I am bitter about being a former Cult member. About the abuse. I have a weird sense of humor and I may come off as attacking when I post. I am not attacking anyone. The Cult and their members have hurt me badly and I feel powerless even now.

I'm bitter, have a weird sense of humor AND cynical! :-)

Nolongerangry,

Just getting out of that wacky gig shows you have more power than a lot of people.

Anyone who is mistreated normally feels this way. Nothing wrong with reacting normally.

Remember when you were a kid and you felt really angry at a person or situation? Eventually, you got over it. That's what people do.

Take a breath and accept your feelings for now and otherwise try to enjoy life. Be kind to yourself and do something enjoyable every day.

What do you like? Music? Certain movies? Crafts? Cooking? Nature? Hiking? Kite flying? Whatever you enjoy, get into it and do more of it.

In time you'll feel better and better and you won't be so troubled by what you call bitterness.

We've all been through it and we're no better than you are. You'll get through this rough patch, I'm sure. Good luck.

Eventually you learn to like yourself and then you get angry all over again that they treated you that way. Maybe this is a sign that you’ve reached that stage.

I have a theory that the "bitterness" doesn't come from finding
out the cult is a cult. It comes from how you are treated by
friends and family AFTER you find out that the cult is a cult.

You are taught to seek out truth and then given the bum’s rush for your efforts. So much for tribalism.

baura Wrote:
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> I have a theory that the "bitterness" doesn't come
> from finding
> out the cult is a cult. It comes from how you are
> treated by
> friends and family AFTER you find out that the
> cult is a cult.

This.

For me, bitter is a scar that reminds you not to touch the hot stove again. Not pretty, but useful.

For me, what helped was understanding what happened more than forgetting or letting go or forgiving or assigning blame or any of the other options.

For me, bitter is appropriate but needs a side serving of humor. That's what happened to me. In time, the whole thing seemed so ridiculous that it was funny. I came out just fine (sez I) but I do worry for the kids caught up in it all because the Mormon church robs you of some of the life tools you need once you get the hell out. Took me a long time to figure the real world out and I feel like I was the world's latest bloomer. I see your humor in other posts and I don't think that will be you.

100% bitter chocolate is hard to take. Needs another twenty five percent sweet to be good and some nuts. Lots of nuts.

Fudge is super sweet and nuts make all the difference. Nothing like a good bunch of nuts...

nolongerangry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am
> not attacking anyone. The Cult and their members
> have hurt me badly and I feel powerless even now.

Bitter and anger are often associated with being an outsider with people you consider intimately associated to. It is awful that a god would want this.

It’s so easy to write off these religious robber barons. Psychological highwaymen robbing the sheep blind by twisting their minds. But of course, they have twisted their own minds. After all, they find the Mormon scene more than acceptable. But life is short. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof. In the end we are all human.