There are two levels to gossip:
- Gossip – a person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts.
- Triangulation – This term is typically used to describe the actions of an emotionally unstable individual who intentionally creates drama or confusion between three or more people in a situation. The purpose of such actions is to generate confusion as a means of passively controlling the situation and individuals. Many times, the triangulating person manipulates to pit a second person against a third person in order to get the third person out of the picture.
In either situation of gossip or Triangulation there are at least three people:
- Gossiper
- Person being gossiped to
- Person being gossiped about
What is so unjust is that the second person can’t go to the third person to get the other side of the story or to find out if the information given by the first person is true. Usually, they are committed to or controlled by the first person and to go to the third person would be a betrayal to the first person.
This puts the second and the third person under the control of the first person and they lose in these situations. The second person loses some because they can’t get to the real truth. But the third person loses all the way around. All three people need healing!
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