Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
How Do Cults and Authoritarian Systems Promise Us Meaning and Connection but Deliver Stress and Intensity? - Ron Burks
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Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
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The aim of this presentation is to introduce attendees to a few of the chemicals, hormones, and neurotransmitters in the brain collectively referred to as the "me" chemicals and the "we" chemicals. Experiencing a high-demand, closed environment alters the subtle balance between them, thereby altering how the brain processes emotions and information.
By providing experiences that overly focus on the "What" and "How" of life but suppress the "Why" or meaning-making, our "me" chemicals are activated, and we feel somewhat fulfilled. However, we lack the necessary opportunities to activate the "we" chemicals, and we constantly feel like we are falling short of what is expected. This presentation is not a scientific paper but is intended to foster growth by providing yet another perspective from which to understand cult experiences and recovery.
How Do Cults and Authoritarian Systems Promise Us Meaning and Connection but Deliver Stress and Intensity? - Ron Burks
-
Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
-
The aim of this presentation is to introduce attendees to a few of the chemicals, hormones, and neurotransmitters in the brain collectively referred to as the "me" chemicals and the "we" chemicals. Experiencing a high-demand, closed environment alters the subtle balance between them, thereby altering how the brain processes emotions and information.
By providing experiences that overly focus on the "What" and "How" of life but suppress the "Why" or meaning-making, our "me" chemicals are activated, and we feel somewhat fulfilled. However, we lack the necessary opportunities to activate the "we" chemicals, and we constantly feel like we are falling short of what is expected. This presentation is not a scientific paper but is intended to foster growth by providing yet another perspective from which to understand cult experiences and recovery.
