Introduction
TA is a theory of life scripts. People unawarely use beliefs, myths and stories to live by. The beliefs are beliefs about oneself, about others, about life, about one's value, worth, dignity, esteem and respect as persons, and about the world at large. Several limitations are imposed on growing children of age of two to six years. Children are innocent victims, dwarfed in size, and are entirely dependent on their parents. Besides, they have nowhere else to go to or no one else to go to. Children are by compelled by circumstances, to make choices to aid their survival. Creativity, innovation, imagination, mythical thinking and out of the box thinking are at its best in those years. The survival techniques become adaptations. Parents and other elderly people in the house relate stories and fairy tales to children. Children also get to read them from books and while watching TV and You Tube videos. They happen to choose a hero in those stories, fairy tales, videos, and cartoons. Some of the stories match their life situations. They then 'in a way' decide what life is good to live - by fighting it out, by being manipulative, by being mischievous, by being cunning, by taking life lying down, or by being nice and complying. Thus, the decisions get embedded in the psyche. The stories and decisions, structure their lives in adulthood.
Definition
Script is defined as an ongoing program, developed in early childhood, under parental influence, which directs the individual's behaviour, in the most important aspects of his adult life. ‘Ongoing’ means always moving forward, with an element of irreversibility; 'program' means there is a well laid out plan. Its skeleton can be found in a specific fairy tale; 'under parental influence' means during interactions with parents; 'directs' means is ordered to comply; 'important aspects' means significant events of life.
Berne asserts that: "script is a psychological force, which propels affected persons toward their destiny, regardless of whether they fight it, or say it is of their own free will".
Relevance
TA is a theory meant to treat people afflicted by mental, psychological, emotional, behavioural, relationships related isues, addictions and habits, aggressiveness and accident proneness, homicidal and suicidal tendencies, as also depression and related problems. Besides these, adjustment and accommodating difficulties and socially unacceptable behaviours too are treated. Script is to be viewed in that context.
Script and Personality Anomalies
Script and personality are two faces of the same coin. Personality anomalies structure the manner in which the afflicted personw get to unawarely perceive, evaluate, assess and respond to the prevailing reality, events, people, and situations. Besides, to problems, difficulties, conditions and challenges of life. Unhealthy stroking patterns, engaging in unhealthy transactions, games and rackets, are the manifestations observed in script prone and script ridden people.
Script has survival value and is psycho-cybernetic
Script leads people to achieve their life goal. It generates peoples' destiny. It is psycho-cybernetic, meaning that the goal (script payoff) determines the pace, direction and nature of events that contribute to it being achieved over a life-time.
Why and when does script ridden-ness occur
Script activation occurs instantaneously when the presenting frame of reference is inconsistent with the person's frame of reference.
Four other activations occur as well. Using tangential and blocking transactions, using passivity and passive behaviours, assuming roles on drama triangle, and engaging in competitive Parent-Child symbiotic relating.
Types of Scripts
Scripts are classified as being Winner, Loser and Non-winner Scripts. People with winner scripts achieve their goals by actively pursuing them. This despite problems, difficulties and failures. They have a 'Plan B' in place to switch to. People with loser scripts are driven to fail. They have no Plan B in place to pick up strings and proceed to achieve rewarding goals. Losers have hurt or painful relationships and ups and downs in life. People with Non-Winner Banal scripts live uneventful lives. They are neither high achievers nor are they pathetic losers.
Process Scripts
Six types of process scripts determine life-styles of script prone people. They are named: Until, After, Never, Always, Almost I, and Almost II process scripts.
Until Script: The person defers actions till such time some other task has been performed.
After Script: Their script is marked by a consistent pattern of fun, then atonement; joy then misery; pleasure then pain;
Never Script: Their life is marked by being unable to enjoy things of life, although they are within reach. A life force prevents them from being able to reach out and enjoy.
