How to Recover From A Cult and Stay Grounded
How to recover from a cult is like trying to escape a psychological warzone, in my experience. I remember sitting in a room full of devoted followers, questioning everything. At first I didn’t trust my own thoughts. Look at that picture. It was taken on the second day after I arrived and I looked like a deer in headlights. I didn’t yet know how to stay grounded or what it would take to break free. Every time doubt crept in, Mother God told me that my ego was the problem.
Maybe I’m just weak. I’m new—so I must not be enlightened enough to understand. That’s what I kept telling myself. Mother God was clearly more spiritually advanced than I was, so I shut down that inner voice and followed her lead…
And that’s what I did for several weeks, until the Quantum hoax happened. That was when Amy—Mother God herself—spent weeks lying to me—denying her sexual encounters with another member while we were ‘together.’
I could literally hear her moaning from the “healing chamber” at nights when she was in there with the “team healer.” And every time I questioned her, she gaslit me, insisting my concerns were just ego-driven illusions. The moment I uncovered the Truth of those events, everything shifted. It was my breaking point—my ‘coming of age.’ In an instant, I saw the manipulation for what it was, and I felt a shift in myself I can only describe as liberation.
All of the intense emotional pressure I had been fee1ing for weeks was instantly released and simultaneously transformed into growth, clarity, strength, and intuition. It was like being struck by lightning.
Until that point, I was like putty in her hands…being molded into whatever shape or pattern she wanted. I had joined the team to learn and to grow and so I wanted to “get out of my own way.” I put my trust in Mother God and I’m glad I did. Even though I learned the hardest way possible, I still learned. And I wouldn’t change anything. That said, not everyone is as lucky as I am to “come out the other side” so much better off. Of course, avoiding this kind of manipulation is ideal—but life doesn’t always give us easy lessons. Sometimes, we only learn by surviving them.
But looking back, I know the truth: That doubt was my mind trying to save me. That was my intuition kicking in.
I just needed to find the strength to trust myself above all else.
This is when I first began learning how to recover from a cult.
Surviving in a high-control group (or cult) is like being trapped in an alternate reality where up is down and down is up. Reality gets rewritten. You’re surrounded by people who all share beliefs. They talk in ways that justify those beliefs, all day, every day. It’s easy to start believing the unbelievable, defending the indefensible. Your identity isn’t stolen all at once—instead, it’s chipped away piece by piece.
But in most cases, people who join high-control groups don’t even see the signs of manipulation. They haven’t learned to trust themselves yet, or they probably wouldn’t be there to begin with.
If you’re inside one, want to learn how to recover from a cult, or afraid someone you love is being pulled in, these are the mental tools that saved me.
I hope they will help to save you or someone you love.
1. Discernment: How to Trust Yourself and Recover from a Cult
Cults don’t just ask for faith—they demand obedience. And it takes a lot of courage to stand up, alone. Speaking out against ideas you don’t believe, agree with, or understand puts a target on your back. And it’s human nature to want to be liked. Learn to give yourself the space to be human, make mistakes and grow.
Being dedicated to growth was my saving grace. I sought understanding, clarity, and growth in every event and every word. Most of the time I felt like the only person in the house truly committed to it. But learning from every mistake, misstep, or success, is what defined my ability to leave better off than I came.
Early on after joining I noticed that every time a team member challenged one of Mother God’s beliefs, all hell broke loose. Suddenly, she would claim that this member was being manipulated by a demon or some dark force. Mother God and Michael didn’t answer questions or seek to give understanding. They just took your credibility and set it on fire. “Gotta get rid of that ego, man” Michael would say—ending any chance for real discussion. Cult manipulation pure and simple.
But I didn’t see it for what it really was at first. At first, I had committed myself to “surrendering to love” aka doing whatever Mother God told me. She loved her brave little soldiers who let her do the thinking for you. So being dedicated to personal growth made it inevitable that conflict would arise and that I’d eventually rebel. There is no growth available to anyone who doesn’t think for themselves.
It’s ironic that every member who ever joined the team usually left for the same reason; it was a bunch of delusional BS. And Mother God always labeled them a demon, once they left. It was an easy way to avoid accountability and deflect; an art she (and her apprentice) Michael had mastered.
When I became outspoken and Michael would attempt to discredit my position, he’d just blame my ego. I remember so many times that I pleaded with him for a specific example—he never once offered one.
So, emotional manipulation in cults happens as just part of the osmosis of the group-think that takes place. But the moment you stop asking questions, you stop thinking for yourself.
How They Undermine Your Judgment
❌ “Doubt is a sign you’re spiritually weak.”
