How do people get out of religous cults?

HOW DO PEOPLE GET OUT OF RELIGIOUS CULTS?
Different people leave in different ways. Some WALK out. Some get KICKED out. Some cult members just BURN OUT. Others GROW out. Still others FIND OUT or get COUNSELED out.

WALK OUTS
· These people simply rebel from the situation and leave.

· Unless they shed the mind control, walk-outs may lead destructive or fear-filled lives.

· Some adopt the attitude that since they couldn't measure up to the system's requirements, there isn't any hope for them anyway, so they might as well "live it up" while they can.

· Some develop patterns of living that they wouldn't have chosen otherwise.

KICKED OUTS
· These people are excommunicated or shunned for a variety of reasons, usually related to the fact that they failed to fully integrate the four aspects of mind control--information control, thought control, emotion control and behavior control.

· People who are kicked out of cults are commonly filled with grief and guilt. They are still very loyal to the group's beliefs and its people, even though rejected by the group.

BURN OUTS
· These people have been so abused spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally and financially, that they are barely able to function on a normal basis.

· Some :burn-outs" exhibit the Post-Traumatic Stress syndrome that is commonly experienced by war survivors. They are usually very confused, perhaps even physically ill, afraid and unable to trust anyone, most of all themselves.

FIND OUTS
· These are people who are given, or stumble onto information which explains the situation enabling them to leave the mind control without fear and guilt.

· These people usually take several years to work through the adjustment to normal living and attitudes. Education, scriptural as well as secular, cultivating new friends and establishing a new environment and restoring one's God-given personality are most helpful. The more one learns, the greater the healing.

COUNSELED OUTS
· These people are rare.

· Few studies have been done on the needs of people who were born and raised within a mind control group.

· Most counselors are ill-equipped to handle the complexities of exit counseling because there are so many factors involved in mind control, and each person's experience is different, even within the same group.