What is borderline triangulation?

People with borderline personality disorder focus on receiving reassurance that they are loved to avoid feelings of abandonment. They may use triangulation to manipulate someone to feel jealous to prove their love and commitment to them.


What is triangulation in borderline personality disorder?

Triangulation is when a toxic or manipulative person, often a person with strong narcissistic traits, brings a third person into their relationship in order to remain in control. There will be limited or no communication between the two triangulated individuals except through the manipulator.

What is an example of triangulation?

For example, a relationship between two siblings can be triangulated by a parent when the siblings disagree, and a relationship between a couple can be triangulated when one partner relies on a child or parent for support and communication with the other partner.


Why do people triangulate in relationships?

The goal of triangulation is to divide people within the argument and to tip the scales of the argument. Often this is done with indirect communication, with the third person being the go-between of the two people who are initially disagreeing. People often use triangulation to: Distract from the real issue or argument.

What happens during triangulation?

Triangulation is a type of survey which starts at a baseline joining two positions with a known distance and grows by adding sides to form a triangle, measuring the angles formed – always exceeding 20° – and shaping a network of connected triangles whose sides have 'calculated' distances.


Borderline Triangulates with Rescuer to Silence Pain, Abandonment Anxiety



What are the 4 types of triangulation?

Among experts in triangulation in the social sciences, there contin- ues to be a general consensus on the usefulness of the four types of triangulation originally identified by Denzin in the 1970s: (1) data triangulation; (2) investigator triangulation; (3) theory triangulation; and (4) methodological or method ...

How do you break triangulation?

How to respond
  1. Have a direct conversation. Pulling triangulation out into the light can be tough, particularly when you dislike any type of conflict and the other person seems to want to purposefully undermine you or treat you poorly. ...
  2. Establish your own support. ...
  3. Set boundaries.


What are three forms of triangulation?

Types of triangulation in research
  • Data triangulation: Using data from different times, spaces, and people.
  • Investigator triangulation: Involving multiple researchers in collecting or analyzing data.
  • Theory triangulation: Using varying theoretical perspectives in your research.


Is triangulation a form of emotional abuse?

Triangulation is considered a form of emotional abuse that can occur in any relationship. Your covert narcissistic partner may pull in a third person into your toxic relationship to create conflicts between the two of you so they can manipulate and take advantage of you.

What's it like to live with someone with borderline personality disorder?

Their wild mood swings, angry outbursts, chronic abandonment fears, and impulsive and irrational behaviors can leave loved ones feeling helpless, abused, and off balance. Partners and family members of people with BPD often describe the relationship as an emotional roller coaster with no end in sight.

Why do narcissists love triangulation?

Why do people with NPD use triangulation? People who have narcissistic personality disorder frequently use triangulation to enhance their feelings of superiority, raise their self-esteem, devalue other people, and keep potential competitors off-balance.


How do you avoid triangulation in a relationship?

Create an equal partnership: Engage with your partner as an equal rather than a superior or inferior. Practice healthy, compassionate, and direct communication: Resist the urge to vent to a third person in the case of relationship conflict. Speak to your partner directly or seek professional help/ couples therapy.

How do narcissist deal with triangulation?

How to Respond to Narcissist Triangulation
  1. Learn to spot the signs of triangulation.
  2. Stay calm in the moment.
  3. Address their behavior in a direct conversation.
  4. Set strong boundaries.
  5. Change the subject.
  6. Say you have other plans and walk away.
  7. Build a strong support network.
  8. Work on healing.


What is hidden borderline personality?

Having quiet borderline personality disorder (BPD) — aka “high-functioning” BPD — means that you often direct thoughts and feelings inward rather than outward. As a result, you may experience the intense, turbulent thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that characterize BPD, but you try to hide them from others.


What happens when you set boundaries with a borderline?

Setting boundaries for your relationship is important for you and the person with BPD. However, you should not expect your limits to fix the relationship quickly. The person with BPD may feel like these boundaries are a form of rejection, which may cause them to lash out.

Is triangulation a form of manipulation?

Triangulation is a form of manipulation and is used to exploit an interaction between two people who are not communicating directly. It is problematic due to a third person becoming intertwined in a situation that should be between the two individuals participating in the conflict.

How does a narcissist react when they can't control you?

Narcissists also gaslight or practice master manipulation, weakening and destabilizing their victims; finally, they utilize positive and negative emotions or moments to trick others. When a narcissist can't control you, they'll likely feel threatened, react with anger, and they might even start threatening you.


What are 6 behaviors that indicate emotional abuse?

Examples include intimidation, coercion, ridiculing, harassment, treating an adult like a child, isolating an adult from family, friends, or regular activity, use of silence to control behavior, and yelling or swearing which results in mental distress. Signs of emotional abuse.

What part of the brain is damaged in emotional abuse?

Emotional abuse is linked to thinning of certain areas of the brain that help you manage emotions and be self-aware — especially the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe. Epigenetic changes and depression. Research from 2018 has connected childhood abuse to epigenetic brain changes that may cause depression.

Why is it called triangulation?

Triangulation is a term that was borrowed from surveying, where it refers to the collection of different compass bearings (usually three, hence triangulation) in order to pinpoint a location on a map.


What is triangulation flirting?

Triangulation is a manipulation technique where a narcissist will bring another person into a relationship to force someone to compete for their attention. The name triangulation implies that three people will be involved in this dynamic.

What is triangulation in a family?

Triangulation or triangling is defined in the AAMFT Family Therapy Glossary as the “process that occurs when a third person is introduced into a dyadic relationship to balance either excessive intimacy, conflict, or distance and provide stability in the system” (Evert et al. 1984 p. 32).

Who is most associated with triangulation?

Triangulation is a term in psychology most closely associated with the work of Murray Bowen known as family therapy. Bowen theorized that a two-person emotional system is unstable, in that under stress it forms itself into a three-person system or triangle.


What is dysfunctional triangulation?

Sometimes, in the case of the dysfunctional family, threat is dealt with through "triangulation." Triangulation means that a third person either within the family or someone from outside, is brought in and selected as a way to protect the integrity of the family by ending any perceived threat to the system.