Overcoming Fear - Leaving the Message

Former members of a religious cult often refer to their experience as imprisonment, which also frequently comes as a surprise to people that they knew and loved. As they leave the group, they leave behind several questions to those who remain behind: “Why did they call it a prison? They were free to leave at any time!" "They seemed to like it in our group for so many years, why the sudden change?" The truth of the matter is that it is equally painful for people who remain in a cult when someone they love leaves them behind, and equally difficult for both current and former members to understand why.