Religious trauma

Not everyone who leaves the Church is traumatised, and it is worth saying so, because the word gets used loosely. But some people are, and for them “faith transition” undersells what they are recovering from. This guide is for them.

What religious trauma means

Marlene Winell coined “religious trauma syndrome” for the cluster of symptoms she saw in clients leaving authoritarian religion: anxiety, depression, dissociation, nightmares, difficulty making decisions, a crushed sense of self, and trouble trusting their own perceptions. It is not a formal diagnosis. It is a useful description of what happens when a person spends years inside a system that uses fear, shame and control, and then leaves it.

Not every Latter-day Saint experience is like that. Many people had a warm, ordinary religious childhood and left only because the history did not hold up; their recovery is grief, not trauma. But some grew up with the fear of outer darkness, with worthiness interviews about masturbation at twelve, with a parent who used priesthood authority as a weapon, with conversion therapy, with a mission president who ran the mission like a cult, or with abuse that the institution covered up. That is trauma, and it deserves the word.

Signs it applies to you

• Panic or dread at churches, hymns, garments, the smell of a chapel.
• Nightmares about the temple, missions, interviews.
• A sense of being watched, judged or about to be punished, long after belief has gone.
• Difficulty knowing what you want or feel, because you were trained to distrust both.
• Sexual shame that does not respond to information.
• Numbness, dissociation, “not being in your body”.
• A body that is always braced.

What helps

• A trauma-informed therapist, ideally one who knows Mormonism. EMDR, somatic approaches and trauma-focused CBT all have evidence behind them. Finding a therapist who understands explains how to find one; Journey Free and Recovering from Religion specialise in this.
• Understanding the mechanics. Steven Hassan’s BITE model, in Combating Cult Mind Control, gives people language for what was done to them: behaviour, information, thought and emotion control. Naming it is the first relief for many. Whether the Church “is a cult” is a debate you do not need to settle; the mechanisms either applied to your experience or they did not.
• The body. The Body Keeps the Score explains why trauma is stored physically and why talking alone does not always reach it. Movement, breath, yoga, and being safely touched all help.
• Safe people and safe places. Trauma recovery happens in relationship. Groups of people who have been through the same thing are one of the most effective treatments there is.
• Time and patience with yourself. Recovery is not linear. Anniversaries, Conference weekend and family events will set you back and that is not failure.

Abuse

If what you experienced was abuse, sexual, physical or emotional, whether by a family member, a leader or the institution, you are entitled to help that goes beyond this page. Organisations such as RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline and Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline exist for exactly this. Mormon Stories has spent years documenting how the Church handles abuse claims, and there are attorneys who take these cases; the Mormon Stories crisis information page page lists more.