How Do People Get Out of Cults?

Extract from :-
http://www.exitsupportnetwork.com/recovery/leave.htm

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 [disfellowshipped] 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.
[This article is designed to be given to cult victims :- Mind Control by Cults ]
-- They usually take several years to work through the adjustments to normal living and attitudes. Education (scriptural as well as secular), cultivating new friends, establishing a new environment, and restoring their original personality are the most helpful adjustments. The more they learn, 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.
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Please go to these pages for more information :-
Stages in Leaving Cults
Common Emotional Difficulties After Leaving a Cult

Professional help from Christian counselors is available through this site :- http://christiantherapist.com/
(If possible, it would be wise to check if counselors have relevant qualifications. Recommendations from previous patients would also be very valuable.)
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