Struggle Care

21: Wait. Am I in a Cult? with Chris Wilson

Listen Later

Today’s discussion is about high-control groups. If you aren’t familiar with this phrase, think of it as the clinical term for a cult, and most of us are familiar with that word. Let’s talk about it with my guest, Chris Wilson, who has spent many years studying this topic. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, a Master’s in Religion, and is working on a Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Join us to learn more from Chris!


Show Highlights:

  • Why a high-control group is usually toxic, with the abuse of power and control that induces trauma in people
  • How Chris witnessed abuse and experienced trauma in her religious upbringing–and became passionately determined to help others
  • KC’s story of teenage drug addiction, rehab, and exposure to high-control groups
  • How a recovery group that helps a person can also be a high-control group
  • What makes a group a high-control group
  • They use control tactics and don’t teach coping mechanisms.
  • They prioritize predatory collectivism.
  • Why not all religions with strict rules and regulations are high-control groups
  • How high-control groups function with behavior control and punishment
  • How high-control group tactics can show up in the toxic workplace
  • How high-control groups implement information control and use thought-stopping cliches to stop people from evaluating what is happening to them
  • How high-control groups remove a person’s ability and opportunity to make all decisions about even the most mundane things in daily life
  • Tips from Chris and KC for joining a group and being aware:
  • Balance your passion with rationality.
  • Connect with others in the group and ask specifically about the “downsides” of the group.
  • Beware if the group touts themselves as the ONLY ONE doing things right.
  • Beware if the group leader claims to be clairvoyant, infallible, or claims to know you better than you know yourself.


    •  Resources:

    Connect with KC: TikTok, Instagram, and Website 

    Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Struggle CareBy KC Davis
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    734 ratings

    More shows like Struggle Care

    View all
    ADHD Experts Podcast by ADDitude

    ADHD Experts Podcast

    1,320 Listeners

    A Slob Comes Clean by Dana K. White: A Slob Comes Clean

    A Slob Comes Clean

    2,490 Listeners

    Edit Your Life | Simplify + Declutter Your Home, Time, and Mental Space by Christine Koh

    Edit Your Life | Simplify + Declutter Your Home, Time, and Mental Space

    522 Listeners

    Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast by Clutterbug

    Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast

    2,080 Listeners

    Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children by Debbie Reber

    Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

    958 Listeners

    What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson

    What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

    997 Listeners

    ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka by Tracy Otsuka

    ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

    49 Listeners

    I Have ADHD Podcast by Kristen Carder

    I Have ADHD Podcast

    2,900 Listeners

    Feminist Survival Project by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski

    Feminist Survival Project

    365 Listeners

    Maintenance Phase by Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes

    Maintenance Phase

    16,603 Listeners

    Good Inside with Dr. Becky by Dr. Becky Kennedy

    Good Inside with Dr. Becky

    4,493 Listeners

    We Can Do Hard Things by Treat Media and Glennon Doyle

    We Can Do Hard Things

    41,537 Listeners

    The Burnt Toast Podcast by Virginia Sole-Smith

    The Burnt Toast Podcast

    418 Listeners

    Sorry, I Missed This: The Everything Guide to ADHD and Relationships with Cate Osborn by Cate Osborn, Understood.org

    Sorry, I Missed This: The Everything Guide to ADHD and Relationships with Cate Osborn

    54 Listeners