Being Under Cult Mind Control is a Psychological Disorder - Steve Hassan

by flipper 89 Replies latest jw friends

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  sammielee24

  It's almost like a mass hypnotic state (which is ironic really, as JWs are fearful of hypnotism as a form of mind control)

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  One way to reinforce thought is by repetition, that is why when an article is read at the meeting, the people reiterate what they hear afterward. It is a reinforcement technique and does work as a form of control. The Society does indeed create a womb of safety for the flock - and I believe this is most dangerous and especially harsh on those who are children because they are taught familial transference so young, they are left without outside ties and/or reasoning skills.

  A child (normal child) is taught to respect and find security and comfort in the arms of their parents however, a child in the WTS, is taught from birth, that their fleshly parents are not the true parents - the WTS is mother and the flock, their siblings. This distortion moves security from the real family into the arms of the WTS and it's just one reason why kids fear rejection from the WTS - they are the family. Since the WTS is simply a corporation, but run under strict orders of compliance and devoid of outside influence, it causes even more repercussions mentally, emotionally and physically, on those trying to exit, because there has been insufficient interaction outside the cult, that would allow the child to make rational, logical and knowledgeable decisions, even as he or she becomes an adult.

  sammieswife.
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  life is to short

  Everyones comments have been so great. The one thing I have found for myself is not going to the meetings has been huge in getting me to break the hold. It is amazing to me to how hypnotic the meetings are. You just do not think of it like that.

  I had three pedophiles in the hall I was attending one moved away but the other two with the elders totally blessing were around children and of course the parents were not told. I felt I had to be a the meetings to stop it. To try to snap pictures on my cell phone etc. I have even been demanded by some here on the board to call C.P.S. the police etc. Like I never thought of doing that I have tried all I could do to stop the pedophiles from being around children and still I felt I could do more I have called C.P.S. the police you can only do so much. No one wants to truly hear it inside or outside of the WT world. People do not care that Jehovah Witness send pedophiles to their doors. I do not get it.

  I think people are afraid to realize that JW's are a cult. I think it scares the heck of everyone. At lest with the Moonies people felt you had to go to them so they were safe but to realize JW's with the sweet little lady who comes to your door with the nice Bible magazines is a cult member or the nice man with his sweet little girl could be a pedophile selling WT and Awakes is too much for people outside the witness to think about. Evil prevails when good men do nothing. That is what I love about you Flipper and Mrs. Flipper that you go outside of your comfort zone to help. You both are so wonderful.

  But I tell you that not being at the meetings is such a total freedom. If I go to just one meeting now for my husband it is amazing how clear you can see and feel the hypnotic way the meetings are run.

  I now understand why they stress for you not to mess even just one meeting. It is all for cult control. If you go on vacation your are told demanded to look up a Kingdom Hall where you are at and go to the meetings. My Word you can not take one stupid week off to go away. No you are still demanded to be at the meetings and made to feel bad for not doing it. That is total mind control how can people not see that. We just got back from a vacation and the few JW's that I have run into the very first thing they say to me was how were the meetings where you were at and did you get a chance to go door to door. Oh my God.

  I loved of Finally Free were he said as a JW I was socially isolated and always flet like I was on the outside looking in. No matter how hard I tried, I could never really be one of them - en equal. I was often angry at the JW's for going door to door looking for converts they really did not want, expecting us to throw away our lives and loved ones and offer nothing but an emotional vacuum in return.

  I loved what Finally Free wrote that is totally how I fee.

  I am sorry Flipper for high jacking this thread and putting in about pedophiles but to me that is also part of the cult control. Please forgive me.

  LITS
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  Tea drinker

  I have noticed great differences since leaving (truly mentally out for 9 months and have not been to a meeting for 4-5 months). The difference has not been so much in my mental thought processes but more of a weight lifted; cognitive dissonance was a heavy burden to bear and it is only its absence which has made me realise this.

  As for independent thinking etc., I can relate very much to what Steve Hassan states but to a more limited degree than many Witnesses I have encountered. Even though I was born into the Witnesses I have always had an independent mind and questioned things even as a small child: family members would half jokingly call me an apostate whenever I would object to a line of reasoning contained in one of the society's articles (no matter how watertight my logic was nor how specious the Watchtower reasoning). I suppose that I was a "good Witness" in that I would always place these objections aside in the end due to the mindset that told me "most of the teachings are right so wait on Jehovah."

  It was when my independent thinking met up with articles by "worldly" theologians that the cracks really started to appear. I found their eloquence and deep ponderings to be far more stimulating than any Watchtower articles I ever read. It was not long after that I began to question the organisation as a whole.

  Of course, another difference is that I can now follow through on my thoughts and come to my own conclusions without being constrained by Watch Tower dogma in any way at all. The independent thinking was always there, and it earned me some horrified and fearful lookes at times, but I always kept it in check to a large degree. Now it just feels wonderful to be able to use my mind fully even if I cannot speak about my thoughts to most of my family who are still in.
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  MisfitMeL

  Loved reading everyone's responses! So much resonates with my own thoughts and experiences.

