Does Brainwashing Exist Or Is It Just A Myth?

Everyone has heard of someone who joined a religion or a cult and suddenly seemed to become someone else. When this happens, it is as if the individual does not think, act or feel as before. We say, then, that the person has been brainwashed, but does that really exist?

The answer is yes, brainwashing exists and, in addition, it has very well defined protocols.

Since the 1950s there has been talk of brainwashing, but attempts to manipulate the human mind began long before that. Until that time, however, there had been no systematization of a method that would allow the reprogramming of people’s minds in a continuous and effective way.

The term brainwashing was first used by journalist Edward Hunter in 1950. Later, it was the subject of great novels such as 1984 , and films such as The Serpent’s Egg.

This kinship with fiction made many think that the whole theme was just a fantasy. But the truth is not exactly that.

Since when does brainwashing exist?

During the Korean War, Americans were very surprised by the behavior of their soldiers who returned after being arrested by the Koreans.

His ideas and behavior had become very strange. Some defended the communist regime even after they had fought against it. Others didn’t even come back, but changed sides in the war.

Edward Hunter has dedicated himself to studying this phenomenon. He discovered that the Chinese had developed a series of mechanisms to reprogram their people’s minds, part of the famous Cultural Revolution.

The Chinese transmitted knowledge about these mechanisms to the Koreans, and they used them with their prisoners of war.

Thus, it was found that brainwashing is different from torture, although the former often uses the latter at times.

The big difference is that torture usually pursues a specific goal. A confession or denunciation, for example. In the other case, the pretension is to restructure a person’s mind in its entirety.

How to brainwash?

Today it is known that there are four mechanisms to get a person to change their beliefs and attitudes towards the world. They are: rational persuasion, suggestion, torture and brainwashing.

Only in the case of persuasion is there a relationship between equals. In all other cases it is necessary to submit to someone else. To brainwash, the following mechanisms are used:

• Full control of an individual ‘s communication with the outside world.
• Imposition of physical or psychological punishment for disobedience. Rules of behavior are imposed and, if they are not followed, the consequence is some form of torture.
• Induction to confess. The person is prevented from having a private life.
• Rewards for obeying. The belief is created that, by obeying a greater power, a person is protecting himself from even greater harm.
• Propagandas of dogmas, which appear to be something perfectly rational. These are very precise orders.
• Simplification of intellectual activity to prevent abstraction and critical thinking.

• It takes from the other person the right to control your life and your destiny, for “their own good”.

These mechanisms manipulate human needs for security, belonging and protection. The loss of freedom due to the other ends up being a necessary evil so that it is possible to have a little stability and tranquility.

the role of coercion

No brainwashing is possible without the use of coercion. Naturally, human beings resist the possibility of losing their autonomy and identity that they have built up until then.

Therefore, extreme pressure to induce changes in behavior is necessary.

The way to overcome an individual’s resistance is to generate very strong emotions. At the same time, the stress level is also highly stimulated.

It takes a person to be highly emotional and very stressed for him to become permeable to the pressure that whoever wants to be brainwashed will exert.

Regrettably, the powers have become so sophisticated that it is now possible to exert a pressure that has the ability to mold the mind in an almost imperceptible way. Many people willingly submit to these powers without offering any resistance.

Consumerism is a good example of this, as well as dependence on social networks. If you pay attention, in both realities you can see the principles of brainwashing.

The process is so effective that people don’t even realize they’re being subjected to something like that. Rather, they believe that buying and systematically sharing their private life is a testament to their free will.