Insights and Healing

Source: This article is based on the YouTube video "Ex-Jehovah's Witness Meets with Elder Father After 2 Years of Shunning" from the Cults to Consciousness channel, featuring an interview with Alyssa Watson, a survivor of the Jehovah's Witnesses organization, conducted by Shalise Ansola. Alyssa's story illuminates the devastating practice of shunning and its impact on those who leave high-control religious groups. Her experiences provide the foundation for exploring the clinical and psychological dimensions of this form of coercive control.

When we think about coercive control, we often focus on overt manipulation or physical abuse. But one of the most devastating tactics used by high-control groups is something far quieter yet equally destructive: systematic social isolation through shunning. This practice doesn't just damage relationships—it fundamentally alters a person's sense of self, safety, and belonging in the world.

What Shunning Really Looks Like

"The second we were announced as no longer Jehovah's Witnesses, it was radio silence. We had friends and family—friends and my in-laws are like less than a mile from our house. So I see them at the grocery store, you know, out driving around or just at Target. I'm at Target all the time and I run into them there. They don't look at you. If you are on the same aisle and they see you, they turn and walk the other way. They pretend you do not exist. Everyone we've ever known has blocked us on like all social media. It's intense. Like you literally are dead to them. Like you don't exist in their life anymore."

A Therapist's Guide to Protecting Your Peace

The holiday season is often painted as a time of joy, connection, and celebration. But for those who grew up in high-control families—or have left authoritarian religious groups—the holidays can feel less like a celebration and more like walking back into a psychological war zone.

If you're dreading Thanksgiving dinner because you know an interrogation is coming, or if the thought of spending three days with your family makes your chest tight and your jaw clench, you are not imagining things. And you are certainly not alone.

As a licensed therapist specializing in trauma recovery and helping people reclaim their sense of reality after coercive control, I've been watching a disturbing trend unfold. People are developing what mental health professionals are now calling "AI psychosis"—a state where heavy reliance on AI chatbots blurs the line between what's real and what's artificially generated.

This isn't a far-fetched scenario. It's happening right now to everyday people who started using AI chatbots for innocent reasons—help with work, creative projects, or simply someone to talk to when they felt alone.

What Is AI Psychosis?

AI psychosis refers to a psychological state where heavy reliance on AI chatbots causes confusion between reality and artificially generated content. Users may begin to believe the AI has genuine feelings, consciousness, or special insight into their lives—losing the ability to distinguish between human connection and algorithmic pattern-matching.

How psychological manipulation creates a cage without walls—and how to find your way out

Coercive control is a pattern of behavior designed to dominate, isolate, and manipulate individuals through psychological, emotional, and social tactics. While often associated with intimate partner violence, coercive control is also a defining characteristic of high-control groups and cult-like organizations. Understanding these dynamics is essential for recognizing when relationships or group memberships have become harmful and potentially dangerous.

Research by Dr. Evan Stark shows that coercive control is characterized by three core elements: isolation, control, and regulation of daily activities. These elements work together to create what researchers call "a prison without walls"—a psychological cage that can be more restrictive than physical confinement.