Caroline Myss on the Victim Archetype

We're sorry, the feature you were looking for is no longer available on Beliefnet. Don't be mislead by the label "victim." In its healthy state, the victim provides us a quality of perception and strength that protects us against being victimized by others. It alerts us to become more conscious in situations that are conducive to our being taken advantage of. However, we need to develop clarity of insight, and that means learning the nature and intensity of the Victim within ourselves. It its underdeveloped state, victim consciousness tells us continually that we are always taken advantage of in situations, and it is never our fault. The purpose of the victim is to lead us in and out of these situations until we have had enough and stand up for ourselves. We are not meant to be victimized in life; rather, we are meant to learn how to handle the challenges of our lives and to outrun our fears so that we can truly understand the meaning of strength. back to Health and Archetypes main -->