Topdog vs. Underdog is a phrase coined by Fritz Perls, the father of Gestalt therapy, to describe a self-torture game that people play with themselves in order to avoid the anxiety that they encounter in their environment.
Wikipedia
Topdog versus Underdog is a game we play with ourselves, one we cannot win. In this article, we discover the definition of Topdog and Underdog, how humans use the defeatist self-manipulation technique, and ways to shift mindsets into a positive way of being.
To avoid or reduce anxiety, humans often develop complex manipulative behavior to satisfying personal needs, but in reality, it heightens their dependent behavior and separates them from healthy self-support. If a person is unaware of an effective way to reduce their anxiety dominating their experience, any actions that seem to alleviate stress, even temporarily, are adopted. Individuals may manipulate themselves as well as their environments. They may pay attention to certain aspects of their own experience and ignore or avoid others. Or individuals might over-identify with specific characteristics and create rigid, uncompromising, prejudicial attitudes toward the self.
Here, the Topdog describes the part of an individual that demands the idea that the person should adhere to certain societal norms and standards. The Topdog aspect of the personality is the demander-of-perfection, the manifestation of a set of introjected “shoulds” and “shouldn’t’s.”
Opposed to the Topdog is the Underdog, the manifestation of resistance to external demands. The Gestalt Center of Gainsville describes the process as:
The underdog agrees that the Topdog’s demands are appropriate; however, internal sabotage assures that the demands will never be met.
It is often the case that these internal needs twist to become self-sabotaging behaviors.
While there is no clear winner in the self-defeating game of Topdog/Underdog, however, in the encounter, the underdog takes a dominant position triggering developing depression or anxiety.
Gestalt therapists often guide their patients through an exercise where they assume both the Topdog/Underdog roles. With the therapist’s guidance, the patients can come to gain insight about themselves which can help them have a healthier relationship with their environment.
However, if you don’t have access to a therapist to enact the role-playing game, here are three ways to shift your mindset into a positive way of being.
The ultimate goal is to bring self-defeating behaviors into the immediate field and begin the work of dismantling past ideas and concepts that are no longer serving you. Awareness, patience, and reorienting towards a new, positive internal dialog are crucial to overcoming the Topdog/Underdog introjections.
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