In Reply to: Continued from GenX posted by Mr. Don on February 21, 2007 at 21:26:04:
My exit from the cult was not very long ago, 6 years. I was a member for a long time, so this applies to the question Curious asked Mr Don on GenEx.
For me it's a life long process meaning that it's far from over, and the "...denial, anger, pain, remorse, guilt, reevaluation, the creeping realizations, the questioning...", I think I go through one or more of those things, in one way or another every day. Since I left the cult I've learned a lot about living one day at a time.
I have a few friends who were never members, who I've told about the cult and my part in it. One of them asked me if I see a therapist, and even though I've covered a lot of ground in the recovery process, I believe I'd benefit a lot from seeing a good therapist.
I don't look for a magic wand, and there's no such thing as saying it's all in the past and now I have "the victory". If something like this works for someone else that's their journey, it's not mine, so it's not for me to question.
What I mean by the progress I've made in the recovery process, the ground I've covered, an example of this is the communication I have, that rates from really good to fair, with my now grown up children, but I had to ask for their forgiveness, which they gave me only because I changed things about myself and I've been building a life "after the cult" that made it possible for me to be there to help them somewhat when they were still paying for their studies, so we have today a relationship.
Everything has taken time. The whole thing is all still under construction, I have a measure of satisfaction in this, meaning I'm grateful for the fact that I'm able to build the life I have now.
to be continued ...right?