Combatting Cult Mind Control Quotes

“Mind control is the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral outcomes. It is neither magical nor mystical, but a process that involves a set of basic social psychological principles. Conformity, compliance, persuasion, dissonance, reactance, guilt and fear arousal, modeling and identification are some of the staple social influence ingredients well studied in psychological experiments and field studies. In some combinations, they create a powerful crucible of extreme mental and behavioral manipulation when synthesized with several other real-world factors, such as charismatic, authoritarian leaders, dominant ideologies, social isolation, physical debilitation, induced phobias, and extreme threats or promised rewards that are typically deceptively orchestrated, over an extended time period in settings where they are applied intensively.”
― Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

“Psychotherapy/educational cults, which have enjoyed great popularity, purport to give the participant “insight” and “enlightenment.” Commercial cults play on people’s desires to make money. They typically promise riches but actually enslave people, and compel them to turn money over to the group. None of these destructive cults deliver what they promise and glittering dreams eventually turn out to be paths to psychological enslavement.”
― Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

“In my opinion, phobia indoctrination is the single most powerful technique for keeping people dependent and obedient. I have encountered numerous individuals who had long ago stopped believing in the leader and the doctrine, but were unable to walk away. They were psychologically paralyzed with indoctrinated fears which often functioned subconsciously.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Stories and metaphors are compelling ways to communicate information and change attitudes and behavior.”
― Steven Hassan PhD, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“A person’s right to believe, however, does not grant them an automatic license to act indiscriminately on those beliefs.”
― Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

“Truth is stronger than lies, and love is stronger than fear.”
― Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

“all human beings have the right to protection from undue influence, a concept the law has recognized for at least five centuries.”
― Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

“13.  The more distorted our sense of reality, the more certain we will be that what we believe is accurate. 14.  The more insistent a person is about the accuracy of his or her observations, the more likely it is that his or her sense of reality is distorted.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“News items are excellent for eliciting fear and inculcating phobias. Cult leaders like to tell members about floods, earthquakes, fires, famines, plagues, and wars–as proof that the last days have arrived.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“learn the clichés, doublespeak and coded jargon that the group uses to shut down critical thinking. Each group has its own buzzwords and platitudes.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Being able to slowly and objectively size up a situation is crucial. We observe. We take a curious, yet concerned, attitude. We gather information in a relaxed, thoughtful manner, but we do not rush in to fix the problem. Using the information we’ve gathered, we determine what action to take.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“If the member’s cult identity seems healthy, it could be co-opting the talents and skills of the authentic self. The result is that, to the untrained eye, cult members can appear completely normal. Asking questions that test a person’s thoughts and free will is the only way to evaluate the extent of destructive influence.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Faith can be a wonderful thing if it is balanced by critical thinking.”
― Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

“The Discipling Dilemma,”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“The SIA helps family and friends shift from an emotion-based form of communication to a goal-oriented style. We will no longer be informal and inadvertently cruel about what we say and do. We will not take our relationships for granted. Our objective is to grow, change, and develop better communication strategies.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“When each family member is responsible for growth and change, the cult member’s perspective changes. Instead of, I’m the victim, and everyone is here to help me, it’s: We’re a family, and everyone is growing and learning.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Family members and friends are asked to participate in each step of the process, improving their communication skills and enhancing self-awareness”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Few people understand that cult indoctrination superimposes a new identity that suppresses and controls the individual’s authentic identity.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“One of the extraordinary gifts, when you heal from being in a cult, is you learn that everything is manageable,” she says. “It’s not always easy, but it’s manageable.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Although a healthy individual will grow and mature over time, his basic personality doesn’t change. Changes in personality type may indicate unhealthy social pressure. The results of Yeakley’s study shows that cults create this kind of pressure. It also verified for me the existence of a cult identity that binds the authentic self like a straitjacket.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“A common method for shaping a cult identity is to pair a new member with an older member. The spiritual child is instructed to imitate the spiritual parent in every way.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Destructive cults are distinguished by their use of deception and extreme influence.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Create an atmosphere in your classroom that encourages questioning, open discussion and respect for a wide range of beliefs and opinions.”
― Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

“one cannot begin to understand mind control without realizing the power of behavior modification techniques, as well as the influences of conformity and obedience to authority.”
― Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

“It is important to remember that, for the most part, people don’t join cults. Cults recruit people.”
― Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults

“There are always two or more sides to an issue, so don’t accept any information at face value. Instead, be willing to hear all sides of the story. Take the time to explore both pro and counter–cult sites. Then you can develop your own, informed opinions.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“By this Orwellian logic, happiness is suffering and suffering is happiness.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Some educational systems are designed to indoctrinate rather than educate. They demand conformity and obedience. But other educational systems encourage students to think for themselves, be creative, and respect themselves and others. Educational systems that use fear and guilt—and focus on competition and conformity—produce ready candidates for destructive cults. Students should be taught critical thinking skills and be encouraged to oppose blind conformity. Education should also encourage students to think from different perspectives.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“Advertisers use sophisticated psychological methods to manipulate our desires, thoughts, and behaviors. The goal is to create a need where none previously existed, or to amplify a need.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs

“think in terms of a continuum of influence: at one end, respectful, ethical, growth-enhancing influence that recognizes the value of individuality, human rights, and creativity; at the other end, conformity, dependency, and slavery, where all authority lies with the leader and the group.”
― Steven Hassan, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs