Hi again

I believe that I answered your question with regards to whether LGATs would be more appealing to people with bipolar disorder (I don't think they would), but you might have a point with regards to LGATs retaining a higher proportion of people with bipolar disorder. An interesting study produced by the University of Michigan in 2000 compared the average number of monoamine (dopamine, serotonin, norepenephrine) producing cells between a group of people who were bipolar 1 and a control group. The bipolar group had, on average, 30% more monoamine producing cells. If my theory (see the first post) is correct then people who have the capacity to be bipolar also have the capacity to experience greater euphorias (and more addictive euphorias) than the average person. This might result in a higher proportion of people with bipolar disorder remaining in LGATs for an extended period and since indiscriminent spending is a symptom of hypomania/mania people who have a greater capacity to produce monoamines (which cause mania) are more likely to hand over large sumsof cash for the promise of an immediate return.

DL

Thank you for your thorough response. I am going to have to think a bit to see how what you describe might apply to the situation that I have in mind.

@dopaminelink and @iib - what I have worked out with regards to LGATS is that their thinking/ideology/programming is in itself bipolar. They go from one extreme to the other: on one hand you're the absolute worst most terrible human that ever lived, and on the other hand you're perfect and can create whatever you want and are basically God. This is part of their programming, which I believe is reflective of the bipolar/thought-disordered nature of the people who run LGATS.

In landmark, for example, they say that people think in terms of good/bad, right/wrong - i.e. in absolutist terms. This is a cognitively distorted way of thinking - most people who can think well recognize that life has some shades of grey and that context can change what one sees as appropriate or not (e.g. it may be acceptable/appropriate to get drink on the weekends and not acceptable/appropriate at 8am on the morning before work - but according to the LGAT getting drunk would either be right or wrong, all the time). So their teachings are themselves bipolar - that is extreme, with no nuance or sophistication of thinking.

You will notice that many people will say that they experienced a rollercoaster of emotions during LGATS - swinging from one extreme to the other in terms of how they feel. This is because, in my view, the introduction of the LGAT's cognitively dysfunctional thinking then produces the associated chemical/physical response in the brain and the body resulting in bipolar-looking mood swings. This is also why people with no history of mental illness can become mentally ill as a result of participating in these things - they actually create the illness with their ideology/thinking which in itself comes from mental illness.

There's a detailed 44 page essay on LGATs here. One thing the author points out is the power imbalance. You are not allowed to question the process or the trainer.

[www.enlightened-spirituality.org]

Note: as a heads up, there is a similar LGAT like dynamic in SN Goenka's "Vipassana" meditation. People emerge from it all "pumped" from a bliss experience, they prosyletize, and if you sign up, you commit to 10 days of intense meditation during which you hear recordings of Goenka again and yet again.

People who find they do not want to continue are pressured and guilt tripped to finish out their commitment. Significantly, only after the ten days is the matter of payment brought up.

So, there are set ups that operate much like LGATs but are described as meditation retreats or buddhism.

For anyone who wants to learn something about brain chemistry and how it affects habits, obessions, and addictions, there is a book, Memoirs of an Addicted Brain. The author used many different drugs, became addicted and then after arduous recovery, has become a neuroscientist.

The book is a gripping story and a great introduction to neurology and neurochemistry.

One thing Dr Lewis shows us is how dopamine is linked to craving/seeking/hunting behavior. We are most likely to get dopamine rushes when we have a likelihood of getting something but have not yet gotten hold of it.

All too often, when we get what we have sought, the dopamine fizz wears off and things go flat. We get that "Is that all there is?" feeling.

Dopamine is what fuels that craving/pink cloud feeling we get when in love, whether with a person or a grand cause or crusade. Hence the constant pressure to meet recruitment goals, meet standards of behavior, meet goals that are unattainable.



Blog | Memoirs of an Addicted Brain

www.memoirsofanaddictedbrain.com/blog/

------------------

In his book, Dr Lewis also describes the role that the neurotransmitter norephinephrine plays in sustaining alertness.

An LGAT set up would innundate subjects with all sorts of stimuli meant to keep them alert.

Depleting serotonin leaves people raw, impressionable, and vulnerable to depression.

Turns out norephinephrine seems important in bipolar disorders.

[www.emedicinehealth.com]

Bipolar, makes some sense. I remember when i was in the third seminar (New Era Trainings).
And I had to recruit people "Enroll" and I was "out of my mind".
I was saying and doing things to my non lgat friends, that was crazy and out of character.

An lgat subreddit I created [www.reddit.com]
checkout, subscribe, share info. Spread info on these
lgat scams. Knowledge is power!

These 4 days of HELL are going stronger than ever before.

The key for these companies is to change the name, add in the word Christian and hit up the churches for those that will fall for it.

The big problem is, when someone is at a place in their life feeling hopeless, where do they turn?

Church may not help, medicine may not help...what do they do?

One thing I know for sure... don't fall for ANY 4 day seminar that goes until 11pm at night ending with a graduation....to only pump their crap to other family members.

Article in BBC science section here:

[www.bbc.com]

In a sidebar to this article risk taking
and irritability were listed as indicating
a person might be sleep deprived.

Quote

?Ask yourself are you getting enough sleep?
?If you need an alarm clock to wake up or are reliant on caffeinated drinks in the morning you need more sleep.
?Other signs include being irritable and impulsive, do you take risks while driving?

Well, look at how LGATs work.

They disrupt people's sleep and push subjects to take risks.

Nasty.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2015 11:14PM by corboy.

Questionnaire discussion here:

LGAT highs and LGAT lows - what was it like, what helped?

[forum.culteducation.com]

Just a few nights of bad sleep upsets your brain
By Dr Michael Mosley

[www.bbc.com]