CULT RECOVERY WEBSITES

  • ​ICSA Today, Vol. 6, No. 3, 2015, 4-6, On Using the Term “Cult”, Herbert L. Rosedale, Esq. Michael D. Langone, PhD
  • ​Thought Reform Programs and the Production of Psychiatric Casualties, Psychiatric Annals 20:4/April 1990, 6 Conditions for Thought Reform, Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph. D. and Richard Ofshe, Ph. D.

Survivors Healing Survivors, , Informational Article: Hyperarousal & Hypoarousal, https://csasurvivors.home.blog/2020/03/30/hyperarousal-hypoarousal/

  • “Narcissists are puppet masters who manipulate their victims for personal gain. With precision they are able to ‘pull the strings’ of their victims without detection, and render them helpless.” (Louis de Canonville) Christine Louis de Canonville, The Effects of Gaslighting in Narcissistic Victim Syndrome
  • Someone presenting signs of dissociation or derealization may be “…inclined to “dissociate” while you are talking to them. …in so doing, they may appear to be detached from their emotions, body, or immediate surroundings, this experience is called derealization. Dissociation can be caused as a direct result of trauma, often experienced in multiple forms during narcissistic childhood traumas (i.e. physical, psychological…). The dissociation is an automatic and effective defense mechanism to overwhelming acute stress the child is being subjected to…” (Louis de Canonville, 2016) Christine Louis de Canonville, The Effects of Gaslighting in Narcissistic Victim Syndrome, June 10, 2016
  • “Once a person has become a victim of a narcissist (whether it happened in childhood or later…) (this) opens them up to further abuse.” Additionally, “They bombard the victim with such uncertainty that eventually they are unable to trust their own perception anymore. When they reach this state, they begin to doubt everything about their own selves, their thoughts, their opinions, …(And)they become very co-dependent on their abuser for a sense of reality.” (Louis de Canonville, 2016) Christine Louis de Canonville, The Effects of Gaslighting in Narcissistic Victim Syndrome, June 10, 2016
  • “… When these two strategies are in place (Stockholm Syndrome and Cognitive Dissonance), the victim firmly believes that their relationship is not only acceptable, but also vital for their survival.  They become so enmeshed in the relationship with the abuser, that they feel that their world (mental and emotional) would fall apart if the relationship ended.” (Louis de Canonville, 2016) Christine Louis de Canonville, The Effects of Gaslighting in Narcissistic Victim Syndrome, June 10, 2016
  • Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) highlights the important distinction of being raised in an environment of “prolonged, repeated trauma” during critical years of childhood development. “Symptoms are often grouped into three main categories:
  • Re-living (flashbacks, hallucinations, nightmares etc),
  • Avoiding (people, places, thoughts, loss of interest etc), and
  • Increased Arousal (excessive emotions, problems relating, difficulty in sleeping and concentration, outbursts of anger, anxiousness, panic attacks etc).” (Louis de Canonville, 2016) Christine Louis de Canonville, The Effects of Gaslighting in Narcissistic Victim Syndrome, June 10, 2016
  • “It is important to realize that the gaslighting does not need to be severe in order to have severe consequences on the victim; …saying something, then later denying that they had said such a thing. All of this psychological warfare has the effect of making the victim doubt their own memory or perception of events. … the victim becomes very dependent on their narcissistic abuser for a sense of reality.” (de Canonville) Christine Louis de Canonville states, in The Effects of Gaslighting in Narcissistic Victim Syndrome
  • “The Discarding Phase,” according to Christine Louis de Canonville, “… By this time, the narcissist is totally indifferent to any needs or wishes that the victim may have, in effect they no longer exist in their mind. Not so for the victim, they are left confused and raw with emotion, and are eager to find solutions in order to “fix” the dying relationship. However, the narcissist resists all attempts to rescue the relationship, they will bully with silence, or if there is any kind of response, it will be brutally cold…” (Louis de Canonville, 2016)  Christine Louis de Canonville, The Effects of Gaslighting in Narcissistic Victim Syndrome, June 10, 2016 https://narcissisticbehavior.net/the-effects-of-gaslighting-in-narcissistic-victim-syndrome/
  1. Healing for Survivors and Help for Loved Ones: Since 1976, Steve has helped people with destructive cults, mind control, brainwashing, parental alienation, estrangement, unethical hypnosis, abusive relationships, human trafficking, multi-level marketing, violent extremism & other forms of undue influence.
  2. Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs