Libsyn Directory

#41 BOOM! Ghosted!

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

A whole episode devoted to the feeling of being ghosted (transitive style) and how to sort through that grief

#40 The Virtue of Selfishness

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

One of the worst things you could be in a cult is selfish. Pursue a career? Selfish. Go to college? Selfish. Skip a meeting because you're too exhausted to feign interest? Selfish. When you're handed the grandiose mission of saving the human race from Armageddon, even a tiny spark of personal joy starts to feel like a moral failure. But now you're out. You survived. And for the first time, you can do anything you want. The only problem? You’ve never been allowed to want anything for yourself. It feels weird. It feels wrong. You feel guilty. (Which, of course, is by design.) In this episode,...

Musical Rant: 150 ways to beat depression in 5 minutes

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

Don't come back until you've tried em all

#39 Swallowing the Big D: Spitting in the Face of Depression

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

From time to time we all get sucked into the sunken place of depression, and some of us sink deeper than others. Until recent year, I'd been in and out of the clinical depression hole most of my life. Today, I walk you through the fool proof blueprint I mapped out myself to climb out of that hole every single time, one I have walked many clients through successfully. If you're struggle-bussing, this blueprint will get you out of the hole, and if you're not, it'll keep you out

Elder Update: Dating Edition

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

More spiritual food to choke on... at the proper time

#38 Crash Course in Dating for Cult Survivors

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

Today we're going to take the first of many stabs at the wonderfully awkward world of post-cult dating. Essentially, the challenge of learning things most people learned in high school at the age of 35. Here's the thing, you can't skip the mess. The mess builds the muscles. But we've put together some of the most common lessons learned for all you late bloomers that will hopefully make the leveling up process just a little bit easier. In this episode, we'll be starting, as usual, with the mess left to us by the cult, then moving on to the shame of feeling inexperienced, the most...

Elder Update: Beards, Broads and Bullshit

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

Proper bullshit at the proper time

Musical Rant: Narcissistic Tango

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

A playful breakdown of the narcissistic deflection cascade

#37 The "N" word (No, not that one)

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

Prior to my work with ex-JWs, I would generally encounter clients with parents on the narcissistic spectrum maybe around 20% of the time. Once I started working with ex-JWs, that number went up to about 80%. This is no cute coincidence. There's a pattern here, and we spend this entire episode exploring that pattern in more detail, not only in how it presents in those on this spectrum, but also in the way the same characteristics can be seen in the organization itself, as a narcissistic entity.

#36 Personal Lessons (Broadly Applicable) From The Ex-JW Ayahuasca Retreat

Welcome to the World: The Cult Survival Kit

Fresh off the tail of our very first ex-JW ayahuasca retreat, I'm thrilled to report that it surpassed all expectations. Today we're going to give you a breakdown of all the joy, surprises, and personal lessons learned in the process. Through the retelling, we'll be touching on themes of connection, nuances of forgiveness, and something called "the caretakers dillemma".

TOPICS