Escaping the cult is just the beginning.
The hard work — the necessary work — is internal.
Because if you don’t reprogram your mind, you’ll likely find yourself in another high-control belief system wearing a different mask.
Dr. Marlene Winell, psychologist and former fundamentalist, coined the term Religious Trauma Syndrome to describe the deep psychological wounds left by authoritarian, dogmatic religion. She emphasizes that without deliberate deprogramming, former members continue to struggle with internalized beliefs and behaviors — often becoming susceptible to new controlling systems.
A study in the International Journal of Cultic Studies calls this the “in-between time” — a phase where ex-members feel lost between worlds. No longer part of the cult, not yet integrated into society. In this liminal space, confusion and identity loss create the perfect storm for slipping into another structure that promises clarity and belonging.
Further research shows that people who leave strict religious groups often face guilt, confusion, and indecision — all of which can pull them into new systems that provide black-and-white answers or charismatic leaders. If these issues remain unhealed, the cycle repeats.
Experts in religious harm recovery are clear: deconversion alone isn’t enough. Without doing the inner work — shadow work, nervous system healing, belief reprogramming — people unconsciously recreate the dynamics they escaped.
Even though the term "religious trauma" is new in psychological circles, its effects are ancient. Our minds are like computers — and thoughts, beliefs, and social conditioning are the software. Much of it gets installed without our consent.
If you don’t intentionally examine and rewrite these programs, you will follow them. Not because you’re weak, but because that’s how the subconscious works.
Your subconscious is powerful. But it doesn’t distinguish between what’s helpful or harmful — only what’s familiar.
This is where your conscious mind becomes the programmer.
Awareness is the first step to change. Without it, the old programming runs the show.
And what does that look like?
- Falling into conspiracy groups or rigid ideologies
- People-pleasing and fawning to earn acceptance
- A shaky or absent sense of self
- Being magnetized to narcissistic personalities
- Joining another high-control group (with different branding)
- Looking to others to tell you who to be
If you don’t do the uncomfortable inner work — the shadow work — you haven’t fully escaped the cult.
You may have walked out of one, but you'll find another.
You may have walked out of one, but you'll find another.
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