Greetings fellow viewer, My main work, as you may have noticed so far,
I tackle depth psychology and dark triad personalities.
I share some unrelated self-help videos here and there to spice things up while I try to
be original as in my previous one on discipline.
Today's book, however, couldn't be less on-topic.
I am not teaching mind control, neither does the book.
It merely exposes the tactics for self-defense purposes.
We start off with a distinction.
Brainwashing is straighforward.
As documented and performed on war prisoners, a brainwash is an active session of physical
violence intended to force someone to accept a belief that is traitorous or self-contradictory.
Mind control is more potent.
A subtle process at the end of which the person is certain that the implanted suggestion was
thought out by himself.
It can be performed at a distance, needless of violence.
It is a corollary to "insinuation" in "The Art of Seduction" by Robert Greene; where
a decision is indirectly alluded to, gradually blossoms in the mind of the victim, he or
she believes it was their own.
The major difference from brainwashing is that the manipulator here is seen as a friend,
or a teacher who's got our best interest at heart.
Anti-social personality disorder and psychopathic personalities are one of the most lethal individuals
among us.
Manipulation and some of the 48 laws of power, come to them second nature.
Apart from cults and sociopaths mind control is used in social communities for recruitment;
in business to thrust you to buy products of no value, but useful ones as well.
Mind control is neither good nor bad, it's the intention behind its use that counts.
The purpose of mind control can go beyond just influencing your decisions.
Manipulators pursuade people into a certain procedure to establish pseudo-personalities.
That is, a succession of thought loops and habits continuously ingrained which in the
long run create a personality of their own.
This new persona thinks and acts like the manipulator.
It can be programmed to serve his needs, elicit effortless compliance, all while the manipulated
believes the benefit is onto himself.
Such a mind control tactic is palpable on the micro as well as macro; in groups on cult
members, or in one on one cults with a psychopathic lover.
The process : Befriending, unfreezing, change, refreezing.
We make a first impression in seconds.
We then look for evidence to reinforce it ; put the person in a box so we feel more
comfortable beside him or her.
If we like someone from the start, we tend to prime ourselves to keep liking them, disregard
red flags as these contradict our initial opinion.
This puts in a better position the psychopath, for he's well able to be consistent with his
behavior; makes a habit out of the attitudes he found successful in winning your good first
impression.
The psychopath befriends the victim by attention showering ; inquiring into their lives, sniffing
out insecurities, compliment and mirror as much they can the same qualities.
The goal is for the victim to identify the psycho's presence with safety and familiarity.
At this stage notice their hyper-observant nature; they seem too curious from all angles,
precisely on what makes you and what breaks you.
They narrate dramatic instances, lies which purpose is to make them appear honest and
humane, you feel the urge to open up in return ; let out all your emotional baggage--you
took the bait.
Example: they will say they've been through similar traumas, had done the same mistakes
or good deeds.
You felt guilty at one point towards certain behaviors, you fell for some trap due to your
regrettable "naiveté", guess what?
so do they.
Your stories somehow seem identical, at least in regards to the emotions both of you experienced.
You think to yourself "wow, this fellow understands me on a very deep level."
Not every person who's to let go with you is a psychopath.
Sharing intimate details can and will happen spontaneously in dating and relationships
without any hidden agenda behind it.
The psychopath, however, shares deceptive fairy tales simply to form a strong but fake
bond, often in one single encounter, a few minutes.
Anyone who's got decent social awareness it's not as hard for you to notice when somebody
is trying too hard, qualifying themselves, or be too agreeable.
With a psychopath, you cannot.
He can self-deceive and believe his own lies which is what makes everything he says appear
as genuine.
A normal person can be caught in a lie because they often feel a bit guilty while telling
it, this gives off palpable signs.
The psychopath, like a chameleon, can play perfect, the role of a pimp today, and preach
another day.
How to identify this phase: psychopaths are masters at filling the gaps in, or fully mirroring
your personality.
