TBH, seeing how other people lived and were happy was one of the biggest proofs that I was in something that couldn’t live up to its promises. When you promise that your way is the best way, yet other people aren’t just happy but thriving, it kind of tends to make the claims ring hollow.
It took many years for me, though, for all the pieces to finally click that it was just bullshit. There’s no amazing advice I can offer except to be an authentic person and maybe challenge their notions from time to time (if you have a friendly relationship). People who find their way out usually do it on their own, and it can be a jarring and lonely experience; keeping in mind that it was something done to them as much as it was something they did can help navigate how to support someone in that spot.
There’s thankfully lots of great resources available to catch them, too, like “Recovering from Religion” and the “Secular Therapy Project,” as well as online support communities.
Congratulations on your escape.
ETA: do you have advice for others who are in cultlike situations? How should we approach them to best help them find their way out?
TBH, seeing how other people lived and were happy was one of the biggest proofs that I was in something that couldn’t live up to its promises. When you promise that your way is the best way, yet other people aren’t just happy but thriving, it kind of tends to make the claims ring hollow.
It took many years for me, though, for all the pieces to finally click that it was just bullshit. There’s no amazing advice I can offer except to be an authentic person and maybe challenge their notions from time to time (if you have a friendly relationship). People who find their way out usually do it on their own, and it can be a jarring and lonely experience; keeping in mind that it was something done to them as much as it was something they did can help navigate how to support someone in that spot.
There’s thankfully lots of great resources available to catch them, too, like “Recovering from Religion” and the “Secular Therapy Project,” as well as online support communities.