“Oh you poor victim. Quit being a martyr. Next thing that’s going to happen is you’re going to get nailed on a cross.”
Has anyone said something like that to you? If so, you may be occasionally playing victim—or adopting a victim mentality. Most people have done so from time to time. But the difference between having a victim mentality, playing victim and being a victim is significant.
A victim is someone who has been taken advantage of, or has endured unwanted and undeserved abuse, loss, injury, accident or a disaster that they could not have prevented. They have gone through misfortune and frequently have the need for other people to have compassion toward them.