by Diana Brain
This is not some ancient issue that will only select a few people but a combination of group pressures could with words that have been packed in a single container in order to mislead others. Mind control is a discipline that highlights the vulnerability of other people who have the independence to decide what they like in life. As such, the individual being controlled isn’t usually aware of what’s going on when it comes to being influenced. They also don’t recognize the impending changes that are affecting their lives. There are some vital points that need to be made clear. For starters, mind control is defined as a subtle, insidious process in the world of psychology.
This implies that an individual is usually unaware of the extent of influence being imposed on them by their controller. These people often believe that they are making decisions based on their preferences and benefits. Instead, these decisions are made for them with the intention of doing them harm. Apart from that, it’s important to note that it doesn’t take place instantly. Rather, it takes time depending on the factors that will impact the benefitting team and the progress of the entire project. In the long run, the controlling party aspires to win in several ways, including using certain methods and skills to cause a harmful impact on the community.
There is a certain force also involved in castigating members of society while interfering with their lives in ways that can have a negative impact on their families. A controlling mind will issue threats of innocent people using specific skills that can be applied in a few hours. There is also a force and pressure involved in the entire process of controlling the minds of the vulnerable.
A Look at Mind Control vs. Brainwashing
Steve Hassan is an expert in this field. He is convinced that there’s a clear distinction between mental control as well as brainwashing. He adds that in brainwashing, the victim understands the fact that there’s an aggressor who is also the enemy. For instance, a prisoner of war comprehends the fact that there is an enemy who does the torture by seeking to understand that other people’s lives depend on changing the system of belief. Other than that, it also becomes significant and apparent to the oppressor that the vulnerable member of society is exposed to such precarious actions caused by the oppressor.
They are also coerced using physical force into becoming involved in issues that should not become part of their lives. Over the years, psychologists have analyzed these people to the extent of disintegrating their characters and teaching the fragile members of society how to protect themselves from such people. Mind control is slightly subtle and sophisticated in that the individual spearheading the manipulation is considered a close relative or person such as a teacher or a friend. Usually, the victim isn’t attempting to defend themselves. They could be willing to participate in the actions they have been asked to become part of.
In the process, they always believe that the manipulator is looking after their interest, such as health and well-being or any other prosperous objective that you can weigh. Usually, such people offer some information willingly which can be used against them in advancing the mind control games. This makes the game a precarious activity that can send someone into depression. It is more than the typical physical coercion. This implies that it may be more effective than torture or drug abuse.
Usually, in mind control, there is no physical coercion as well as violence in any form. It may be more effective when it comes to controlling an individual. This is because coercion can significantly change a person’s behavior. To admit that someone who has been trusted by the vulnerable individuals has deceived them is pretty challenging. That’s why it’s not easy for various people to identify or recognize mind control when they are going through the phase. Even in cases where the victim is utterly free of manipulation, they still act and believe that they are still subjects of such manipulation. Their attitudes, beliefs, and decisions—or at least, so they think— are still under the influence of the manipulative individuals.
Who Is Holding a Gun to the Head?
Most manipulators are used to saying that nobody is holding a gun to the head of the vulnerable. This is an honest and powerful statement in several ways. To the person who is observing these actions, that is, the outsider, mind control is a dark vice that needs to be highlighted and discussed in many ways. It’s difficult for such people to comprehend this subject. For the person who has been manipulated or who is being manipulated, they understand that it’s factual that dark vices and individuals can easily control people. No one really holds a gun to these people’s heads. Therefore, it reinforces the main idea that they have decided to delve into the practice by themselves. Decisions are therefore made personally. These decisions are powerful. The effects last slightly longer thereby propelling the manipulated individual deeper into the existing reality founded by the controller.
Who Uses The Gun?
The big question is who would use the techniques in manipulating others for their selfish gains. Another question is who would simply want to take control over other people in order to satiate their personal quest? The correct answer is psychopaths and narcissists since they seek to control everything around their environment. They do these things because they do not have a conscience. Since people do not understand the science of what it takes to become a psychopath, the manipulator is usually referred to as something else including abusive wife, controlling husband, or an emotionally abusive man. A look at a professional examination will reveal that such people have a destructive personality disorder.
