For this week’s conversation, I chose the article from CultRecovery101.com “Post-Cult After Effects.” When watching the video on Charles Manson’s cult, I wanted to understand how Manson was able to have such intense control over the people who followed him, and how they managed to separate themselves after the murders. I was under the impression that these followers would have PTSD symptoms, similar to those in military combat, but I was surprised by the article’s breakdown of “Post Cult Trauma Syndrome”. Overall, after leaving a cult, people can feel extreme emotions and mood swings, going from high highs to low lows. They will also grieve the loss of their “community” and “social life” within the cult. (I put quotations on these terms because Manson’s cult specifically was not a healthy community or social activity.) Eventually, the member will have fears of not continuing the cult’s beliefs, and being punished for it. There is also a sense of disbelief and confusion- Not being able to understand right from wrong. This is due to the leader (among others) betraying the followers with the promise of safety and happiness when they are brainwashing them into thinking that their beliefs and methods are better than the latter. Healing from any sort of grievance, whether it is the loss of a loved one or a breakup will have people’s emotions fluctuate over time. There is no right or wrong way to heal from detaching yourself from a cult. There will also be times when ex-members will revert to their way of thinking. It will take lots of internal self-work to overcome the habits that were so heavily engrained. The article notes that some people will return to cult life, while others will experience these symptoms over time. Eventually, as they get further and further from their cult life, they will cultivate their own sense of purpose, separately from what was once so comfortable or “safe”.
Here is the direct link to the Post-Cult After Effects article: https://cultrecovery101.com/cult-recovery-readings/post-cult-after-effects/
3 thoughts on “Conversation 4 – Cults OV”
Great post!
Hello. I’ve always been interested in Charles Manson. Not that I think his cult is alluring in any way, but he’s one of the leaders that’s never killed anyone; he just convinced others to do his bidding. I know that some of his members have been released and I wonder how their journey is now (both emotionally and psychologically) being back into this modern society, since they haven’t been since 1971! The main thing Manson had, and I hate to admit this was charisma (and mind altering drugs as well). I agree how it’s interesting to learn more about these cult leaders (like Manson), and how they can control their followers. Great post!
Really great post, I wonder in your last sentence what I understood was that as they move further away from there cult mentality they will eventually begin to trust their own mentality.So I guess my question is can they indeed cultivate their own sense of purpose or will they alway have self doubt? It interesting to read about these cults and how they effect a person.