  Like some of the others, even though I was raised in the truth from an early age, I was very much a philosophical thinker and questioner. One of my earliest JW memories was asking my mum and an elder if dinosaurs would be in paradise since I was told that God would restore all the animals then and dinosaurs fascinated me so much. I was most frustrated by the lack of a clear answer (with a lot of hemming and hawing) from either (they most likely told me to wait on Jehovah )

  I've always been a big reader and devoured scientific journals, newspapers, etc since I was young. I loved (and still do) watching TV documentaries on a variety of subjects. My father (not being in the "truth") encouraged it and my mother as well, never had any major hang ups which I am grateful for... I think all of this contributed to my independent streak. I was definitely an outsider with my critical thinking ability though most of that was dulled due to the constant indoctrination.

  Also, when I noted strange points in WT literature, I sometimes voiced it to my mum in a cheeky way. I was usually told to hush myself but never really got into any major trouble for it. Nevertheless there were many teachings and concepts that made me uncomfortable, but I managed to silence myself as I sensed early on that voicing your opinions too much could get you into trouble with the elders. If ever I was naughty, mum always threathened to tell the elders and that usually scared me into complying (the JW equivalent of the boogey man?!? LOL - Did anyone else get that from their parents?)

  I tried my best to be a good JW but never could get into the whole mindless spiritual worship and fervour. All JW meetings, associations and conventions bored me terribly. I'd opt to read a lousy novel over a watchtower any day! The Awake magazines piqued my interest though because atleast they had some interesting articles. As a rebellious teen, I absolutely hated all the morality rules and regulations! There was so much I wanted to do and explore however, even simple things like not hanging out with my non-JW friends or not watching a movie with one or two kissing scenes irritated me as it seemed stupid to micro manage people's lives to such an extent. The lack of trust by the org that JWs are capable of making mature moral decisions grated me. It's not like watching a couple kiss is going to make us run out and shag the first person we meet! LOL

  Still, I always thought the 'problem' lay with me not being good enough to be a JW and not anything to do with the organisation. Anyways.... when I finally got the chance to move to another continent for my Masters (shock and horror subtly expressed to my mum by the cong!!!) I quickly stopped attending meetings and could drop ties with the local cong there as no one really knew me or where I lived.

  Four years of no indoctrination..... opened my eyes and my mind! It is so true that when you remove yourself from the brainwashing sessions, the toxic veil gradually fades and you discover life for the first time in so many ways!! I also got a chance to research online a number of the doubts that plagued me and only ended up finding more scandals and skeletons in the closet!

  I am so much better at being critical and discerning now. I'm so happy that I had the chance to spend 4 years away from it all. Most faders don't get a chance to stay away for so long without someone knocking on their door or phoning them up in a few days. I had to attend the convention last weekend and this time when I felt uncomfortable, it was not for feeling inadequate when compared to the WT standards but rather the discomfort of being surrounded by zombies and trying to pretend I was a mindless drone too!!!
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  Tea drinker

  Wow MisfitMel, I can relate to much of what you say. I have a broad range of interests including science. The Awake! occasionally caught my interest as it did yours but the meetings and conventions were always a bore to me: I had a friend that I used to sit with as a child and we would always be irritated at the fact that nobody else seemed to be having as miserable a time as us.

  The morality micromanagement always grated me too: I had a confrontation with an elder's wife over a choice of film; her husband had declared it off-limits.

  This is a great thread and I can see how being under cult mind control can be classified as being a mental disorder. Even when I was "fully in" I was utterly infuriated by the mindless compliance which so many otherwise intelligent and discerning individuals displayed; even discussion of the relative pros and cons of the Watch Tower's position on a matter sometimes led to the extreme discomfort of those I was talking to; even supporting the Watchtower position in a round-about way from a different slant than the one the Watchtower offered led to suspicious/frightened looks--insane. I suppose it was one of the things that led to my awakening.
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  no more kool aid

  I agree with an above poster that said they don't even try to hide what they are doing by the constant encouragement to strip off old personality, when all they are creating is personality disorders by stifling a persons authentic self. How can a young person find out who he is in that organization if he is denied an education, he can't really be exposed to a sport or hobby that he may excel at. Because none of these endeavors are putting "kingdom interests" first, and if you do explore these things, the guilt, and being relegated to a second class citizen. You can't truly decide what kind of mate you would like to have, you better just hope there is someone available in your congregation or nearby when you come of age, like 18. I remember when I wanted to start a family, but no, there was a big WT article about "responsible childbearing", so we put it off a few more years.

  My husband and I find ourselves in our mid forties trying to figure out who we really are. So far so good, but it's a bumpy road. We ran into a "worldly" relative a few weeks ago (who did not know of our exodus) and she said "you look like a totally different person, like the weight of the world has been lifted of of you" , that kind of says it all. NMKA
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  finding my way

  MisfitMeL said : If ever I was naughty, mum always threathened to tell the elders and that usually scared me into complying (the JW equivalent of the boogey man?!? LOL - Did anyone else get that from their parents?)