Defining and Understanding Susceptibility in Dark Psychology
We are all susceptible. It’s often a myth that some people are known to be weak and vulnerable and therefore susceptible. Such people also hold to the belief that maybe such things cannot happen to them. The attitude makes them vulnerable in many ways. They become exposed to mind control. This is because they are not on the lookout for the manipulative characters. The perfect way through which you can protect yourself from the people who want to recruit you into the cult and becoming subjected to mind control is by having a clear and detailed understanding regarding the tactics that these people use in attracting as well as keeping members.
Disintegrating the Cult Psychology
The psychology of cults seeks to disintegrate the main actions taking place at the cult and the surrounding society. Both fascinating, as well as terrifying, cults, tend to capture many people’s attention to the extent of wanting to comprehend the invaluable lessons that they might garner from these secret societies. Cults are known for capturing people’s attention based on the services and products they claim to offer in the long run.
The main question is usually, where does the management come from? What are some of the psychological elements of the cult? Who would live for that? In an effort to successfully answer these questions, people have joined cults blindly. With that said, we live in a world filled with challenges where people have abstract issues that need to be solved urgently. As such, these individuals may end up trying to find various solutions from cults. The same people may look for solutions in the wrong places. In the world dark psychology, people are seeing clarity based on the issues affecting them.
According to one Dr. Adrian Furham, who describes the issue in Psychology Today, humans are known to crave clarity in all forms possible. Therefore, it has become apparent for such people to address the impending and underlying issues that humans are facing from different world parts in order to help them in leading better lives. These people are blinded by those who would like to take advantage of them in several ways. They are also focused on improving their lives in every way they can.
People with low self-esteem are always more focused on learning what cults are about. For the better part of it, the average person is intrigued by the whole idea of a cult and its impact on people’s lives. Many people have also successfully recruited others into their cults in order to maintain the life of the family tree. Generally, these individuals in the cults don’t look to recruit individua
ls with health issues such as handicaps or the depressed. People with low self-esteem are recruited since they cannot properly defend themselves in any of life’s most challenging scenarios.
And, where possible, these cults tend to take advantage of other people who are in dire need of community support when it comes to matters of physical and mental well-being. Most of the time, such individuals are compromised in one way or the other. The people also come from various backgrounds, including tax brackets as well as zip codes. Eventually, the idea is to recruit several people and grow the number of people following the cult in order to extend its life and relevance.
Cults generally don’t get motivation from recruiting the best of the world’s brains since it may be challenging to control such people. However, the cults will select a few people who seem confused about life and all it has to offer. These individuals can be controlled since they don’t have a clue what the manipulative people can do in order to have control over their lives. In the long run, they end up submitting to such individuals. Once people have been admitted to the cults, they are usually bombarded with love and care. This is an odd trait and strategy that’s commonly used in describing someone with low self-esteem since they are often flattered and complimented or seduced in order to help in training their brain to get used to the issues associated with the cult love as well as acceptance.
In the current world today, there are more abstract issues that most people seek to identify themselves with. Such are the problems that need to be addressed by the professional psychologists who understand how cults are. Cult leaders are known to promote messages that simply make sense at that moment in time. Past the scenario or in real life, such messages do not make sense. They do not contain any great content that can be substantiated. With that said, in certain research by the department of psychologists, it was disclosed that women would make up to about 65 percent of cult members across the world. Why, you may ask? This is because women, according to psychologists, are more vulnerable are always in a position to join cults in order to gain various advantages that have been promised including gaining access to education as well as funds to take care of their kids. Psychologists have also conclusively issued different ideas regarding why women are more susceptible to joining cults.
According to Dr. David of the prestigious Virginia Commonwealth University, women are simply intrigued by the fact that they can easily change their lifestyles just by joining a cult. Therefore, this makes them more statistically likely to become part and parcel of cults that will victimize them in the long run. Others have also suggested that it has to be linked to the fact that in history, women have always been oppressed. Therefore, they are better inclined towards finding solutions in such like arrangements.
Young women are especially exposed to such types of groups since they don’t have the relevant experience when it comes to dealing with humans as well as becoming independent. To such women, it’s all about seizing the opportunity and creating a better life for themselves. According to the opinion of many prominent psychologists such as Dr. Stanley H. Cath, many of these cult members need treatment after undergoing that phase in life. From his first-hand experience, it’s clear that this is an interesting trend affecting masses of people in different parts of the world. Many individuals joining the cults have vastly experienced religion in their lives. They have also rejected it.
