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It strikes me that Shepard is dealing with an identity crisis, extreme guilt, and a challenging of his beliefs...
Each of these stages takes place in an environment of isolation, meaning all "normal" social reference points are unavailable, and mind-clouding techniques like sleep deprivation and malnutrition are typically part of the process. There is often the presence or constant threat of physical harm, which adds to the target's difficulty in thinking critically and independently.
We can roughly divide the process Lifton identified into three stages: breaking down the self, introducing the possibility of salvation, and rebuilding the self.Breaking down the self
- Assault on identity: You are not who you think you are. This is a systematic
attack on a target's sense of self (also called his identity or ego) and
his core belief system. The agent denies everything that makes the
target who he is: "You are not a soldier." "You are not a man." "You are
not defending freedom." The target is under constant attack for days,
weeks or months, to the point that he becomes exhausted, confused and
disoriented. In this state, his beliefs seem less solid.- Guilt:
You are bad. While the identity crisis is setting in, the agent is
simultaneously creating an overwhelming sense of guilt in the target. He
repeatedly and mercilessly attacks the subject for any "sin" the target
has committed, large or small. He may criticize the target for
everything from the "evilness" of his beliefs to the way he eats too
slowly. The target begins to feel a general sense of shame, that
everything he does is wrong.- Self-betrayal: Agree with me that
you are bad. Once the subject is disoriented and drowning in guilt, the
agent forces him (either with the threat of physical harm or of
continuance of the mental attack) to denounce his family, friends and
peers who share the same "wrong" belief system that he holds. This
betrayal of his own beliefs and of people he feels a sense of loyalty to
increases the shame and loss of identity the target is already
experiencing.- Breaking point: Who am I, where am I and what am I supposed to do?
With his identity in crisis, experiencing deep shame and having
betrayed what he has always believed in, the target may undergo what in
the lay community is referred to as a "nervous breakdown." In
psychology, "nervous breakdown" is really just a collection of severe
symptoms that can indicate any number of psychological disturbances. It
may involve uncontrollable sobbing, deep depression and general
disorientation. The target may have lost his grip on reality and have
the feeling of being completely lost and alone. When
the target reaches his breaking point, his sense of self is pretty much
up for grabs -- he has no clear understanding of who he is or what is
happening to him. At this point, the agent sets up the temptation to
convert to another belief system that will save the target from his
misery.
The Possibility of Salvation
- Leniency: I can help you. With the target in a state of
crisis, the agent offers some small kindness or reprieve from the abuse.
He may offer the target a drink of water, or take a moment to ask the
target what he misses about home. In a state of breakdown resulting from
an endless psychological attack, the small kindness seems huge, and the
target may experience a sense of relief and gratitude completely out of
proportion to the offering, as if the agent has saved his life.- Compulsion
to confession: You can help yourself.For the first time in the
brainwashing process, the target is faced with the contrast between the
guilt and pain of identity assault and the sudden relief of leniency.
The target may feel a desire to reciprocate the kindness offered to him,
and at this point, the agent may present the possibility of confession
as a means to relieving guilt and pain.- Channeling of guilt:
This is why you're in pain.After weeks or months of assault, confusion,
breakdown and moments of leniency, the target's guilt has lost all
meaning -- he's not sure what he has done wrong, he just knows he is
wrong. This creates something of a blank slate that lets the agent fill
in the blanks: He can attach that guilt, that sense of "wrongness," to
whatever he wants. The agent attaches the target's guilt to the belief
system the agent is trying to replace. The target comes to believe it is
his belief system that is the cause of his shame. The contrast between
old and new has been established: The old belief system is associated
with psychological (and usually physical) agony; and the new belief
system is associated with the possibility of escaping that agony.- Releasing of guilt: It's not me; it's my beliefs.The
embattled target is relieved to learn there is an external cause of his
wrongness, that it is not he himself that is inescapably bad -- this
means he can escape his wrongness by escaping the wrong belief system.
All he has to do is denounce the people and institutions associated with
that belief system, and he won't be in pain anymore. The target has the
power to release himself from wrongness by confessing to acts
associated with his old belief system. With his full
confessions, the target has completed his psychological rejection of his
former identity. It is now up to the agent to offer the target a new
one.
Rebuilding the Self(See How Cults Work: Indoctrination for details on the thought-reform process that takes place specifically in destructive cults.)
- Progress and harmony: If you want, you can choose good.The
agent introduces a new belief system as the path to "good." At this
stage, the agent stops the abuse, offering the target physical comfort
and mental calm in conjunction with the new belief system. The target is
made to feel that it is he who must choose between old and new, giving
the target the sense that his fate is in his own hands. The target has
already denounced his old belief system in response to leniency and
torment, and making a "conscious choice" in favor of the contrasting
belief system helps to further relieve his guilt: If he truly believes,
then he really didn't betray anyone. The choice is not a difficult one:
The new identity is safe and desirable because it is nothing like the
one that led to his breakdown.- Final confession and rebirth: [/i][i]I choose good.Contrasting
the agony of the old with the peacefulness of the new, the target
chooses the new identity, clinging to it like a life preserver. He
rejects his old belief system and pledges allegiance to the new one that
is going to make his life better. At this final stage, there are often
rituals or ceremonies to induct the converted target into his new
community. This stage has been described by some brainwashing victims as
a feeling of "rebirth."
Modifié par Bill Casey, 19 juin 2012 - 11:27 .
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Now I think I need to bleach my brain. <_<
I hope the EC will give us some bigger consequences to "major" decisions like that.
