RECOVERY ISSUES AND WHAT TO EXPECT
- If you have left a spiritually abusive or cultic group you will need to spend time recovering from that experience. How motivated are you to continue to find your true self with all of its goals and aspirations? How patient are you to allow this process to take the time needed to be an “inside out” recovery? Recovery comes in various forms, but the important thing is that you begin the process.
- Your “recovery” rate and level are highly dependent upon a variety of factors: the number of years spent in a cultic environment, the destructiveness of your specific group and its doctrine and practice, your level of involvement within the cultic milieu, your emotional health prior to group/relationship involvement, involvement in support groups and counseling, and strength of relationship to family and friends outside of the group, among others.
- Here are a few reminders to help you along the way:
- Don’t expect family and friends to totally “understand” your experience. It was your experience, not theirs.
- Continue to explain what happened to you in the best ways you can, but do so with safe people and safe places.
- Don’t be surprised if, after a while, people remind you that you need to “move on” with your life … “forget what lies behind” … or think you are obsessing on your experience. Try to explain the nature of trauma —that the continual review of the experience helps you “process” it and give meaning to it, and you would appreciate their patience with you.
- Join a mutual support group or network of friends who have gone through similar cultic experiences as yourself to continue in understanding what happened to you, and hear the uplifting stories of others who have grown through their group exodus.
- Expect numerous “ups and downs.” Just when you think you’ve gotten a handle on it all, you may have some moody, confusing times of wondering why you left, why this happened to you, or how can you ever get past this experience.1 This is very normal and typical. Everyone has up and down days and weeks. Look at the overall “graph of growth and resolve.”
- Enjoy reading books regarding 1) other people’s experiences in an exploitive, abusive group and education on such groups or 2) about nothing that has to do with abusive groups, just topics you want to explore for a change like gardening, poetry, history, or whatever would help you feel like a valuable living human.
- Schedule additional counseling/consultation with someone knowledgeable about survivors from abusive, controlling groups and their particular issues if you need continued help in sorting out any emotional trauma, or if you run into some obstacles. Like surgery is to the body, healing takes time afterward. Just don’t panic. You have not lost all that you once gained. Recovery takes time!
- Continue to confront those cognitive lies that may periodically rear their ugly head. Write them down, then challenge the irrationality of the inherent errors. Review your thinking bit by bit, if necessary. (See: Where Do the Feelings Go?) Continue to “deprogram” the land mines that might still remain in your mind as the thoughts (lies) surface in your thinking.
- Get involved in activities you’ve always dreamed of, or take an evening class of interest at your local community college. Life is to be enjoyed not endured — something totalistic groups usually don’t teach! Surround yourself with fun, positive, enjoyable activities and people!
- Be tolerant of parental or spousal concerns that you might return to the group. Assure them you will not. Assure them that your concern is for your friends inside the group, reminding yourself that you need to heal and have some strength and resolve before you can be of any real help to others. Remember, you are first accountable for yourself.
- Remind yourself daily that you are a special, uniquely created individual whom God loves.
- Realize the value of what you’ve learned about life from your experience; help others grow. ~Adapted from an article sent to Exit & Support Network™