I am on a sexual assault survivors forum. I'm discovering that this particular forum fosters and propogates the belief in 'alters' and 'recovered memories' or 'satanic ritual abuse.'

A lot of them are really working hard to recover these memories :shock: :shock:

There's lots of sites and articles I can direct them to that give the facts about recovered memories, satanic ritual abuse etc.

But they consider this to be 'invalidating.' Their recommended reading includes things even they acknowledge are works of fiction, but recommended due to being 'validating.'

I've also encountered online a girl local to me who believes similar stories about her own life.

Is there any way to get through to these believers?

Love
Kath

I don't think there is anything you can do, really. I used to run into a lot of women who claimed they were "ritual abuse survivors" when I used to go to SIA (Survivors of Incest Anonymous) meetings.

I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine from the program about it, and I told her I didn't believe that it could possibly be that common, especially for women of certain age groups. I mean, Satanism was popular in the Aleister Crowley days (early 1900s), and then it had a resurgence in the '60s/'70s. So although it's possible that women who were small children during those eras might have been raised by Satanists and forced to participate in rituals, that would rule out women who are in their 40s, 50s and 60s now. Since most of the women I met who claimed they were ritual abuse survivors were in their 40s-60s, there's no way in my mind that they could possibly have been victims of Satanic ritual abuse.

But, as my friend pointed out, these people believe this about themselves because there is some need in them to believe it. They have some need inside themselves to believe that something awful happened to them as children that caused all of their problems. As incest/child sexual abuse survivors, it's not up to us to tell other people that their experiences are not valid, or that "it never happened", because we know firsthand how hurtful that can be.

Instead, she said to just be compassionate and accepting, because at least they are trying to work through their issues and are getting some type of help from attending the meetings and talking in a safe space.

My concern is that they encourage each other to 'recover' more and more memories.

Also that this 'bad' therapy distracts them from getting real therapy that could help them.

You are right though it's probably not my problem :D

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it had a resurgence in the '60s/'70s. So although it's possible that women who were small children during those eras might have been raised by Satanists and forced to participate in rituals, that would rule out women who are in their 40s, 50s and 60s now.

Someone who was 5 years old in 1960 would be 50 or 51 now.
Someone who was 5 years old in 1770 would be 40 or 41 now.
If there was a resurgance of Satanism during the 60s and 70s, people who are now in their 40s, 50s and possibly 30s would be the precise ones who would have witnessed it or experienced it as small children.

I don't understand your math.
I have no opinion, however, on whether or not anyone experienced ritual satanic abuse.

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barabara
Someone who was 5 years old in 1960 would be 50 or 51 now.
Someone who was 5 years old in 1770 would be 40 or 41 now.
If there was a resurgance of Satanism during the 60s and 70s, people who are now in their 40s, 50s and possibly 30s would be the precise ones who would have witnessed it or experienced it as small children.

I don't understand your math.

I was not clear about the dates I attended the meetings. I'm talking about 5-10 years ago.

I also don't understand YOUR math...1770? That was a VERY long time ago. Such a person would be over 200 years old!

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kath
Also that this 'bad' therapy distracts them from getting real therapy that could help them.

Hopefully most of them are seeing therapists in addition to group therapy or online message boards. I know most of the women in the meetings I went to were also seeing therapists.

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I mean, Satanism was popular in the Aleister Crowley days (early 1900s), and then it had a resurgence in the '60s/'70s.

So although it's possible that women who were small children during those eras might have been raised by Satanists and forced to participate in rituals, that would rule out women who are in their 40s, 50s and 60s now.

To clarify, if someone had been a child in the [b:481dd1cdb7]19[/b:481dd1cdb7]60s and [b:481dd1cdb7]19[/b:481dd1cdb7]70s, (when there was a resurgence of popularity for Satanism), they would be in their late 30s, 40s, or early 50s today.

You certainly can't claim that someone in their 40s or 50s could not possibly have had parents who were involved with Satanism because of their age.
There are undoubtedly more accurate reasons to doubt their stories.

I'll concede my typo, but your math is still way off.

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Gulab Jamon

Hopefully most of them are seeing therapists in addition to group therapy or online message boards. I know most of the women in the meetings I went to were also seeing therapists.

Yes, but it sounds like some of their therapists are doing 'recovered memory therapy' on them :shock:

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barabara

To clarify, if someone had been a child in the [b:c0df40fef9]19[/b:c0df40fef9]60s and [b:c0df40fef9]19[/b:c0df40fef9]70s, (when there was a resurgence of popularity for Satanism), they would be in their late 30s, 40s, or early 50s today.

You certainly can't claim that someone in their 40s or 50s could not possibly have had parents who were involved with Satanism because of their age.
There are undoubtedly more accurate reasons to doubt their stories.

I'll concede my typo, but your math is still way off.

HELLO???? Did you even read the first part of my answer? I said that I attended meetings 5-10 years ago. So re-do your math.

Not meaning to quibble, but your original post says they would be 40, 50 or 60 [b:655fde05bc]today[/b:655fde05bc].
I am of course, assuming that you wrote it on the day you posted it, not ten years previously.
Someone who was 40 in 1996, (ten years ago), would have been born in 1956, or a child during the 1960s.

There are many questions posed surrounding ritual abuse on the database.
I have heard a few stories of ritual abuse, as well as some about alien abduction, from people in their fifties.
All of these people were diagnosed with severe mental disorders, and their tales had various levels of believability.
Several committed suicide at a later date.

One man claimed to have been terrorized by a Satanic nanny in the south. His story rang true to some degree, as I can imagine a cruel caretaker using stories of the devil to control a small child.
Another mother kept her children in line with claims of being a witch and having devilish powers. The fifty-ish female victims do not claim that she committed satanic acts against them.

Children in the fifties and sixties were exposed to an abundance of literature and films about Satanism, possession, witchcraft, and other forms of supernatural evil.
I believe that memories of these types of entertainment may be at the root of many stories of abuse. IMO, it can be difficult to differentiate between the memory of an actual event and a memory of a nightmare or even a movie, if it had a profound effect at the time, and if several decades have passed.

I have personally heard only one story of a therapist digging around for buried memories of occult abuse. In my opinion, her actions were reprehensible and she is a lousy therapist.