Psychology of Cults
Written by Crystal Ruizmun
We’ve all been there, wondering how many can fall victim to cults, saying “that would never be me” or “I wouldn't believe them so easily” but in reality, you would. What a lot of people don’t know is how cults specifically target vulnerable people, finding them at their lowest and trying to lure them to become better people by joining their cult. Cults can be a variety of things, whether it's religious, political, new age, etc. We all are at least familiar with one cult, like the Manson Family, involving Charles Manson, or the South Korean JMS cult, we know that the victims were obviously in low states of mind.
Cults gain control of their followers by “attacking” their minds. They do this by perhaps using mind-altering chemicals or substances in order to gain control and influence. Many then seduce their victims by giving them false hopes of a better life with them, promising to give them a reason to join. Some reasons may be financial help, to find love, or to simply not be alone anymore. Whatever the reason, the cult leaders will find this and assault their minds with false promises.
Many use love in the beginning, love-bombing, to gain the trust of their followers, providing them emotional support and a community to come back to. Afterward, they begin their unruly attempts at more forceful control, but very subtly. This force can come through meditation, causing the victim to relax their mind and become more susceptible to the leader, causing them to obey their commands. It may begin as asking for money, for investments or to grow their “community”, promising that the money will exponentially increase and give back more than what was asked for. And from there, their debts begin, not being able to leave because they “owe” the leader whatever was asked of them.
It doesn’t matter what tactics are used, it will always be done by attacking the minds of the most vulnerable victims at the lowest point in their lives. Many victims may be people leaving abusive families or relationships, those who are mentally ill, etc. It is important to know about these tactics and how to recognize them in order to avoid scams like these and possibly not damage your health by falling victim to these tactics.
References
Cults and the Mind-Body Connection | Psychology Today
10 Things to Know About the Psychology of Cults (onlinepsychologydegree.info)
Written by Crystal Ruizmun from MEDILOQUY