What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)
Sadly enough, cognitive dissonance is also one of the coping mechanisms that keeps people captured in a cult. I&#x27;ve been raised in a high control religion&#x2F;cult. I&#x27;ve been out now for a while, but I was in for 24 years. The cognitive dissonance was very high at times, and I&#x27;m not the only one [1]. Looking back at it, I almost can&#x27;t believe it took soo long to realize consciously what was happening to me.<p>It&#x27;s a weird thing, alarm bells going off everywhere in your head, but you still tell yourself: It&#x27;s alright, I&#x27;m ok this is what I have to do, it&#x27;s the best life choice, it&#x27;s not that bad, everyone else is wrong, ...<p>For me personally, the subconscious reason why I acted that way is that I knew the repercussions when I would try to leave. My whole family, friends, everyone I cared for would start shunning me. I would&#x27;ve been kicked out of my the house by my parents, completely on my own, no contact at all. That&#x27;s a scary though when you&#x27;ve been thought the world is a wicked and evil place. This year, the group has even become more aggressive when it comes down to shunning, showing emotional propaganda videos on their conventions [2].<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;exjw&#x2F;search?q=cognitive+dissonance&amp;restrict_sr=on" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;exjw&#x2F;search?q=cognitive+dissonance&amp;...</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=qxDAY5lVwuI" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=qxDAY5lVwuI</a>