The article I chose on Cult Recovery 101 is “Coming out of Cults”. The reason I chose this article is that I’m interested in the steps it would take to leave or escape from a cult, especially when cults are meant to construe the entirety of your beliefs and opinions as a person. First, lets define what a cult is as stated in the article. The article states that cults are, “variously, applied to groups involved in beliefs and practices just off the beat of traditional religions; to groups making exploratory excursions into non-Western philosophical practices; and to groups involving intense relationships between followers and a powerful idea or leader.” so essentially there is always a leader in a cult and then there are followers who practice whatever the leader might be conveying. So why might one want to leave a cult? In the article, it is mentioned that persons tend to join cults when they are feeling depressed or confused, so not in the right state of mind. It is an impulsive decision, or they are either born into it. Cults usually make promises about being a community, supplying oneself with good practices and beliefs, and finding friends and soulmates in your own group. It promises distress, but these are common claims that cults use to reel their followers in. In a lot of cases, these can be passed off as ’false claims’. At some point, some followers in these cults started to feel disillusioned to the demands and practices. They feel uncomfortable, something in their gut is telling them something is not right. It starts with little things that slowly progress until the illusion of what a cult has promised has now faded away. The article proceeds to discuss what comes with leaving a cult. The first one being depression, a person who is used to dedicating the 24 hours in a day to their court leader, tasks, demands, chores, activities etc. will be unaccustomed to being out on their own where they can choose what they will do each day. They feel a sense of meaninglessness after leaving the cult. Second, comes loneliness. The cult followers are each other’s friends and family, it’s all they know, so to leave means leaving everyone you knew behind and having to develop a new circle of family and friends, which can be very difficult. Dating or even making casual conversations has been said by many ex-cult members to be extremely difficult because they can’t find themselves relating to others who haven’t lived in a cult. Also, decisiveness and decision-making tends to be harder for ex-cult mentions like mentioned previously, in cults no one has to worry about what they will wear that day, what they will eat, what they will do. It is all planned and scheduled by the Cult leader. Finally, a big one I want to touch on that is found in the article is the fear of the cult itself. Ex-cult members found themselves being harassed constantly by the leader and the followers to rejoin. They feel like they are being watched constantly, they can’t ever be at peace in their everyday life without thinking they will run into someone from the cult. Cult members can be persistent and nonchalant, they will do what it takes to convince someone to join their cult, so why wouldn’t they do the same for someone who has left? I found this article very interesting, I put myself in their shoes throughout and wouldn’t know what to do in their situation. I am thankful some members are able to escape and go on to live happy lives, even with triggers and past thoughts about their time in a cult.
