PONTIAC (WWJ) -- If you or a loved one got lured into a cult, how would you get out?
Renowned cult interventionist, Ashlen Hilliard, will be speaking Friday night at Pontiac's Strand Theatre on the "The Psychology of Cults" — exploring cult dynamics, how people are manipulated, and how to help them break away.
Speaking with WWJ Newsradio 950's Jeremy Jenkins, Hilliard said social media is now a common tool used to radicalize vulnerable people, including kids, and build a following.
"Predators use that to their advantage. Like, there's been a lot of report of young people getting radicalized online with Neo Nazi-affiliated groups," Hillard said.
"And that can happen on video game servers, like Roblox, or even just in Discord. It becomes a way in which people can groom young children to self harm, or enact violence. A lot of the school shootings we've seen with young people have been due to online radicalizing — so, it's extremely dangerous."
Why don't people leave these groups once they become abusive? Hilliard said it's not that simple.
"In the beginning, they made you feel like they were the safest place for you in the world," Hillard explained. "And overtime, though an acting course of control, your greatest source of safety that you found in this new community simultaneously becomes your greatest source of threat, and becomes the very thing that's harming you.
"And that leaves your brain in what I like to call a double bind. It's really hard to like flip the script in your mind, because your brain is saying 'Well, they used to be safe; they used to be this way. Maybe they'll change.'"
In her interview with WWJ, Hilliard dug more into cult dynamics, manipulation tactics, and how to help loved ones break free from a controlling group. LISTEN HERE.
The Oct. 24 event at the Strand Theatre starts at 8 p.m. Get tickets here, or visit this link for more information.
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