The document discusses the concept of the 'always script,' illustrated by the story of Arachne from Greek mythology and the experiences of a woman named Martha, who perpetually finds herself in unsatisfactory relationships. It highlights the patterns of behavior exhibited by individuals with an 'always script', as well as their tendencies to remain in unhealthy situations or make unwise choices. Additionally, it provides links to various related topics in transactional analysis.

1. Always Script

2. Prepared By
Manu Melwin Joy
Research Scholar
School of Management Studies
CUSAT, Kerala, India.
Phone – 9744551114
Mail – manu_melwinjoy@yahoo.com
Kindly restrict the use of slides for personal purpose.
Please seek permission to reproduce the same in public
forms and presentations.

3. Always Script
The person with an Always
script asks : “Why does this
always happen to me?”. The
Greek myth for Always is
that of Arachne, who was
good at embroidery. She was
unwise enough to challenge
the goddess Minerva to an
embroidering contest. The
outraged deity changed
Arachne into a spider,
condemned to spin her web
fall all eternity.

4. Always Script
Martha knows the always
pattern: She has been
married three times and
divorced twice. Her first
marriage was to a man
who was quiet, retiring
and not very sociable.
Martha broke with him,
she told her friends,
because she really wanted
someone more dynamic.

5. Always Script
But to the surprise of
those same friends, she
was soon announcing her
engagement to another
man who seemed to them
like a carbon copy of the
first one. That marriage
didn’t last long either.
Martha’s third husband is
retiring ,quiet and not very
dynamic and she has
already complaining to her
friends about him.

6. Always Script
People with the Always
pattern may play it out like
Martha, by going from one
unsatisfactory relationship,
job or locality to another. A
variant is to stay with the
original unsatisfactory
choice instead of moving on
to a better one.

7. Always Script
The person with an Always
script may say : “ I have
not got much out of
working with this
therapist. But, well, I
suppose, I will keep on and
just hope we get
somewhere.”

8. Always Script
Martha often uses a
sentence pattern which
typically accompanies an
Always script. She begins the
sentence, then goes off on a
tangent. She switches to
another tangent and goes
off on that one, and so on.
“Well, what I have cone to
see you for is….. Huh, when I
was on the way here I saw
my friend and she …. Oh, by
the way, I have got some
money with me and…”.

9. Almost Script
Sisyphus was another
character to fall foul of the
touchy Greek gods. He was
condemned to spend
eternity pushing a huge rock
up a hill. Every time he
almost got to the top, he lost
his grip on the rock and it
rolled all the way down to
the bottom again. Like
Sisyphus, the modern day
person with an Almost script
says: “ I almost made it this
time.”

10. References

11. Thank You

12. Other TA topics available on slideshare
1. Strokes - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/strokes-24081607.
2. Games People Play - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/psychological-games-
people-play.
3. Structural Analysis - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/the-ego-state-model.
4. What is TA? - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/what-ta-is
5. Cycles of Development - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/cycles-of-developement-
pamela-levin-transactional-analysis.
6. Stages of Cure - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/stages-of-cure.
7. Transactions - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/transactions-33677298.
8. Time Structuring - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/time-structuring.
9. Life Position - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/life-position.
10. Autonomy - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/autonomy-33690557.
11. Structural Pathology - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/structural-pathology.
12. Game Analysis - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/game-analysis-33725636.
13. Integrated Adult - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/integrated-adult.
14. Stroke Economy - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/stroke-economy-
33826702.