Are You Under the Influence of Mass Formation Psychosis?
The Battered Woman and Mass Formation
In my previous article, I discussed what Mass Formation Psychosis is and a few ways it is achieved through Colleges, Universities, and Mainstream Media. Today I want to go into how to know if you are under the influence of Mass Formation Psychosis. I will be upfront with you though; this is a very difficult topic. People who are under the influence of Mass Formation Psychosis are, by definition, deceived. That means they accept as true, what is actually false. Therefore, my job is to show the deception for what it is. To highlight the lie, and help people to understand it is a lie. Therein lieth the problem. It is more difficult to show the lie for what it is than to create that lie in the first place and get people to buy into it. Let me give you an example:
Years ago, when I was in high school, one of the college age guys at my church, came up to me and asked if I had the $2 I borrowed from him a few weeks before. When I informed him that I did not borrow any money from him, he persisted. I knew I had not borrowed any money. I never borrowed money as a high school student. You see, we were poor, and the only money I had was my babysitting money. It was not guaranteed. If I borrowed any, I had no guarantee I could pay it back, so if we all went out and I had no money, I just didn’t get anything. He didn’t know that. This was a joke he pulled on many people, for the fun of it. After I flatly denied I owed him any money several times, he told me he was just joking, and that sometimes when he did this, people would try to pay him the money, and it was so much harder to convince them he was joking, it was all a lie. Even when confronted with the lie as a lie, from the one who told it and admitted it was a lie, they still believed that lie.
That brings us back to the problem at hand: Have you been deceived by the powers that be? Are you believing a lie? In order to answer this question, I want to start with a phenomenon we are all aware of, which may be a little easier to relate to, (I hope).
We have all heard of Battered Woman Syndrome, where a victim of domestic abuse believes the lie that it is her fault, that she deserves the abuse, and she continues to return to her abuser. Often, she is so under the power of that abuser, that she is not able to admit she has been lied to, that she is being abused, etc. And she will return to him over and over again, refusing to press charges, and refusing to get help. She is deceived, and incapable of seeing the truth. It is heart-wrenching to watch, and sometimes ends tragically.
How does this happen? What are the steps that led her to be so totally under the power of another individual that she can be hospitalized by that individual and return to them? It starts off innocently enough at first. The abuser is caring, to a fault. The victim is (almost) smothered with attention, all the while, her other friends and family are being slowly cut off. After all, they don’t understand, they don’t care like I do, I don’t trust them, they are trying to take you away from me, etc.
After friends and family are effectively cut off, things pivot, a little. After all, there is a problem, and that problem creates fear and anxiety. Not only is there a problem, but the victim is slowly portrayed as part of the “problem”, whatever that problem is. There is also a slow tearing-down of the victim’s self-esteem. Humiliating, degrading tasks, as a “solution” to the fear and anxiety are proposed. If you do “X”, it will help. Part of the problem is the inability to change things. Since you cannot change things, you must work harder at the few things you can do. It is all part of the plan of control.
Keep in mind, that at this point, the lies told to the victim only make sense to the victim. If she tried to explain it to others, they would look at her like she was weird or crazy. Her only response would be something like: “You just don’t understand.”
The lies told by the abuser must be constantly reinforced, especially if that abuser is not physically present. The reinforcement can come in many ways, an email or text message, a friend of the abuser, even a news story, can reinforce the message of the abuser. What is that message? Anything that reminds the victim of the problem, the fear, or the anxiety. (The reference to the problem should bring immediate fear and anxiety.) Are you doing “X” to combat the fear and the anxiety? If you are not, the abuser implies, the fear and the anxiety will get worse.
The Fear of the Fear is a powerful motivator. Most people will do almost anything to avoid the Fear. Especially if it is seen as a “small” thing. If you just turn the lights off, when you leave a room, it will help with the fear. If you stop using aerosol hairspray, it will help with the fear. If you stop eating meat, it will help with the fear. If you recycle, it will help with the fear. None of these things are bad on the surface, but the message is so concrete, that you are not even allowed to ask “How?” How is my turning the lights off when I am leaving going to help with the problem when you can sit and play video games on three screens, with all the lights blaring, until you fall asleep at the computer with everything on?
So, let’s get back to you. Think back over your life. Especially High School and College. Do you see any of these patterns? Did you have a professor who implied or outright told you to stop talking to your parents or friends who did not understand or believe like you do? Were there problems that brought fear or anxiety about the future? Were you slowly revealed to be part of those problems? Did solutions to those problems require you to do “little things”, when “higher ups” seemed to not have to do them? Were you ridiculed or demeaned if you asked questions? Were you berated if you stepped out of line? If you can answer “yes” to any or most of these questions, it is possible that you have been deceived, and therefore, have been tricked into believing that which is not true. Like the guy with the “you owe me $2”, only much more serious.