#cult recovery

[cultsurvivorsafe]

Cult survivors, you don't lack intelligence. You don't lack morality. Your abuse was and never will be your fault.

[creature-wizard]

PSA: If you're searching out resources to help cult survivors, check their citations and look out for these names - and if you see them, leave immediately - because these people are all far right conspiracy theorists:

Svali

Cisco Wheeler

Fritz Springmeier

Cathy O'Brien

Mark Philips

Lawrence Pazder

Michelle Smith/Pazder

Lauren Stratford

Texe Marrs

Bill Schnoebelen

Rebecca Brown

Mike Warnke

Literally all of these people were (or in some cases, still are) pushing far right conspiracy theories derived from early modern witch panic, blood libel, and The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. Literally do not trust anyone or anything that cites them.

[unwelcome-ozian]

It is not uncommon for former cult members to feel shame, embarrassment, and even self-esteem damage as a result of having been persuaded to join and to devote years of their lives to a cultic group. Looking back, they think that they were too easily fooled and should have recognized the deceptive and unhealthy nature of the group much earlier than they did. However, an analysis of the persuasion and influence techniques of cultic organizations reveals that they are the same techniques that persuade and influence people to make personal choices in all aspects of their lives.

[fyodere]

another life update lmao (sorry for the lack of smut content)

content warning for disturbing topics, especially religious cult ones

here i go

my family had been part of a japanese cult for several years and i was basically raised there. thanks to some blessing my mom and my grandpa woke up and stopped the madness

i had so many traumatic experiences there (as i said before, i was raised in that place) i can make a whole post telling my story if you guys want lol i don’t mind sharing my experience

but that’s not the point… i decided to check some stuff about this cult on internet to see if other people had a experience similar to mine, and oh… oh. there’s so many. like, so, so many. the amount of bad experiences is insane.

but that’s not even the worse part… 💀 i just found out (with proof and everything) that this cult is related to war crimes (specifically the nazis)

im severely disturbed. remembering all the stuff i went through all those years is wild. happily, i can say that im free now

[moonogre]

Damn group therapy is crazy because it’s really you getting so mad about how these people who you’ve just met got done SO DIRTY.

Like I wanna fight all the people that hurt and punished the survivors in the cohort 😭

People don’t deserve to feel ashamed or cut off from their loved ones or like they can’t think for themselves just because they believe something different or want something different for themselves.

Anyway exhausted from all the rage and sharing and cuddling Jazzy now zzzzzzzzzzzz

[drafthorsemath]

.

Things were going so well and then my dad related the evangelical support of Isreal to end time prophecy from my former cult. He went on about how this is showing the world God has abandoned the church. Without going into more detail, he's so arrogant and he's so blind to it. Thankfully the discourse passed, we're more focused on cooking and eating now, and we're watching A Muppet Christmas Carol this afternoon.

[aprilssparelife]

Lost in time

floating

what did you say?

sorry I wasn’t here

there

got me again

remembering the feeling

of being told what to feel

how to think

what to do

submitting

to authority

remitting

my own story

denying

all reality

to stay put

to stay good

to be saved

to stay

alive

[ghostjelliess]

Anyone else grow up in a culty denomination and get very specific songs stuck in you head? The kind that aren't hymns cus not enough people know them? You think people will know, so you ask, but then are reminded that your off brand Christianity was the second-star-to-the-right kinda special.

We're adults now, we can do what we want.

[leeholtwrites]

Baldurs Gate 3 has led me to starting my high-control group (cult) recovery, and that is so strange to me.

Whatever works, I guess.

[cultsurvivorsafe]

Cult survivors deserve peace. Cult survivors deserve safety. Cult survivors deserve happiness.

[creature-wizard]

"I'm in a bad place and need to get out, what can I do?"

I figured I'd make a post with all the resources/tips I've collected to help people get out of shitty situations so far, since it's easier than linking to a bunch of posts each time.

Seek out appropriate resources. This can include support groups (online or offline), helplines, and the like.

If you're in the US, you can call 211 to help you find resources.

Crisis Text Line offers services to the US, Ireland, Canada, and the UK.

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is a US service offers a lot of information for sexual abuse survivors.

The Trevor Lifeline is a service for queer youth in the US.

If you're a minor, you may wish to read How To Escape Abusive Parents: A Guide For Minors.

If you're an adult, you may wish to read How To Escape Abusive Parents: A Guide For Adults.

You might search on Qwant for like something like "resources for people in abuse" or "abuse resources help" or "domestic violence survivors resources".

Ask people for help in finding resources. If you can't find anything on your own, there are other people who know where to direct you. It might take awhile to find what you're looking for, but keep asking.

A WORD OF CAUTION: there are many predatory spiritual groups and conspiracy theorists out there who prey on abuse survivors and mentally ill people. You will often see these people claiming that channeling or hypnosis can help you remember past life memories or repressed traumatic memories. This is nonsense and quackery.

Relevant posts of mine:

Hypnosis is unreliable for memory recovery, and this is one way we know.

False past life memories among the starseed movement

Here’s the trouble with hypnotic regression…

If you're on a website that claims to support cult survivors and you see any of these names in the citations (and make sure you check the citations!), leave immediately - all of these people are far right conspiracy theorists. (Unfortunately, many people today are unwittingly perpetuating the BS of Fritz Springmeier in particular. See this and this for more info on that.)

Change who and what you surround yourself with. Start associating with different people/groups as much as you can. Get hobbies to fill your time. Unfollow blogs that reinforce the beliefs you're trying to get away from, and follow blogs that provide a healthier alternative.

You might follow blogs like:

A Kind Place

Trauma Survivors Helping Trauma Survivors

Compassionate Reminders

Trauma Survivors Activities

Reasons For Hope

Bluest Fluff

If you're trying to rebuild your worldview without conspiratorial/culty elements, go take a look at my Resources page.