❌ “Your old beliefs were lies—only we have the truth.”
❌ “Thinking for yourself is ego—let go and trust us, trust ‘love’ instead.”
❌ “Your family/friends will never understand—you must cut them off.”
❌ “You have to donate all of your money to us or you’re not in “right action.”
❌ “Going against the team means you’re not in right action, you big ego!”
If a high-control group tells you doubt is dangerous, questioning is evil, and you should never think for yourself, that’s a massive red flag.
Mother God would say it’s your ego “fighting against love”(her ‘edicts’) and that it was your job to dissolve your ego. She said that was the only way to gain spiritual growth, or become “Father God”, in my case.
I eventually realized that they don’t really welcome being questioned. And if they tell you that your energy is negative when you ask for clarity because things just don’t make sense, it’s time to find the courage to stand alone. Don’t allow cult manipulation to stop you from standing up and being righteous.
This is scary, at first. Especially when you’re speaking out against people you care about. But if you try to suppress your own intuition, like I did, you’ll drive yourself mad with confusion.
Once I began questioning everything that didn’t add up, the delusions unraveled and the well-practiced defense mechanisms became painfully obvious. Suddenly, the whole belief system began crashing down like a transparent house of cards.
The next challenge was to find balance in spite of the incongruent nature of our beliefs. I made my position clear, but there was no reason to constantly create drama or discord. I had to learn to wield the Truth like a sword that was a pain to polish. In other words, I had to pick my battles.
This is how you can begin protecting your mind from their influence. This is where balance and boundaries become essential.
And it’s where I found that holding on to actual Truth is what would lead me out of the darkness of doubt.
How to Practice Discernment
✔ Slow down before accepting new information. Ask: Does this actually make sense? Think everything through. Make ends meet, make it make sense. It shouldn’t just make sense either, it should feel right deep down inside.
✔ Look at who benefits from the belief. If a rule, teaching, or prophecy only benefits the leader, it’s not divine—it’s control. If everyone else is working to support one person, rather than each other, those are signs of cult manipulation.
✔ Remember: Fear is not proof of truth. Just because they tell you something bad will happen if you leave, doesn’t mean it’s real. And if fear is being used for persuasion then it’s another popular sign of emotional manipulation in cults.
✔ Hold the Truth in the highest regard. Truth is pure, it is simply known. It’s the kind of thing someone can say and you can inherently feel its validity without a Google search. Make it your friend and align yourself with it. It has the unique ability of protecting you from false beliefs and unfair judgements.
✔ Make a conscious distinction between Truth and belief. Understand the difference between what is known to be true and the things you just want to be true. Observing this distinction and applying it constantly will lead you through the depths of delusion.
That’s how to recover from a cult.
2. Boundaries: How to Stay Grounded and Rebuild Your Mind
Cults sometimes overload you with rituals, meetings, and “urgent” spiritual messages so you don’t have time to think critically. The less time you spend alone with your own thoughts, the easier it is for them to control you.
Inside the Love Has Won cult, we were constantly flooded with “downloads” from Mother God. This included new ideas about her beliefs taking shape and endless hours of livestreams in chat. There were rigid expectations for behavior that left no room for individuality, questioning, or reflection. Keeping your own mind intact in that environment can be like keeping a candle lit in a hurricane.
I know how hard it can be to practice discernment and avoid cult manipulation. But if you can find the courage to trust your intuition, it will grow stronger, fast.
If you can do what I did and hold on to the truth, you’ll have a good chance to avoid losing yourself.
Hold on to what you know is real, to what you know is true. Hold on for dear life and never let go. No matter what you go through, hold on to the truth and trust that it will lead you through anything you go through.
I found myself surrounded by delusions and constantly shifting beliefs. And I knew that as long as I held on to what I knew was true, that I would find my way out of the darkness of delusion. And I did. That’s how you recover from a cult and keep your wits in tact.
How to Protect Your Mind from Cult Manipulation
✔ Give yourself silent, private time. Even five minutes alone can help you reset. Notice the changes you feel when you’re able to breathe slowly, calmly, and think on your own.
✔ Journal your real thoughts. Write them down where no one can influence them. Keeping a journal will help you to stay grounded and centered. It will give you reference points to light the way towards real growth. It also helps you to keep yourself accountable.
✔ Limit exposure to the most toxic influences. If a leader or member constantly gaslights you, create space from them, if possible. Acknowledge your feelings and learn to trust your intuition. If something doesn’t feel right, question it. Seek understanding at all times and if someone tries to block your path, recognize their defensive posture for what it is.
Your thoughts are yours. Protect them. Learn to trust yourself. Trust the Truth.
