Coping with Triggers

Carol Giambalvo, Joseph Kelly

Dissociation is a disturbance in the normally integrative functions of identity, memory, or consciousness. It is also known as a trance state. It is a very normal defense mechanism. You’ve all probably heard of how a child being abused—or persons in the midst of traumatic experiences—dissociate. Those are natural occurrences to an unnatural event.

What are some of the events in the life of a cult member that may bring on dissociation?

·          Stress of maintaining beliefs.

·          Stress of constant activities.

·          Diet/sleep deprivation.

·          Discordant noises—conflicts.

·          Never knowing what’s next.

There are many, many ways to produce a dissociative or trance state:

·          Drugs.

·          Alcohol.

·          Physical stress (long-distance running).

·          Hyperventilation.

·          Rhythmic voice patterns or noises (drumming).

·          Chanting.

·          Empty-minded meditation.

·          Speaking in tongues.

·          Long prayers.

·          Guided visualizations.

·          “Imagine…”

·          Confrontational sessions (hot seat, auditing, struggle sessions).

·          Decreeing.

·          Hypnotism or “processes.”

·          Hyper arousal—usually into a negative state so the leaders can rescue you (ICC confessions).

·          Ericksonian hypnosis (Milton Erickson) hypnotic trance without a formal trance induction.

Why are we so concerned about trance states?

·          Individuals don’t process information normally in trance states.

·          Critical thinking—the arguing self—is turned off.

·          Also turned off are reflection, independent judgment, and decision-making.

·          In trance you are dealing with the subconscious mind, which has no way to tell the difference between something imagined or reality—it becomes a real experience which is interpreted for you by the group ideology.

·          Once in a trance, people have visions or may “hear” sounds that are later interpreted for you in the context of the cult mindset—the “magic”—while, in reality, they are purposely manufactured physiological reactions to the trance state.

·          While in trance you are more suggestible—not just during trance, but for a period of time up to two hours after.

·          When a person dissociates, it becomes easier and easier to enter into a dissociative state—it can become a habit—and it can become uncontrollable.

You may have heard it said that not everyone can be hypnotized … that you need to be able to trust the hypnotist’s authority. While it’s true that there are degrees of hypnotizability, dissociative states may be induced indirectly. What if instead of telling you that “now we’re going to hypnotize you,” the leaders just say, “Let’s do a fun process—close your eyes and imagine …”? Are you told to trust your leaders? Do they have your best interest at heart? And what if they are using Ericksonian hypnosis, in which there is no formal trance induction?

What is Ericksonian Hypnosis? It’s an interchange between two people in which the hypnotist must

·          Gain cooperation.

·          Deal with resistant behavior.

·          Receive acknowledgement that something is happening.

Ericksonian hypnosis involves techniques of expectation, pacing and leading, positive transference, indirect suggestion, the use of “yes sets,” deliberate confusion, the embedding of messages, and suggestive metaphor.

Understanding and Coping with Triggers

Carol Giambalvo; Joseph Kelly 

Dissociation is a disturbance in the normally integrative functions of identity, memory, or consciousness. It is also known as a trance state. It is a very normal defense mechanism. You've all probably heard of how a child being abused—or persons in the midst of traumatic experiences—dissociate. Those are natural occurrences to an unnatural event.


What are some of the events in the life of a cult member that may bring on dissociation?

• Stress of maintaining beliefs.
• Stress of constant activities.
• Diet/sleep deprivation.
• Discordant noises—conflicts.
• Never knowing what’s next.

There are many, many ways to produce a dissociative or trance state:

• 
  
• Drugs.
• Alcohol.
• Physical stress (long-distance running).
• Hyperventilation.
• Rhythmic voice patterns or noises (drumming)
• Chanting.
• Empty-minded meditation.
• Speaking in tongues.
• Long prayers.
• Guided visualizations.
• “Imagine…”
• Confrontational sessions (hot seat, auditing, struggle sessions).
• Decreeing.
• Hypnotism or “processes.”
• Hyper arousal—usually into a negative state so the leaders can rescue you (ICC confessions).
• Ericksonian hypnosis (Milton Erickson) hypnotic trance without a formal trance induction.