Ask yourself, was the friendship formed in a short span of time?
as in you find both parties doing favors for each other from a fourth or fifth encounter
(which is not typical to strangers) ; Does their presence seem familiar and comforting
everytime you meet ; Are they observant, weirdly and constantly curious about all the details
of your life -- If so, you might have befriended a psychopath.
Concerning dates, excessive attention and love bombing can be discerned on the first
few romantic encounters.
Stop and think to yourself why was it is so quick the two of you became close friends
or lovers.
Be wary of individuals who showcase themselves as too similar to you.
"I have the same problems, but unlike you I have solutions"
Unfreezing is defined as the deconstruction of your current personality and priming you
for a new one.
They will diagnose your problems, or covertly do some for you, then pretend to be saviors.
They stir a need, create anxiety, offer resolutions to strengthen the bond.
Say they found out you're running a mundane existence, present themselves as regular travelers
and hint at a life full of venture and liberty should you stick beside them.
Now the psycho succeeded at deluding you he is the missing piece to your life.
From this example you can see that these mind games are played against you not on a visible,
but on the mental and emotional plane.
What seems to be just a friendly banter, there lurks hypnotic suggestions behind each sentence.
- You don't have to share weak points overtly for a psychopath to know them.
When you tell someone you're reading so much self-help, this indirectly says that there
is something to be improved.
When you give out vibes that you're depressed, it either sub-communicates relationship or
career issues, quite common.
The psycho can sniff out these traces of despondency even in the subtlest of gestures and verbals.
They read what you mean, not what you say.
Basically unfreezing revolves around making you hyper aware of the flaws in your worldview,
you start to doubt yourself and look for answers.
-- and strangely enough, the psychopath seems to be one of the few who always knew better.
Some people arrive to the cult or the dating market "unfrozen".
They may be going through an identity crisis, on a small scale like a move away from their
country ; on a larger one a romantic rupture, getting fired..
Dangerous cults and Psychopaths realize your lowest lows lay the groundwork for easy manipulation.
They seize the opportunity.
Even if you're not depressed, any period wherein you actively look up advice you're the most
susceptible to identity modification.
The least I could comment here, be highly vigilant of those from whom you seek answers.
Psychopaths can share constructive ideas that actually work; due to this, you don't suspect
the big picture behind all that.
You gave a try someone's guidance and saw it's worth your time and effort, you follow
them more and more, this creates a feeling of helplessness towards said person ; after
all who doesn't want to regress back to an infantile state wherein we give the reigns
to those who seem to know better--in the meantime we can think less and feel we're being taken
care of.
The psycho may go as far as to befriend a relative of yours and other close friends;
now that bob or john speaks often of their goodwill, your trust level is through the
roof.
Once you begin to trust, he or she will ready the seeds of ideology.
You will fall for this, for they so far proved themselves to be good advisors.
Each of us has core beliefs that work as a defense mechanism against self-contradictory
influences.
- During unfreezing, the psycho's goal is to point out the flaws in this mechanism so
you see his worldview as more fruitful.
But once you get to this stage they begin to actively spill in poisonous ideas into
your skull; slowly but steadily changing your personality.
As usual, they sandwich this poison between good advice--mixed signals.
He or she now calls for adopting a new set of beliefs.
These demands always target your self-interest, on the surface seem quite appealing, hint
at solving your major life issues.
It's seldom that these come across as demanding, only a keen eye for detail could notice.
In simple words, they will ask a favor of you, or guide you through changing your convictions
without overtly saying so ; conceal these demands in a form of a higher cause to follow,
another fruitful advice to take that will seemingly further your own cause -- which
in reality will further only their agenda.
At some point you trust them blindly, the modification process becomes a bit more blatant.
They prompt you to relate your convictions with negative connotations and identify theirs
as the ultimate way of living.
Your personal beliefs are now the cause of dissonance and discontent.
And since the central job of the mind is sustain mental stability, it'll automatically repress
your old personality for the sake of maintaining psychic balance.