3. Emotional Resilience: Cults Weaponize Your Feelings
Most people think cults just control your mind—but what they really control is your emotions.
Especially at the start, they use love-bombing to make you feel special, then pull it away to make you desperate to earn it back. Unfortunately this kind of behavior isn’t uncommon, even outside of cults.
But on the inside, they use fear to convince you there’s no life outside the group. They use shame to make you doubt your worth and make you afraid to stand up and speak out.
This is when trusting in the truth to get you through the despair will come in handy. Like a torch in the night, the truth will guide you forward out of the confusion and back to reality.
I remember Mother God always said her love was unconditional—but if I questioned anything, I suddenly wasn’t worthy of her approval. She couldn’t find another “Father God” fast enough after I uncovered the hoax with the Quantums. And that kind of emotional blackmail can keep people trapped for years.
I felt like fighting for “Father God” was the same as fighting for my relationship. And the only way to save it was to fall in line. It was manipulation to another level. I didn’t even want this relationship in the first place and then I found myself attached, constantly fighting for it.
Before I truly found myself or knew how to recover from a cult, the first few months were physically exhausting. The emotional manipulation made me weak and worrisome. At first, all I wanted was to be accepted, praised, or encouraged. I was an easy target and manipulation was simple.
Researching so many conspiracy theories and “New Age” spirituality had destroyed my world view. I was a blank canvas, and a perfect target for cult manipulation tactics.
I was under immense pressure 24/7 until I began to realize the power I had within me. It’s the same power that you have within you as well. Before I began making a stand I was weak, impressionable, and confused. But once I found the courage to question the beliefs I was being sold, it changed everything. Suddenly, it felt like I gained clarity, strength, and freedom from control. Learning how to recover from a cult happens naturally when you make the choice to be accountable while trusting yourself.
That’s what Mother God lost sight of; accountability. That’s why she used her Robin Williams spirit guide as a mechanism for expressing her darker side. It was a way for her to avoid accountability for her actions while being deeply hypocritical and extremely unkind. (While still claiming she had no ego and was made of pure love.)
How to Build Emotional Resilience and Recover From A Cult
✔ Your emotions are not proof of truth. Feeling guilty doesn’t mean you’re wrong. Feeling afraid doesn’t mean they’re right. Emotions inform you but it’s easy to misinterpret them. Especially if you don’t trust yourself to think independently. As I said, being accountable and responsible for my actions was important. And finding balance in how I expressed myself was crucial. After the Quantum hoax, I let my emotions inform me but I didn’t let them control my actions.
✔ Pay attention to your thoughts. Tend to them like weeds in a garden, allowing only the right ones to grow. Trust your intuition to guide you. Notice your self-defeating thoughts and know this; just because you had a thought doesn’t mean you must keep it. Throw away the garbage that doesn’t make sense. Hold on to real, actual Truth and always keep it separate from belief.
✔ Detach from the approval cycle. If they withhold love to control you, recognize it as manipulation, not truth. At some point, you’ll wear that like a badge of honor. It’s proof that you’re beginning to reject the cult manipulation and emotional programming.
✔ See the patterns. If you’re constantly being lifted up and torn down, that’s psychological control and emotional manipulation. Pay attention to the patterns and you’ll begin to learn how to recover from a cult very quickly. The reason being is, you’ll begin to see through the charade that hides the truth of their intent. Cult leaders live in a world of lies so they must create patterns of behavior to reconcile their inherently hypocritical nature. Pay attention and make note of the patterns you see. They will inevitably begin to unravel. You can use them as reference points to guide you in the best direction—mentally, emotionally, physically, in all ways.
4. Skepticism: Not Every “Spiritual Truth” is Real
High-control groups hide behind mystical explanations to justify control. And most of the time the explanations don’t make sense. If things aren’t adding up, recognize it and take note. Don’t just let it go. Remember that holding on to the truth, to actuality, is the way out. For this reason it’s important to recognize what is and isn’t real or provable.
Inside the Love Has Won cult, we were told:
🔺 “Doubt is an attack from lower vibrational forces. Or possibly demons.”
🔺 “If you question Mother God, it means you’re spiritually unworthy.”
🔺 “Suffering is proof you’re being purified.”
🔺 “Questioning = dissent. And dissent means you’re in ego.”
All of these statements sound deep—but they’re just ways to dismiss real concerns. They’re ways to justify inhumane treatment and beliefs that don’t add up. It’s a toxic pattern that people use to discredit dissent, rather than be accountable. Sometimes, they use these platitudes to justify how one person is better, higher, or more special than another. Again, that’s not truth, it’s a belief. Recognize the difference and watch the BS just unravel before your eyes.
