/2026
AS I HEAL… 🌿
The Drama Triangle — Part 1: The Perpetrator
I’ve been exploring the Drama Triangle — the Persecutor, the Victim and the Rescuer — and I’m beginning to see how these roles can live inside us too.
Today I want to talk about the Perpetrator.
When I think about this part, I see someone who has learned that the world is a dangerous place.
So they have to become the tough guy.
Or the mean bitch.
They have to be strong, critical, controlling or blaming because somewhere along the way they learned that this is how you survive.
And what I’m discovering is that this doesn’t always look like attacking another person.
Sometimes the perpetrator turns inward.
I saw this so clearly in my own life.
Growing up, I remember Dad criticising Mum for the meal she had made.
And although the criticism wasn't directed at me, I learned something from witnessing it.
I learned that criticism meant something was wrong.
And somehow, I needed to do better.
Yesterday at work I caught myself saying:
“Kick myself.”
I had mistaken ivory for green.
Such a tiny mistake.
But immediately there was that familiar inner criticism.
That voice that says:
You should have known better.
How could you get that wrong?
You need to do better.
And then I caught it.
Cancel. Clear. Delete.
And instead, I brought in a more loving way of speaking to myself.
Not pretending I hadn't made a mistake.
Not bypassing what had happened.
Just choosing not to attack myself for being human
As I connected today with my seven-year-old self, something deeper came through.
She believed that criticism — or attracting criticism — was there to make her do better.
What a revelation.
The little girl inside me wasn't thinking:
“People are being unkind.”
She was thinking:
“This criticism must be helping me become better.”
And I could feel how much shame, blame and hurt had become tangled into that story.
I heard:
“You're not talking about it.”
And then…
“I don't know what to do.”
A freeze.
So I stayed with her.
I didn't try to fix her.
I didn't tell her she was wrong.
I listened.
I saw myself lifting up the skirting board in my healing room, and as I did, the light was able to get through.
And I heard:
“The story is an area of illusion.”
That really landed.
Because the criticism was never the truth of who I was.
The story that I needed criticism in order to become better wasn't the truth either.
There was a huge amount of shame, blame and hurt there — and today I could acknowledge it rather than continue carrying it unconsciously.
I was also shown a roll of material on the counter.
Some of the fine material had been rolled out…
but there was still so much more on the roll.
Then cardboard was placed over the top.
It felt connected to my work.
I saw staff in their uniforms walking past.
Then I saw my own legs walking towards me at work.
And suddenly I understood something else.
I often stay quiet when the women around me are letting off steam in the staff room at lunchtime.
But I'm beginning to see that my silence isn't necessarily because I'm being a victim.
And I don't need to become the rescuer and fix anyone or show them another way.
I'm not there to fix them.
But I also realised…
I'm not always being fully me either.
Because I'm afraid of criticism.
And that means there are parts of me I still hold back.
So perhaps healing the perpetrator isn't simply about stopping ourselves from being critical.
Perhaps it's also about discovering the part of us that learned:
“If I don't want to be criticised, I need to hide.”
And I'm ready to gently question that too.
This morning I went to my boxercise class.
My energy is returning.
I'm getting stronger.
And perhaps that's part of this healing too.
Not becoming tougher so that nobody can hurt me…
but becoming strong enough to be myself without abandoning myself when criticism appears.
That feels very different.
And perhaps that's where the triangle begins to lose its power.
Tomorrow I'll share what I'm discovering about the Victim.
🌿
As I heal, I am learning that I don't need to criticise myself into becoming better. I can grow through love, awareness and compassion.
Please like and share to those who may benefit from hearing these words