Why are we so concerned about trance states?

• 
  
• Individuals don’t process information normally in trance state
• Critical thinking—the arguing self—is turned off.
• Also turned off are reflection, independent judgment, and decision-making.
• In trance you are dealing with the subconscious mind, which has no way to tell the difference between something imagined or reality—it becomes a real experience which is interpreted for you by the group ideology.
• Once in a trance, people have visions or may “hear” sounds that are later interpreted for you in the context of the cult mindset—the “magic”—while, in reality, they are purposely manufactured physiological reactions to the trance state.
• While in trance you are more suggestible—not just during trance, but for a period of time up to two hours after.
• When a person dissociates, it becomes easier and easier to enter into a dissociative state—it can become a habit—and it can become uncontrollable.

You may have heard it said that not everyone can be hypnotized … that you need to be able to trust the hypnotist’s authority. While it’s true that there are degrees of hypnotizability, dissociative states may be induced indirectly. What if instead of telling you that “now we’re going to hypnotize you,” the leaders just say, “Let’s do a fun process—close your eyes and imagine …”? Are you told to trust your leaders? Do they have your best interest at heart? And what if they are using Ericksonian hypnosis, in which there is no formal trance induction?


What is Ericksonian Hypnosis? It’s an interchange between two people in which the hypnotist must:

• Gain cooperation.
• Deal with resistant behavior.
• Receive acknowledgement that something is happening.

Ericksonian hypnosis involves techniques of expectation, pacing and leading, positive transference, indirect suggestion, the use of “yes sets,” deliberate confusion, the embedding of messages, and suggestive metaphor.

Essay: Coping With Trance States

Patrick Ryan

Cult Observer, Volume 10, No. 3, 1993, "Guest Column: Coping With Trance States"; and first appeared in the Summer 1992 issue of TM EX NEWS.

Trance states, derealization, dissociation, spaceyness. What are they? What strategies can we use to cope with them? By trance states we mean dissociation, depersonalization, and derealization. In the group we called it spacing out or higher/altered states of consciousness. All humans have some propensity to have moments of dissociation. However, certain practices (meditation, chanting, learned processes of speaking in tongues, prolonged guided imagery, etc.) appear to have ingrained in many former members a reflexive response to involuntarily enter altered states of consciousness. (These altered states are defined fully in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM III]).

Even after leaving the group and ceasing its consciousness altering practices, this habitual, learned response tends to recur under stress. For some former members this can be distressing and affect their functioning. When this happens, it tends to impair one’s concentration, attention, memory, and coping skills.

Many former members coming from groups practicing prolonged consciousness altering find that the intensity, frequency, and duration of the episodes decrease when they deliberately and consistently use the strategies outlined below.

It is important to note that when one is tired, ill, or under stress, the feelings of spaceyness, dissociation, depersonalization, and derealization may temporarily return. By developing the ability to immediately label these states and attempting the following strategies, one can return to a consistent state of mental functioning.

Maintain a routine.

• Make change slowly, physically, emotionally, nutritionally, geographically, etc.
• Monitor health, watch nutrition, get medical checkups. Avoid drugs and alcohol.
• Take daily exercise to reduce dissociation (spaceyness, anxiety, and insomnia).
• Avoid sensory overload. Avoid crowds or large spaces without boundaries (shopping malls, video arcades, etc.) Drive consciously without music.

Reality orientation

• Establish time end place landmarks such as calendars and clocks.
• Make lists of activities in advance. Update lists daily or weekly. Difficult tasks and large projects should be kept on separate lists.
• Before going on errands, review lists of planned activities, purchases, and projects. Mark items off as you complete them.
• Keep updated on current news. News shows (CNN, Headline News, talk radio) are helpful because they repeat, especially if you have memory and concentration difficulties.

Reading

• Try to read one complete news article daily to increase comprehension.
• Develop reading "stamina" with the aid of a timer, and increase reading periods progressively.

Sleep interruptions

• Leave talk radio/television and news programs (not music) on all night.
• Don’t push yourself. After years or months, dissociation is a habit that takes time to break.