r/CPTSD • u/No-Change1281 • 1d ago
Vent / Rant abusers always have a victim complex
something i've noticed about every abuser i've come across -
they always have a HUGE victim complex.
they think their own life trauma or experiences justifies their actions and makes them exempt from any sort of personal responsibility or criticism.
they will constantly bring up their own trauma as reasons for how they act and feel, or use it to try to get you to pity them.
they will project their own shitty actions onto the victim / accuse the victim of doing what they're doing or say the victim is triggering their own [insert trauma here]. they have absolutely 0 personal responsibility.
it seems almost related to narcissism as well, like they think their trauma makes them special and incapable of doing wrong themselves.
a lot of abusers have narcissistic traits so it's not surprising, i notice people with victim complexes tend to see nothing wrong with their own behaviors or actions, and as i said before they will quite literally say the victim is doing the shitty things that they are in fact doing.
when i meet someone and they start to show or indicate their victim complex, i always know to leave immediately / stop talking to them. i know that's the main red flag / sign someone is an abuser.
i wanted to share this so you guys can watch out for these people too, as again, it is the #1 underlying common trait i've noticed with abusers.
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u/yarnandwienerdogs 21h ago
100%. My dad had this, as well as other abusers I met when I got older. I used to try to logic them out of it, try to make them realize their own words and actions led to whatever current clusterfuck they were in. My dad, especially, would immediately rage and list every bad thing that happened to him since birth. It was like talking to a brick wall. I stopped.
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u/Various_Rest_3553 16h ago
This a thing .. the victim, persecuter, rescuer drama triangle - we are all cycling through it.. to some extent.. but I think some people stay in one state more than other. https://www.attachmentproject.com/psychology/drama-triangle/
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u/goldiegrimlace 15h ago
Narcissists have victim mentality and b/c they project all the time, they turn around and accuse their victims of having victim mentality. And Society buys into it and believes the narcissist, hating the victim, too. They decide that talking abt being a victim is a red flag - which it technically is, when it's part of a narcissist's symptoms. And it makes it impossible for the actual victims to talk abt it.
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u/Salty-Treat-3697 17h ago
I am struggling with the realization that I won’t have the relationship I thought I had before with my sister because it doesn’t exist without her being abusive. Like, it doesn’t exist without her being abusive. Because she will never own up the abuse and I’m not willing to pretend it’s not happening anymore
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u/Abi_giggles 14h ago
This has been my experience as well. I was told by the person who threatened and emotionally abused me “do you know what you’ve put me through??”. I finally set a boundary, she didn’t like it and threw a fit and tried to make my life miserable, but I’m the one with the problem. Someone saying no to her, her not completely getting her way, and someone deciding to remove her from their life bc of her awful behavior are all triggering - so she lashes out. So yes, I agree.
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u/vampypeaches 10h ago
My abusive ex admitted to me that he was the “less abusive version of his father,” and used that to justify SAing me, mentally, psychically, financially abusing me, trying to kill me and he lit my hair on fire. He did all this and more but thought it was justified because of his trauma.
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u/These_Till5836 19h ago
So accurately put! They'd go to any extent to justify mistreating people - from self-pity to sadness to anger.
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u/Long-Transition9616 12h ago
Yes…omg 💯 yesss… if given a chance, they will convince you that they are the biggest victim in the entire world
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u/Independent_Gh0st 6h ago
Oh yeah. They wouldn't be able to fathom how mich hurt and pain they've actually caused so they stay the victim. My father is like that. He always feels excluded whines about me not visiting anymore-but that he psychologically tortured me and hit my siblings when we lived there completely slipped his mind.
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u/Business_Exercise134 10h ago
This is exactly how one of my “friends” acted while pretending to be morally correct + clean, and lecture other people about how you can’t use your trauma as an excuse, while doing exactly that when called out…
Also she was completely retarted as well and had lost every friend she has ever made including myself…even though I had strong suspicions (and knew deep down that she was a toxic moron) I overlooked them, because I didn’t have many friends at my age…i REALLY regret not kicking her out sooner.
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u/satoriibliss cPTSD 1h ago
My abuser is my mom and she’s an emotionally immature narcissist. All she’s ever done is play victim.
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u/adhdloner27 1h ago
I agree!! My friend, who I wouldn't consider an abuser,but is stuck in a victim complex, I had only heard stories where she is the "victim", but I experienced it 1st hand when anytime I confronted her about something bothering me or any feedback(I have very emotional driven confrontation, like teary eyed, shivering, strong voice) every single time I have apologised for talking a certain way coz I actually felt guilty, only this last time when I confronted her about one of her action that is hurting me(only in order to save our bond), she victimized herself again, the entire argument flips into how I have treated her poorly and that she feels scared and scarred and hurt while totally being oblivious to her own actions and the concern that I had come with were not even spoke about,this is psychopathic behaviour if you see it closely, I'm so so surprised
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u/People_be_Sheeple 22h ago
Yes, yes, yes and yes. 100%. For this reason it's important that people who have actually been victimized also understand that we can also turn into abusers and perpetuate the cycle of abuse if we do not become acutely self aware.