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Wordgirl
Neither of us has ever had any kind of therapy. We've been too busy with work and family! And a lot of time has gone by. We are older and wiser (I hope!)

These days I'm no longer ashamed of my involvement in a cult. Internet access has been a real eye-opener regarding the number of cults out there! I had no idea so much of this sort of thing went on. I used to think I was one of only a small number of people who'd been conned. I'm amazed at how many of us there are!

It helps to speak out about cults. My husband has built a website dedicated to exposing the cult that stole all those years from us. He is more bitter than I, and would like to ruin this cult and it's guru. He would not have bothered with this effort had it not been for some cult members putting up a slanderous website about us and other former members who dared to expose its fraudulent practices. I support him in his efforts.

In our own way, we're healing, and perhaps we are completely healed. We have a lot of catching up to do with real world living. It's wonderful to have the freedom to do it.

I agree. But for me the bitterness and hurt has long passed.

Although I will never forget or forgive the depth of deception.

I have found healing by listening, sharing, and helping others to understand their experiences.

Thank you for sharing. :D

Recently I have been reading about Brief Therapy and Solution-Centered Therapy. I liked a book called [u:227badfb62]Single Session Solutions[/u:227badfb62] by Moshe Talmon.

I am wary of therapy, in general, but I appreciate the idea that if we need some kind of therapy, that short-term solutions exist. I don't need to subscribe to a whole philosophy of life. And stay there for life.

Finally, the other book that has helped is Harold Kushner's book, [u:227badfb62]The Lord is My Shepherd[/u:227badfb62] about the 23rd Psalm.



Ultimately, the biggest lesson I learned is:
There are good practitioners and bad practitioners in every field.

After I left the Shoresh Yishai cult, I went to Israel where things were very difficult. I landed in Yeshivat D'var Yerushalayim which was bedbug infested and I had a very hard time with the curriculum and my fellow students. I grew up in the Conservative movement and my teachers like me very much but in a Haredi yeshiva I was really out of my element. I probably should have been in a hospital. Shoresh Yishai messed around with my brain and I probably needed to be deprogrammed by a competent psychiatrist not the religious establishmen, especially that of Chabad Lubavitch.

Hi there, I'm dyslexic and find it hard reading through the materials etc that have been posted as it takes me so long and I take so little in. But I am interested in how people have recovered. I myself spent most of my life in a cult and have only recently come out of it. I can't say I've recovered as such, as I am reminded daily of what was, I am getting on with life and this I'm thinking is part of my recovery, trying things I never dared try and finding out who I really am, with the support of some people who are very dear to me. I have regular dreams about it, and when things are really bad I go for counselling, but I cannot bare to believe a god of love could have let the things go on that went on, and although I continue to believe there is a god, I imagine a creative power rather than the fatherly personality I was led to believe. I no longer go to any church or practice the christian faith, I am just me. Can anyone else relate to this?

I was a member of a "Pentecostal Church" that I found out is a cult. I left in one year. I was very down and out at the time. I was jobless, and new to the area. Through their "love balming" they convinced me to go away with them on a missions trip to St. Kitts. Once I got there I found that it was not a missions trip it was a will breaking ritual. I was threatened several times and put under hypnosis. By that time I was starting to feel suicidal, but never had any intensions on carrying them out. As time went by I was starting to be stalked by the church trustees. I thought they were just kidding because I loved them and they were from my home group. When things intensified I finally left.

The things that helped me heal from the cult was getting plenty of rest (because they deprived me of sleep). And in 2 weeks I was thinking rationally. I started reading and studying Psalms 37, and 2nd Timothy 3 every morning and night. I read the book Malignant Self Love by Dr. Sam Vaknin as a study aid for 2nd Timothy 3. That book helped me emotionally separate the cruelties of the cult leaders from who I am in God.

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DinaM2
I was a member of a "Pentecostal Church" that I found out is a cult. I left in one year. I was very down and out at the time. I was jobless, and new to the area. Through their "love balming" they convinced me to go away with them on a missions trip to St. Kitts. Once I got there I found that it was not a missions trip it was a will breaking ritual. I was threatened several times and put under hypnosis. By that time I was starting to feel suicidal, but never had any intensions on carrying them out. As time went by I was starting to be stalked by the church trustees. I thought they were just kidding because I loved them and they were from my home group. When things intensified I finally left.

The things that helped me heal from the cult was getting plenty of rest (because they deprived me of sleep). And in 2 weeks I was thinking rationally. I started reading and studying Psalms 37, and 2nd Timothy 3 every morning and night. I read the book Malignant Self Love by Dr. Sam Vaknin as a study aid for 2nd Timothy 3. That book helped me emotionally separate the cruelties of the cult leaders from who I am in God.

Why and how did they hypnotize you?

Dina: what did they threaten you with? Your cult sounds an awful lot like mine!

I went to see a therapist, and I also started associating with different people who were not part of my cult.

This web site forum has provided me a much needed outlet. I rarely shared my experiences due to the weird looks, raised eyebrows I got, as I shared some of the experiences with friends, coworkers who asked me questions about my past. I read the testimonials and nod my head in identification and read the steps to regain lost teritories and it gives me hope. Thank you to you all brave enough to post your journeys.

Quit being weak and mindless. Begin thinking for yourself and grow a pair?