Perfect description of Zsu and most other fundies

[SealFan1963]

Quote

It seems that all of these people from the Haigwoods, to the poor blogger with her crockpot, to my stepmother Louise, to scores of fundamentalists and Quiverfullers and various other fringy, loony groups out there are all ruled by one thing - Fear. They are petrified of everything. They live in a perpetual state of anxiety. I think that all of these people are actually suffering from a form of OCD. They are scared of the world, which is the obsession part, so they concoct strange habits, rituals and rigid, inflexible lifestyles in order to protect and buffer themselves from the world that they fear. That's the compulsion part. It's no different than obsessive hand washing. The mechanism behind it is the same. Fear = Anxiety = Weird Behavior to Try to Counteract Anxiety Which Never Works so Behavior Escalates. It's just on a grander scale. It's just crazy.

 

Quote from Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds at Blogspot.com

[ladypuglover]

As good as any theory about why they are so crazy.

[CrazySister]

Fits what I've seen in my past. They're so afraid of the world that they have no ability to comprehend how crazy/insane/bizarre/input-your-own-adjective they've allowed their lives to become. In the case of the children (be they 10 or 30), sometimes all they've ever known is the nth degree isolation and lies and so truly their only comprehension of the world comes from the delusional, insular world their fear-mongering family has cooked up for them. It's so sad. Some of the families (Maxwells, Pearls) live in such severe isolation that the girls' lives remind me of Jaycee Dugard's story of abuse and social deprivation during her years of imprisonment.

[Lily]

I think it's a combination of that, and a need to feel special and identify with a group. A need to feel superior in some way, to have something to lord over others, to have an identity with a group and the perception that the group will back them. Not only is it about internal control, it's about external control. Of others, of their own image, of how the world perceives them.

It's like the clique mentality most people go through in high school -- jocks think they're better than nerds, nerds think they're better than jocks, everyone has some sort of badge of honour to display for their social status and a justification for feeling right and for hating the other -- taken to the extreme on an adult level.

I've often wonder if some of the fundies, particularly those who come from non-fundie homes and enter the life voluntarily, don't have some sort of identity disturbance in addition to the OCD and anxiety issues mentioned by the blogger here. A lot of it fits.

* Delusional internal narrative.

* Them vs. Me/Us mentality.

* Black and white morality - no room for interpretation.

* Need for attention and recognition, evidenced by so many of these blogs. When it fails, they create drama, like ZooZoo and the 'fatheads' post, among others.

* Need to feel righteous, special, important, looked up to. Need for validation and praise.

* A lot of the OCD/ritualistic/controlling behaviours seem to me to be a desperate attempt to control others. Prevent husband from cheating, prevent children from developing identities of their own or ideas of their own.

I don't know what label, if any, any of this would fit under, just pulling this off the top of my head, and I'm sure there are many more, but it seems like there are definite identity and personality disorders.

[latraviata]

Quote from Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds at Blogspot.com

Some time ago I launched that theory too.

[Elle]

I think it's a combination of that, and a need to feel special and identify with a group. A need to feel superior in some way, to have something to lord over others, to have an identity with a group and the perception that the group will back them. Not only is it about internal control, it's about external control. Of others, of their own image, of how the world perceives them.

It's like the clique mentality most people go through in high school -- jocks think they're better than nerds, nerds think they're better than jocks, everyone has some sort of badge of honour to display for their social status and a justification for feeling right and for hating the other -- taken to the extreme on an adult level.

I've often wonder if some of the fundies, particularly those who come from non-fundie homes and enter the life voluntarily, don't have some sort of identity disturbance in addition to the OCD and anxiety issues mentioned by the blogger here. A lot of it fits.

* Delusional internal narrative.

* Them vs. Me/Us mentality.

* Black and white morality - no room for interpretation.

* Need for attention and recognition, evidenced by so many of these blogs. When it fails, they create drama, like ZooZoo and the 'fatheads' post, among others.

* Need to feel righteous, special, important, looked up to. Need for validation and praise.

* A lot of the OCD/ritualistic/controlling behaviours seem to me to be a desperate attempt to control others. Prevent husband from cheating, prevent children from developing identities of their own or ideas of their own.

I don't know what label, if any, any of this would fit under, just pulling this off the top of my head, and I'm sure there are many more, but it seems like there are definite identity and personality disorders.

This is what I think, that for a lot of them, it's about feeling superior. Bullies in high school aren't usually that way out of fear, but because they think they're better than everyone else.

[Peas n carrots]

Going on what was said above how some nettle lifestyle not coming from a religious background, it seems like a lot of the people came from unstable, abusive homes. I think they are looking for the kind of structure their childhood lacked. Vyckie Garrison and Wendy Jeub in particular come to mind here.

[Effie]

I think some of the fundies have the Cinderella complex. They have a fear of independence.

[Avalondaughter]

I think some of the fundies have the Cinderella complex. They have a fear of independence.

YES! That's a huge part of it. Trying to make your own life and support yourself is scary. Having "womanhood" to fall back on, is a great copout. You don't have to go to school (and possibly fail) and get a job (and maybe not do well at it) and support yourself (see the job) because being supported by men is what you're supposed to do.

I also have to agree that other fears play into this as well. There is the fear of Hell, the fear of people not like us, the fear of failing.

The feeling superior is also a major part of the fundie mentality. If you have a low self esteem, relgion gives you a way to feel better than others because you're holier, your way of thinking is the right way, your lifestyle is the one that is going to produce the most happiness.