Always Script: Their life is marked by remaining busy, as yet not achieving satisfactory success. They expend energy in trying, instead of for achieving.
Almost I Script: Their life is marked by moving to achieve success, and then something happening to derail the effort, when success is close at hand. They then start all over again. This script is also called over and over.
Almost II Script: Their life is marked by having several tasks in hand. It starts by having an attractive proposition when they are half-way down to achieve the the first task, they take up the second task and soon the third, till such time they have loads of half completed jobs in hand.
Characteristic Features of Script-ridden people
Script prone people justify their views, perceptions, beliefs, values and principles as being the only valid ones. They are also protective about them. Their behaviour escalates when questioned. They are quick to reach to conclusions. They have fixed ideas about their life and the way it is moving.
Antonym of Script
Script-free people find themselves enjoying freedom and flexibility in their manner of thinking, feeling, behaving, as well as assessing, evaluating and responding to reality, people and life situations. They are driven to achieve sane, safe, effective and win-win generating outcomes. They are able to forget painful, hurting, embarrassing events and outcomes resulting from interactions with others. They are able to restore life on track the many times it slips.
Patterns that help identify script prone people
Patterns: Repeating patterns of events, incidents, occurrences, mistakes, slip-ups, accidents, losses and strained / broken relationships. Smarting frequently in episodes of hurt, pain, injury, loss and failures.
Thinking: Script prone people display thinking disorders and pursue fantasies. They frequently get log-jammed in episodes of down-spin thinking / feeling. Facing confusion, indecision and struggle to put life on track is another indicator.
Feeling: Script prone people express racket feelings. They also get log-jammed in escalated racket feelings and as a result convert them into psychological trading stamps. They find it difficult to revert to a stable emotional state after a particularly disturbing event or interaction.
Behaviours: Script prone people engage in behaviours that are recurring, inauthentic and manipulative. The behaviours lead to causing self / other person material / mental / psychological / emotional / financial harm or hurt. They justify their actions and behaviours as being appropriate and the correct ones.
Other Indicators:
Victimised by Injunctions Injunctions are don't messages. They stop the affected persons in their track. There are twelve injunctions that impact existence, being sane, thinking, feeling, being close, being loved, being successful, being important, experiencing belonging and enjoying one's sexuality.
Compulsive Behaviours: Script prone people display some of these four behaviour patters: Being Perfect, Being Nice and Pleasing, Being Strong and Trying Hard.
Passivity and Passive Behaviours Script prone people display passivity and the many types of passive behaviours.
Rackety Behaviours Rackety behaviours are marked by being repetitive, intense, and escalated. They display stylised expressions of thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Escalation of Somatic Ailments
Justification of Behaviour as being the only correct and appropriate one
Implement Unicorn and Procrustes Unicorn is the tendency to expand the proposition so that it becomes applicable to every aspect of a topic, subject or hypothesis. Procrustes is the tendency to use justifications to make reasoning fit one’s proposition.
Multi-level Manifestations of Script
Script manifests at many levels. They are intra-psychic, intra-personal, inter-personal, psychological, emotional, interactional, social, behavioural and somatic levels.
Intra-psychic Manifestation Ego state pathology and discounting constitute occurrences at intra-psychic levels. Feelings and Emotional lock-jams resulting in smarting in feelings and emotions are also intra psychic manifestations.
Intra-personal Manifestation Intense mind talk constitutes its intra-personal manifestation.
Psychological Manifestation Affects of mind, altered thinking and feeling patterns constitute the psychological manifestations.
Emotional Manifestation Emotional disturbances, challenges and affects of mind constitute emotional manifestations.
Interactional Manifestation Unhealthy simple and complex transactions constitute its interactional manifestations.
Social Manifestation 'Pastimes', 'Games' and 'Racketing' constitute its social manifestations.
Behavioural Manifestation 'Racketing' and other observable activation across all the aforementioned levels constitute its behavioural manifestations.
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