Abusive Relationships And Cults: What They Have In Common
And how I escaped both
I survived both a religious cult and chronic domestic abuse.
These hazardous experiences did not occur simultaneously but transpired one after the other, a baton hand-off of the possession of my mind.
In retrospect, I see how these relationships operate from similar postulations and tactics and can have a domino effect.
The brainwashing from a religious cult groomed me to be less resistant to and skeptical of the brainwashing from a narcissistic abusive man.
I submitted to these powerful entities who claimed transcendence, unaware that undertaking these lifestyles would eventually take me down.
Domestic abuse is defined as “a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.”
This is eerily similar to definitions of a cult. The leader of a cult is described as controlling and charismatic. Rick Ross explains that cult leaders have “no meaningful accountability and become the single most defining element of the group and its source of power and authority.”
The common themes between cults and abusive relationships include manipulative control, utilizing fear as a tool…
