Interesting explanation of the biological and chemical experience of cult recruitment.
I need to clarify two points from this video. No one joins a cult. Cults don't tell people they're cults when they're recruiting. Additionally, the presenter's laughter at the end of the video undermines his previous attempts to be respectful to survivor and families affected by cults.
Cult involvement is one of the most stigmatized experiences in our society. The most salient question that arises automatically is "How could you/I be so stupid?" For survivors, that makes recovery and disclosure even more difficult.
His comment that anyone could fall victim to a cult is true. I always frame it with the question: Have you ever believed anything that wasn't true? If so, you too are susceptible to being manipulated, exploited and betrayed. And that's all of us, because no one could possibly know everything all the time and therefore recognize lies when they're delivered via kindness.
The best protection against cultic controlling, manipulative, exploitative, dangerous relationships is authentic connection within existing social groups - families, schools, communities, relationships. Disconnected, isolated, disenfranchised, disillusioned people are the easiest prey for predatory humans. That's why it's so important for us to shift our social priorities to support healthy family and community relationships and connections through trauma and ACEs acknowledgement and prevention.
The best resources about all things cults and psychological manipulation are available through
https://www.icsahome.com/They hold annual conferences in North America and Europe. They support research, survivors, treatment, families. They publish books and have a YouTube channel where you can watch videos by actual experts in the field.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS_hc5LO1HtMvoa8kRcLcig/videosCults are actually way more common than we realize in Canada and around the world. Some of the world's leading experts in cults do their research in Canada.
Just one more request for people interested in this topic - please don't use the expression "drank the Koolaid" It's actually not admirable to make light of the coerced suicide of over 900 people, mostly women and children.
Spiritual abuse is one of the most difficult sources of trauma to recover from because it threatens survivors' eternal safety and security. It's actually not a laughing matter. And no one ever gives consent to this experience. If people knew what they were getting into, it wouldn't be a cult, since the fundamental characteristic of a cult is deception.
Thanks for creating a forum for this topic. Thanks for your interest in it.
If you're a survivor, you're not alone. You can recover.
