In his best-selling book, The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield suggests that adults
go about attracting the love, recognition, approval and support they need accord-
ing to the kind of interactions they had with their parents as children. We learned
how to attract attention from them, and continued to play these dramas over and
over again, usually subconsciously, until they became habitual. Unless we become
aware of them and make a conscious effort to change, they stay with us for life.
Redfield suggests that these control dramas come in four types. Most of us have a
favoured style, and adopt others from time to time according to circumstances:
■ Intimidator
■ Interrogator
■ Aloof
■ Poor me
Understanding control dramas is extremely helpful. Once you have decided into
which group you, your parents/guardians, siblings and anyone else who had a
profound impact on your childhood fit most comfortably, you can use these
insights to develop greater understanding of your childhood conditioning, and
yourself as you are now.