The victim's personality had now turned into a shallow clone of the psychopath.
This pseudo-identity is not equivalent to multiple personality disorder, for the old
self had been totally repressed in this case and can no longer make its way to the conscious
surface.
Other tactics used in the process of befriending, unfreezing, changing, and refreezing :
1) MODELING: There is some truth to the saying that if you want to learn something, teach
it to others.
Psychopaths and cult leaders encourage fresh members to recruit new people.
Recruiting prerequisite the member to speak with conviction, selling the ideology strengthen
it in his own mind.
- Fix: In this regard, be careful of what you preach though you're convinced it's useful.
Every time you give out advice, you're giving that same advice to your self, over and over.
Reassess the validity of your sources.
2) EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION AND WE HAVE THE WAY:
I once said that you're the dumbest when you are the happiest.
Couldn't be less true.
Be it one on one with a psychopath or in a cult setting, the manipulator endeavors to
present himself as the provider of pleasant sensations.
He will evoke a feeling of helplessness by pointing out your shortcomings, then provide
solutions in thought form, or perhaps an environment full of state altering activities; psychedelic
music and hypnosis -- you feel better.
Be attentive to what goes into your ear on an emotional high point, example., travel
excitement, break up/divorce, new job, when someone speaks too much too fast you can't
think ; a psycho can make you laugh your heart out to shut down your critical mind -- they
get to work.
Long-term traveling induces homesickness depression, coupled with euphoria (culture shock) -- you're
in an altered state.
You're overly happy, sad, or both alternately.
Any state other than neutrality, you're more susceptible.
In micro (love relationship) or macro cults, the victims of a pseudo-personality experience
intense inner conflict.
These people believe wholeheartedly that they, without extrinsic persuasion, concluded the
idea of changing themselves.
However, the subconscious cannot be tricked and knows that something had been repressed.
- Because of this, there goes an ongoing battle between the repressed true self (unconscious)
and the pseudo-identity (conscious), especially that the clone is doing things the person
would never do (commit crimes on behalf of the cult leader, sadistic or masochistic acts).
But the pseudo-personality backward rationalizes why those actions are just.
- Notice: if you experience depressions, bizarre allergies, nightmares or physical ailments,
and you were unsuccessful in tracing the cause, it might be time to turn to your most trusted
friends, community leaders, and knowledge sources.
Not saying to place the blame on them, but be open to the chance possibility of a stealthier
cause---a psychopath among them.
Say it is so, these mental and physical symptoms are signs of a huge repression in the unconscious,
which in this case is the true self.
Even after having left the cult or the relationship, the pseudo-personality is difficult to dismantle;
professional help is crucial.
It's a long-lasting syndrome the person himself keeps denying until they be exposed to the
cards that have been played on them.
The financial and social life of ex-cult members can suffer unrecoverable loses.
Some may lose normal cognitive skills and have difficulty maintaining relationships
and jobs.
The symptoms are debilitating to an extent at which are misdiagnosed as PTSD, SCHIZOPHRENIA,
or MMPD.
Befriend, unfreeze, change, refeeze and modify, this process can accelerate or decelerate
relative to the number of tools that went it :
Hypnosis Peer group pressure
Reindoctrination (which is basically repeating the steps of unfreezing and refreezing sporadically)
Consistency of exposure to the psychopath Emotional manipulation
Note that the manipulator can go back and forth between these four elements (Befriend,
unfreeze, change, refeeze) ; if the victim starts suspecting things they may open up
a bit more ; resort to building trust again, cover traces perhaps, then go back to seeding.
You see now that mind control is subtle enough it goes often undetected.
I hope I did justice in exposing some of the tactics.
Repression has been mentioned quite a few today.
If you're unfamiliar with this psychological mechanism I refer you to my series on Jungian
Psychology.
Comment down below what you think of these tools, perhaps you've been the victim of such
a process before.
Give this video a thumbs up and share so more people can educate and protect themselves.
Stay alert, thanks for watching and see you next weekend.