22 People Who Woke Up One Day And Said, “Oh My God, I Think I’m In A Cult” Are Sharing Their Stories

12.

“I backed away slowly because I learned things that made me question what I had been taught as fact, but I maintained relationships with close friends and saw them outside of the community for a year or two. It wasn’t a religion, but there was a spiritual component to it, so I wanted to be respectful of others’ beliefs, though I knew it wasn’t for me anymore. This is something that isn’t frequently or unilaterally considered a cult (though many former members call it that), but the behavior of certain groups of people in specific areas absolutely aligns with cult characteristics, and that culture had overtaken my particular community.”

“I thought I had enough in common with friends outside of this one thing that we could still connect. One person, someone highly educated who otherwise had strong critical thinking skills, asked with curiosity where I was coming from. After confirming that she actually wanted to hear (because she probably wouldn’t like my response), I calmly and respectfully laid out all the things I knew to be true that directly conflicted with archaic and harmful dogma within this community. I reiterated that no longer participating felt right for me, but I was not saying anyone else needed to do the same.

This woman flipped her absolute shit. She screeched loudly in a public space and got angry and defensive, calling me ‘crazy’ and saying other disrespectful things. I’m sad for her, but I’m too old and tired to deprogram anyone unwilling to consider reality, so I got my stuff and walked away. I miss some of my friends, but I don’t miss that community even the slightest bit.”

—itsamereddito