For any former cult members eager to go public about their experiences, I would caution them to think through the potential consequences for their future, very carefully. I realize that when the cult experience is still fresh, the temptation to go public can be difficult to resist, but the impact on your future and the stigma you will have to live with for the rest of your life is very real. Public awareness is still very low on the topic of cults and this is highly unlikely to change in the near future. What this means is that if you become known as an ex-cult member you will be stereotyped by your colleagues as well as possibly future employees or even schools you may want to apply to. What's more, if you say something that upsets or angers someone, that person will play the cult card on you and say you are mentally ill or have so-called post-cult syndrome, even though this is not in the DSM or in any way a recognized, much less scientifically validated syndrome.
I have experienced all of the above and I have to say in all honesty that if I had it to do over again, I might still tell my story anonymously, but I would not have gone public with my experiences using my own name. The consequences I have suffered as a result from ignorant, vindictive people simply have not been worth it.
The fact is that the evidence is overwhelming that the vast majority of people in cults do not have emotional problems that endure for more than a year or two at the most and many do not even have that. There is the element of culture shock to deal with for people who have lived within the confines of an isolated community and there are very real losses to be grieved, but that has nothing whatsoever to do with mental illness or any sort of syndrome. Post cult syndrome has never been scientifically validated. The only studies that showed high percentages of people reporting symptoms were studies conducted on a highly biased samples of people, people who had either been deprogrammed, exit counseled or walked away and been in touch with organizations that told them that these were symptoms ex-cult members commonly had.
Yet 34 years after leaving Scientology, it seems that on several occasions when I say something that someone else doesn't like, I get "post cult syndrome" or other pseudoscientific hogwash thrown in my face, especially if I give an argument that the other person is unable to refute. After all, it's much easier to just attack a person than to respond to the substance of their arguments.
The fact is that I never was a true believer. Even when I was involved in Scientology I was well known as someone who always bucked the system and was getting into trouble, but in spite of this the ridiculous stereotype of the blindly obedient "cult member" follows me decades later. Of course, in the minds of some people who have gone from true cult believers to true ex-cult believers, anyone who dares to challenge post cult syndrome, has it. The fact is that people who were true believers in their cult will probably be true believers after they leave the cult and those of us who questioned and bucked the system will continue to do so after we leave because most of us were that way long before ever getting involved in the cult. It's a matter of personality differences.
To ex-Scientologists or members leaving any cult, I urge you to think long and hard about going public using your name. Don't make the same mistake I did.
Eileen Barker summarizes some of the myths about people in cults very nicely on her INFORM website and provides evidence to the contrary.
http://www.inform.ac/
Click on "facing the facts" from the menu on the right side of the page.
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