How to Strengthen Your Intuition
✔ Let the truth be your guide. Know the difference between beliefs and facts—don’t blur the two. Keep your senses sharp and let truth be your sword and your shield. Allow it to guide you. Truth is an immovable force—it doesn’t bend or break, and it won’t fail you.
✔ Compare spiritual claims to real-world evidence. If someone says they can “channel the universe” but their life is chaotic, question their wisdom. Especially if their beliefs are fluid and they make “predictions” that continuously evolve. This is where accountability comes in—it’s up to you to separate reality from belief.
✔ Doubt is healthy. If someone tells you questioning is bad, they are afraid or hiding something. When someone makes claims that don’t make sense to you, ask for clarity. See if they get defensive or impatient and recognize it. True leaders welcome questions and dissent as opportunities to provide clarity and growth.
✔ Ask: “Who benefits from this belief?” If the only person who gains from a belief or a rule is the leader, it’s manipulation, not divine wisdom. Sometimes they have a close few followers who take leadership roles. They should be scrutinized closely, too. Because in most instances, they simply act as extensions of the leader.
✔ Trust your gut. It will tell you when things don’t seem right. Your gut will tell you when something feels off. Trust it—but don’t follow it blindly. Stay balanced by questioning even yourself. Keep asking ‘why?’ until you reach the core of the truth. This is how you can get to the heart of a matter and find confidence in understanding.
5. Liberation: How to Fully Recover from a Cult
First, I want to say that I’m no “expert” on anything other than my own experiences. If you need help, get it from family, friends, or a certified counselor.
Recovering from a cult isn’t just about escaping physically—it’s about escaping the belief systems mentally intact.
Even after you’re out, their words can echo in your mind. Their control patterns may linger in your habits. It can be hard to reassimilate back into the “real world.” But if you trust yourself—and trust the truth—you’ll grow stronger and wiser. Change will no longer feel like something to fear, but something to embrace.
I remember waking up months after leaving, still expecting to be ridiculed for my own thoughts. Sometimes it’s still hard for me to speak my mind. Even when the cage is gone, you have to unlearn the feeling of being trapped.
I also struggled in relationships. I saw my detachment from conflict as a strength, but my girlfriend saw it as indifference. She’d say, ‘You just don’t care,’ because I rarely got angry or emotional. Sometimes the growth you achieve is difficult for others to understand.
Not everyone will understand your growth—and that’s okay. Give yourself, and others, the space to be human, imperfect, and evolving. It takes the sting out of so many dramatic moments and it can be a source of true power, clarity, and balance.
Recognize the power within you—the power that has always been there, waiting to rise. And consider how much more still lies within you, ready to be discovered. Be proud of yourself! Continue to seek learning and growth in every moment.
Where you focus your energy shapes your reality. Stand for what you know is right, for what you know is true, and your self-worth will grow. It did for me. By the time I left the cult, I felt like a benevolent lion—strong, balanced, wise, and finally free.
How to Reclaim Your Power From A Cult
✔ Forgive yourself for being deceived. Intelligent, kind, and good-hearted people get manipulated. It doesn’t mean you were weak. Be honest with yourself but allow yourself the space to be human and make mistakes. Learn from them and you’ll be all the better for it.
✔ Let go of embarassment. Take it from a cancer survivor; life is too short to be wasted on the negative opinions of those who do not seek to understand. Learn your lessons and enjoy your growth. That will make it all worth it, after all.
✔ Rebuild self-trust. Make small decisions daily to reinforce that you are capable of thinking for yourself. Trust in your ability to decipher the world as you experience it. Trust in your heart and mind to work together and empower you to be the best version of yourself.
✔ Find real validation. Seek relationships where people encourage independent thought, not control. And sometimes this can be hard to do, even outside of a high control group. But look for honesty, vulnerability, and truth from those you share your time with. Let them become a reflection of your greatest qualities.
✔ Don’t be afraid to seek help. Whether it’s from close friends, family, or a professional counselor, sometimes having someone to talk to about an emotionally difficult experience like this can help you far more than you realize.
Final Thought: You Are Not Alone
If you’re inside a high-control group—or healing from one—you are not broken. Nor are you weak. You are not stupid, dumb, or gullible. You are not alone. I AM with you.
The fact that you’re reading this, questioning, seeking truth, and understanding means you are stronger and/or wiser than you realize.
I survived. You can, too. Contact me if you want to talk.
💬 Have you ever felt manipulated in a way you didn’t recognize at first? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear your experiences.
🔹 For more survivor stories and insights, visit InsideMotherGodsCult.com.
🔹 If you have a story to share, we are listening.