  YES! Even when my Mother was inactive and opposed the society (I wish she still would...) she would threaten to call the Elders on me if she couldn't handle me. Mind you, I was attending meetings without her and I was a pretty good teenager though I did make some mistakes. It didn't scare me because they were dying to get a chance to talk to her so I knew she wouldn't do it.

  ~fmy
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  life is to short

  btt
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  flipper

  FINDING MY WAY- I too felt that reading Steve Hassan's books helped me to fit some pieces together also in how I had been affected by the mind control of the witnesses. As you found out by us being in a demanding religion, er, cult- it made many of us too demanding on ourselves. That's how the mania works. What the WT society projects on us- becomes us unfortunately. It sucks. You are a good person- you are just learning to trust that fact. It takes time. The " truth " is that you are in control of your life and what you want to do with it now - you weren't before as a JW. So enjoy the ride and the real truth- is within you yourself.

  LIFELONG HUMANIST- THanks for the anniversary wishes ! Appreciate it ! Thanks for the kind words about helping people to think free. I'm trying to help anyway I can. I agree with you that Hassan's books are a MUST READ for anybody exiting the witness cult. Good luck on helping your JW wife- it does take time as I'm finding out in helping my JW daughter ( 22 ) to gradually think authentically. Hang in there.

  MIDWICH CUCKOO- Good point you make. The WT society does " hypnotize " it's members to trust the organization totally too much. It's almost to the point if the GB told the members to jump off a cliff to please " Jehovah " - they'd do it no questions asked. Which is scary.

  SAMMIELEE 'S WiFE - Having been raised as a witness myself - I see the true validity of what you are saying. The WT society tries to substitute a " spiritual " family to replace rank and file members literal family - thus really traumatizing young children who so desperately need their real mothers and fathers. Like other mind control cults - Jehovah's Witnesses use the terminology " brothers " and " sisters " indicating a replacement effort on their part to dislodge witnesses from their REAL family. It's totally insidious and sneaky. And causes mental distortion in members.

  LIFE IS TOO SHORT- Thanks for the kind words. You are right- the meetings ARE hypnotic and if a person goes and attends them - it can be easy to get sucked back into the mind control due to the hypnotic nature of them. I'm glad you have been so proactive in standing up on behalf of child abuse victims in your area. You are to be commended . Keep being strong. I'm glad you are fully able to think free and use your mind in outside research now - without the restraints of the WT society looking over your shoulder. Keep thinking free.

  TEA DRINKER- I agree with you - it was like a weight off of my shoulders also when I started doing research after exiting the witnesses 6 years ago. And like you I have many of my family still in the witness cult - but I have been able to have peace of mind by thinkng free and I try to help my family to reason in an authentic way ( non-cult controlled ) just in human ordinary ways. You sound like you have had an inquisitive , energized mind from the beginning - so that's a good thing. Keep up the good work.

  MISFIT MEL- Congratulations on going for your masters degree ! Isn't it amazing what 4 years away from cult mind control can do for you ? It is really good you had an independent inquiring mind because it helped you develop critical thinking skills which set the wheels in motion for you to learn important information to leave the witnesses. I bet it felt weird going back to the assembly for a day though. Keep and hang onto your freedom friend.

  NO MORE KOOL AID- Good points you make how the witnesses told us to strip off the " old personality " - but that damages us more as it takes away our authentic personality and replaces it with the cult personality. Like you say- so many of us being raised as witnesses were not allowed to go to college, experience school sports. or even be able to explore ANYTHING outside the square witness box which is filled with closed minded tunnel vision. No wonder people exiting the cult don't know what the hell to do in the world. The WT society molded us that way ! And yes even though many of us ex-witnesses are finding out who we really are for the first time in our lives- the weight of the world HAS been lifted from our shoulders ! Good post Kool Aid
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  sammielee24

  I think a persons success in being able to fully remove themselves from the cult rest of a number of things.

  How long they have been 'in'. Being raised inside vs outside has a different effect on a person because of the mental and emotional growth variances.

  How zealous the immediate family was - the more fanatical, the more true to the society, the more likely the isolation.

  How the family operates as an individual unit outside the society - which relates to the above statement, because an inactive parent, a weak parent, a parent who allows worldly association or questioning, provides a more liberal environment for a child vs hard core JW's who restrict all interaction with worldly people including relatives.

  The WTS is a cult, the members are cults and even when people get 'out' and think they are functioning okay, many still have suppressed issues that come out only when faced with a situation that brings them back to their association and upbringing with the organization. This is especially difficult for any person who has family inside the society because even with distance and/or lack of communication, the human need for interaction, bonding, security and socialization, often brings them emotionally back into the realm of the WTS when memories surface or they falter. sammieswife.