I wanted to ask for advice on recovering from the Way.
For context, I was raised in it since birth and formally left a year ago after finding out that it is indeed a cult. Until I thoroughly researched the Way and found all those memoirs about escaping, I had basically never doubted TWI. As you can imagine, finding out that it was all .... eviscerated the foundation my entire life was built on. So that's been both immensely devastating and freeing.
But my main issue is my former belief in devil spirits. Since I was little I was terrified to my core of them, especially after going to a showing of that movie some believers apparently made, Refuge From The Storm. To give you an idea of how deep this runs, after I went through the Advanced Class in 2016, I was convinced that any person I perceived as creepy was possessed and that god had given me revelation about it. If the house creaked at night, I stayed up speaking in tongues in my head, petrified and trying not to move. Roughly six months after leaving TWI, I started having nightmares so intense that they induced intense psychosomatic pain all throughout my neck, shoulders, and back. This lasted for six or seven weeks.
Before leaving the Way, I felt like I always had the safety net of god and that he would always take care of me; suddenly not having that was terrifying. Not to mention, I was worried for a long time that I was more prone to attacks from devil spirits because I was no longer "within his hedge of protection."
I entered therapy with a counselor specialized in cult recovery for a few months, but I didn't find it helpful and it became too expensive for me to continue anyway.
All that being said, I wanted to see if anyone who has been through TWI has any helpful advice for recovering. I just request that no one tell me to turn to the bible or prayer. I mean no offense, but the trust and faith I had in "god" is completely shattered and I have no interest whatsoever in rebuilding it.
Also, any advice on how to handle family members still in the Way would be great, as my parents and brother are still ride or die committed to TWI.