Maybe this is pretty surprising to some extent since cults are known to be religious. At least that is what they claim to be. In the opinion of Cathy, it’s clear that this is a trend and a major sign of an actual deeper thing that needs to be addressed in society. Many of the individuals who end up joining cults are not only intelligent but hail from sheltered environments where people need the mental support of professionals who can offer them better diagnosis and treatment for their condition. Other than that, most people who have joined these cults are known for being exposed to emotional and physical abuse at some point in their lives. The idea has been to expose them to dark vices that will paralyze their ability to think positively or appropriately.
With that said, cults and secret societies are powerful since they are in a position to isolate the members from their initial lives that were not cult-related. One of the main ways through which this can be achieved is to make sure that the cult members are convinced that they are not just superior but can focus on falsely improving their lives in all possible ways. This is usually a “we’’ versus “them’’ mentality that highly destroys other people’s self-esteem, thereby misleading them in their lives. They end up replacing all their relationships with the new ones with the hope of rekindling new lost lives that only exist in their heads. They also replace their relationships with the new ones. As such, leaders of a cult will tend to convince their victims to successfully separate themselves from a society in which they grew up. In order to successfully achieve this, the cult leader has to master the tactics of mind control and how to apply them to their personal gain. Some of these methods are such as
Public Humiliation
A new cult member will be love bombed immediately after their arrival into the cult society. However, when they have spent some time in the cult, they will have mastered all the existing emotional blackmail strategies that may affect people’s lives in a negative way. They will use these tactics to attract new members and make them conform to certain ways of belief. By using these methods to humiliate members of the cult too, leaders shall have conquered and won over the brains of other masses of people in the cult society. One such main method and strategy entails someone sitting in the arena of the cult society when they surrounded by various members who need to admit to their recent failures in life.
Self-incrimination
This is one of the most favorite tactics that the cult members should provide their masters with various written statements that detail their fears as well as mistakes. As such, the leaders can easily and successfully use the statements in shaming the individual members in public.
Brainwashing
When it comes to brainwashing, cult leaders are prominently known for repeating various lies as well as distortions until when a member finds it challenging to tell the difference between the actual cult life as well as the reality.
Paranoia
When it comes to paranoia, most of the time, there is the need to maintain as well as uphold some false sense of belonging and hope. Others may also think that the authority is out to seek them. That usually offers false safety. Immediately, a cult member concludes that their families cannot provide a secure environment for them to live in, they start to worship as well as putting their faith in the hands of their leader. One person who is well-known for successfully achieving this is Jim Jones, who was skilled in playing mind control games. He would highly encourage members of his cult to tell on each other.
He also spoke through loudspeakers at different hours of the cult sessions and gatherings. All too often, he would implore the cult members to delve into different societal gatherings which he would control. Many cult members do not actually realize that they have become members of a broken system that deceives them. According to Dr. Margaret Thaler, who has spent most of her life attempting to understand the operating nature of the cults, most people join a cult with the hope of gaining some significant amount of power. She insists on the fact that some people are willing to highlight the perceived benefits of these cults in their lives more than they are able to see the dangers. She additionally mentions the fact that many individuals assume that cults are just religious even though they can also be political associations, including lifestyle groups and business groups.
Victims of cults will spend years trying to overcome the existing emotional damage that has been caused in their lives throughout the time they spent in the cults. All too often, psychologists who treat people who have been to cults will admit that they have been affected by the long term impacts of the cults. Their bodies and minds are not the same. Some of the symptoms they ex
ude are such as lobe epilepsy which results from the cult conversions and increased irritability.
Chapter 6: Deception Tactics
When it comes to manipulation, the manipulator will always focus on getting what they want. They may use various forms of trickery so that they may get what they want from the other parties. Many people believe that manipulation is immoral. Since the psychological manipulators use various deception techniques, we will look into each of these tactics and offer a suitable solution on how people can defend themselves in case of any eventuality.
Method 1 – Gaining Manipulation Skills
Taking an acting class
When it comes to manipulation, it is good to learn more about how to master emotions while making sure that other people can become receptive whenever you tend to become emotional. To learn more about the various emotional techniques, it is good to enroll in an acting class. While in an acting class, it will be possible to gain some powers of persuasion. The most important point to note is that you should never inform other people that you have ever undertaken an acting class. Always focus on the main goal, which involves manipulating people. If you informed them about the period when you enrolled in an acting class, they might become suspicious, and many people will not believe you.