Remember that your first job is looking after yourself. You don't owe the group. You aren't responsible for the group, or for anyone in it. It might feel that way, but it's vitally important to acknowledge when you're unqualified or suffering burnout. You might feel like bad things will happen if you leave, but that's a fear, not a fact.

You also don't have to justify your departure to the group. You can just leave. If you feel that you must give a reason, you can offer something as simple as "I need to take some time to focus on my mental health" or "I'm really busy lately and don't have time to spend here." If they throw a fit over this, that's honestly just more proof that you need to get out.

If any practices the group taught you actually helped, you can keep doing them. If doing affirmations helped you, keep doing affirmations. If listening to so-called healing frequencies actually made you feel better, you don't have to stop listening to them. If you were practicing something like the Law of Assumption, you can carry on with a lot of that under a psychological model rather than Neville Goddard's wacky metaphysical model. (See this video for an example.) If it genuinely helps you and doesn't hurt anyone else, by all means, keep doing it.

You might look at my Manifestation Without Woo posts:

Manifestation Without Woo: Changing Your Brain

Manifestation Without Woo: People React To Your Projections, & Your Projections Affect Your Perceptions

Manifestation Without Woo: Setting Reasonable Goals

Manifestation Without Woo: Make It Fun!

Manifestation Without Woo: What If It's Not Working?

Get some critical thinking skills. In order to keep yourself from falling into another bad group, it's important to develop your critical thinking skills.

Learn to apply the Five W's (who, what, when, where, and why) when encountering any information.

Learn common logical fallacies.

Learn the difference between fact, opinion, belief, and prejudice.

Don't equate emotional reactions with some kind of innate or higher moral guidance.

Ask yourself if you're "thinking for yourself" or being led to believe you're thinking for yourself.

Know what emotional manipulation tactics look like.

Watch out for these behaviors in any new group you join.

Yes, there are ways to confirm the age of an old text without having the original text itself.

Learn how propaganda works.

Watch out for these red flags in spiritual groups.

And watch out for this red flag.

Understand that belief doesn't have to be binary.

So yeah, hopefully this'll give folks some actionable advice. I can't promise it's going to help each and every person out there, but hopefully it'll give a lot of you something that will help.

[unwelcome-ozian]

Hello everyone,

I've added these to the website:

Spiritual Harm and Abuse Scale Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire Emotional Abuse Questionnaire

They can be found here.

Take care,

Oz

[faggotfungus]

Some Witnesses came to the door.

And as they were speaking to me caused me to have a panic attack. I did NOT know that could occur. The man was standing next to me and I was uncomfortable but fine, but the moment he showed me a bible verse on his phone... my mouth dried up, my body started tingling, and I couldn't breathe.

I literally said to them, "This situation is making me have a panic attack."

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Still Learning with India Oxenberg

18 August 2023 • EPISODE 1

Diane Benscoter: Cult Survivor [ex-Moonie] Turned Deprogrammer

In this episode, India is speaking with Diane Benscoter on how to identify psychological manipulation and emotional vulnerabilities in ourselves and others, using their own stories.

India Oxenberg:

“You just don't know enough about the horrible people who are out there...

I was so naive to the fact that there were people out there who would want to hurt me and not care.”

________________________________

Resources for Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships

[drafthorsemath]

What made you fall in love with Crosshair and the clones in general?

Their stories. Especially Crosshair's. My pinned post says quiet a bit about this.

cult discussion under cut and then also me talking Crosshair because yes

I've been sedated, but can type. Send questions.

I was raised a follower of Harold Camping and so we believed in predestination and that God would save you only if he decided. But raised in that religious context, you are separated from people as time goes on and you are also given a date for the end of the world. Someone like me, well, I believed I wasn't showing enough fruits of the spirit that might show I was saved. I critiqued every bit of myself. I knew I wasn't good enough for God and that he must not have cared enough to pick me. So I went through the motions, did my best still, prayed and begged, and tried so hard to be perfect, but I knew there was a countdown clock over my head about the end of the world. Could I have just left? That's so tricky. I had no real money, no connections outside of the cult that felt safe enough to confide in, and then married someone in the cult. And it still wouldn't have shaken my fear that God was going to show up an murder me for his glory. That was what were were all put on this world for, God's glory. Saved? God did that to show his glory. Not saved? God is destroying you for his glory. Nothing else mattered.

So in some ways I envied the clones for the friendships they'd created in the war. I didn't have that. But I did very much understand being in something and fighting for it and never being presented with any other option. From the beginning of their lives, they are told exactly what to think and set on one course. Even if they are cleaning the floors on Kamino, they were made for one purpose and there seems to be little escape. They were literally made for war and yet are so much more. Clones, I see you.

The the bad batch hits and Crosshair's chip is enhanced and just seeing it in real action... Not as a group like in RotS, but seeing this one guy who is clearly intelligent and skilled, and they use him for his skills and treat him like actual garbage. It's one cult move after another for the Empire and seeing Crosshair trying to keep his head above water and make it in a place that seems like his best shot? Fuck. I get that. I didn't leave my cult either for a long time. For all the danger and self-loathing, it seemed safest.

And he just needs so much love. I know it's not going to be a quick turnaround, but that's another journey that is taken after living in a cult. So much mental damage, damage to the body, damage to relationships, damage to trust and oneself. And I guess while I have no filter, I might as well admit that I know what it's like to feel like no one understands and no one cares and you can't undo anything. But with the right support you can find so much love and understanding and I want that for Crosshair. And I want the clones safe and loved.

What made me fall? I felt like we'd understand each other and I just want to give them hugs and say this is your life and you get to live it.