Recognizing a Victim Mentality in Young Adults

Victim mentality is a problem that many young adults face—this is especially true of those who have struggled or are struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues. The helpless feeling that victim mentality brings on is damaging to young adults, and a family recovery support therapy program could be the best option. Determining if your teen is suffering from a victim mentality isn't easy. Teenage mental health counseling can often help, but you can look for signs and hints at home. Keeping an eye on their self-care and teen health and wellness could help you identify victim mentality and take appropriate action before the condition worsens. At Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center, our team of mental health professionals helps teens and their families recognize signs of victim mentality and get their loved ones the help they need. Find out more about our boys' dual diagnosis treatment options by calling 662.373.2828.

How to Recognize Signs of Victim Mentality

Many factors can indicate victim mentality in young adults. These signs might indicate victim mentality or other issues that could merit teenage mental health counseling. Here is a closer look at some of the significant indicators of victim mentality in young adults.

Negative Self-Talk and Neglect of Self-Care

One of the most devastating effects of victim mentality is the erosion of a young adult's self-worth. They feel that they are not someone of value, that the bad things happening to them, real or only perceived, are deserved. Internally or externally, they will often make negative comments about themselves and their outlooks. Negative statements about their own abilities and outcomes are a reasonably clear indicator that they are struggling with their self-image and self-worth. Teenage mental health counseling could be the best option to resolve their victim mentality.

Anger Can Indicate Poor Teen Health and Wellness

The image that many people have of the victim mentality is a picture of depression. They imagine someone moping around and making self-deprecating remarks. The reality is that victim mentality can express itself through anger and sometimes even violence. Their frustration can cause severe anger in young adults. Angry outbursts, shouting, and violence could all be signs that your teen is angry with a world they see as squarely against them. This type of behavior is readily identified in teen addiction treatment centers and teen mental health treatment centers, where troubled youths have often reached a crisis point and developed a victim mentality.

Avoiding Potential Solutions Could Mean Victim Mentality

Young adults with a victim mentality see themselves as something that is acted upon rather than something that acts. Even with a clearly defined path to remedying their problems or improving conditions, they often refuse to make any effort. They believe that nothing they could do would matter, that they have no power over themselves. At a teen mental health treatment center, adolescents with a victim mentality go through treatment programs to unlearn these ideas. The ultimate goal of treatment is a young adults who can identify and act on the problems in their lives rather than staying victims.

Shifting Responsibility onto Others

Those with a victim mentality often lack a defined sense of agency. They don't see themselves as responsible for any events in their lives. As such, they are quick to blame other people for anything negative that happens. They will make excuses for events that are fully or partially their doing. Instilling a sense of personal responsibility is key to overcoming the victim mentality. Many events genuinely are out of a young adult's control. However, sometimes, tragically, the inability to take any responsibility is unhealthy and unproductive.

Learn More at Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center

Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center is a teen mental health and teen residential addiction treatment center. We strive to provide professional care for adolescent boys. If you believe your teen is struggling with mental health issues indicated by a victim mentality, contact Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center today at 662.373.2828. You can also use our online contact form to learn about effective treatment options.

The Stonewater Adolescent Treatment Process

What to Expect When Your Child Goes to Treatment

More than half a million families put a child into residential treatment for adolescents each year. If your family is taking this step, you are not alone - even if it may feel that way. With a clear understanding of what to expect, and trusted guides walking alongside you, this moment can be transformed from a time of fear and uncertainty to the beginning of a new and positive journey. Let's begin.