Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 6, 2006, Page 13
reaction. The person goes from 0 to 100 in a split second aggression and rage may result.
Overwhelmed and ashamed by their own behavior, traumatized people attempt to control
these eruptions through suppression and avoidance. However, these attempts at
containment inevitably fail because they cannot hold back the flood of affect pushing for
release. A vacillation between emotional constriction and emotional volatility results.
Trauma expert Judith Herman (1992) calls this vacillation the dialectic of trauma.
Because survivors are prone to states of indiscriminate heightened arousal they often avoid
activities that stimulate the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
Additionally, any body arousal can act as a trigger. Thus, survivors learn to distrust their
bodies and become unable to use emotional signals to inform their decisions. Clinicians
should assist clients in regaining a sense of safety in, and control over, their bodies through
such techniques as hierarchical desensitization, muscle relaxation, a titrated exercise
program, EMDR, and sensory integration techniques (Fosha, 2000). However, two cautions
must be noted here. First, the clinician should be knowledgeable about the kinds of
techniques utilized by a particular cult to induce dissociated states otherwise s/he might
trigger ―relaxation-induced anxiety‖ inadvertently. For instance, in Eastern-based cults
where meditation and listening to ―heavenly music‖ is part of the daily routine, clients
coming out of these groups may have conditioned dissociated responses if advised to
meditate. Likewise, survivors often used self-hypnosis to ―get away‖ in their mind during
their time in the cult. Thus, hypnosis for these clients would be questionable.
From the perspective of neurobiology, behaviors such as aggression, substance abuse, and
domestic violence can be seen as attempts to regulate affect. Depression and anxiety can
be viewed as failures to do so. Obviously, this applies to all kinds of trauma survivors, not
just those exiting cults. Cult survivors, however, may be unique among trauma victims in
that the cult actually predicts that these behaviors will occur. As a means of control
members are given ―dread‖ messages about what will happen if they leave the group. This
prophesy often comes true because the cult member lacks healthy emotion regulation and
the life skills necessary to function in the world. She often has to leave family and friends
behind and, thereby, give up a support network that, however imperfect, was all that she
had. Without the ability to regulate affect, interpersonal relationships become a challenge,
leaving the former member isolated and believing that ―the world really is a cold, uncaring
place,‖ just as the cult leader said it was. The ex-member then turns to whatever sources of
relief may be available—drugs, alcohol, promiscuous sexuality, and other addictions— to
regulate his or her heightened affect.
Attachment
As mentioned previously, early attachment experiences are the key ingredient to optimal
brain development, particularly the right (emotional) brain, which is dominant for the first
three years of life (Schore, 2001). Since the limbic system is primarily in the right brain,
emotional experiences will be ―stored‖ there. Schore (2001) and Siegel (2003), among
other infant mental health researchers, emphasize the unconscious interaction between
mothers and infants and how the baby essentially ―downloads‖ the mother‘s emotional right
brain. This implies that the mother‘s right brain needs to be in good shape otherwise she is
giving faulty information to the child about the world and him/herself. Likewise, the
mother‘s autonomic nervous system (ANS) must regulate the less mature infant‘s ANS.
Since the parasympathetic branch of the ANS does not even begin developing until around
18 months, the child is unable to regulate his own affect. Thus, the infant is dependent
upon the mother‘s more mature brain and ANS either to enliven him when he is depressed
or to soothe him when he is agitated. A mother who is frustrated, angry, and consumed
with anxiety herself, as is often the case with mothers in cults, is unable to regulate her own
affect let alone that of her child. Thus, the child may be left in prolonged negative affect
states that stress his or her immature nervous system.
reaction. The person goes from 0 to 100 in a split second aggression and rage may result.
Overwhelmed and ashamed by their own behavior, traumatized people attempt to control
these eruptions through suppression and avoidance. However, these attempts at
containment inevitably fail because they cannot hold back the flood of affect pushing for
release. A vacillation between emotional constriction and emotional volatility results.
Trauma expert Judith Herman (1992) calls this vacillation the dialectic of trauma.
Because survivors are prone to states of indiscriminate heightened arousal they often avoid
activities that stimulate the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
Additionally, any body arousal can act as a trigger. Thus, survivors learn to distrust their
bodies and become unable to use emotional signals to inform their decisions. Clinicians
should assist clients in regaining a sense of safety in, and control over, their bodies through
such techniques as hierarchical desensitization, muscle relaxation, a titrated exercise
program, EMDR, and sensory integration techniques (Fosha, 2000). However, two cautions
must be noted here. First, the clinician should be knowledgeable about the kinds of
techniques utilized by a particular cult to induce dissociated states otherwise s/he might
trigger ―relaxation-induced anxiety‖ inadvertently. For instance, in Eastern-based cults
where meditation and listening to ―heavenly music‖ is part of the daily routine, clients
coming out of these groups may have conditioned dissociated responses if advised to
meditate. Likewise, survivors often used self-hypnosis to ―get away‖ in their mind during
their time in the cult. Thus, hypnosis for these clients would be questionable.
From the perspective of neurobiology, behaviors such as aggression, substance abuse, and
domestic violence can be seen as attempts to regulate affect. Depression and anxiety can
be viewed as failures to do so. Obviously, this applies to all kinds of trauma survivors, not
just those exiting cults. Cult survivors, however, may be unique among trauma victims in
that the cult actually predicts that these behaviors will occur. As a means of control
members are given ―dread‖ messages about what will happen if they leave the group. This
prophesy often comes true because the cult member lacks healthy emotion regulation and
the life skills necessary to function in the world. She often has to leave family and friends
behind and, thereby, give up a support network that, however imperfect, was all that she
had. Without the ability to regulate affect, interpersonal relationships become a challenge,
leaving the former member isolated and believing that ―the world really is a cold, uncaring
place,‖ just as the cult leader said it was. The ex-member then turns to whatever sources of
relief may be available—drugs, alcohol, promiscuous sexuality, and other addictions— to
regulate his or her heightened affect.
Attachment
As mentioned previously, early attachment experiences are the key ingredient to optimal
brain development, particularly the right (emotional) brain, which is dominant for the first
three years of life (Schore, 2001). Since the limbic system is primarily in the right brain,
emotional experiences will be ―stored‖ there. Schore (2001) and Siegel (2003), among
other infant mental health researchers, emphasize the unconscious interaction between
mothers and infants and how the baby essentially ―downloads‖ the mother‘s emotional right
brain. This implies that the mother‘s right brain needs to be in good shape otherwise she is
giving faulty information to the child about the world and him/herself. Likewise, the
mother‘s autonomic nervous system (ANS) must regulate the less mature infant‘s ANS.
Since the parasympathetic branch of the ANS does not even begin developing until around
18 months, the child is unable to regulate his own affect. Thus, the infant is dependent
upon the mother‘s more mature brain and ANS either to enliven him when he is depressed
or to soothe him when he is agitated. A mother who is frustrated, angry, and consumed
with anxiety herself, as is often the case with mothers in cults, is unable to regulate her own
affect let alone that of her child. Thus, the child may be left in prolonged negative affect
states that stress his or her immature nervous system.
