JG Survivor Resources - Home

by Jake Gustafson - June 3, 2020 edited January 7, 2021
This site is not intended as medical advice but rather as a collection of personal accounts and personal spiritual points of view regarding the related psychology.

This site is for people susceptible to enable or be emotionally harmed by false spiritual leaders of southeast PA. This includes some people "formerly Christian" who were abusing positions of power the whole time such as in cases that are familiar to me. This page intends to prevent and expose these abuses of power, as well as offer survivor resources. This site also provides personal testimonies (See Stories).

Identifying Problems

Take a look at Sociopath: diagnosis-and-symptoms. That is page has often been the first result on Google for “sociopath” since at least 2008 and seems to be the same site that had formerly had a list of 20 symptoms. Take a look: you may find an outline of your significant other's or confidant's life story. If so, get out and get help. Don't let them cut you off from your friends, nor from people who might know more about past behaviors or false repentance.

Identifying a female sociopath/psychopath

Marrying Medusa: How to Survive a Female Psychopath by Anthony Dream Johnson. Sociopaths and psychopaths share several traits in common, and of course both can be as disruptive or dangerous. Scott A. Bonn Ph.D.'s Psychology Today article How to Tell a Sociopath from a Psychopath discusses the differences. The video has very helpful information such as how psychopaths are very good at mirroring your personality to appear as a “soul mate” even within your first encounter with them. One technique that they use then and later is "love bombing," which is intended to manipulate and is a precursor to more abuse.

Identifying a male sociopath

Here is a shorter video as well that is specifically about identifying a male sociopath early. This is a good video for someone who thinks of themselves as "smart" and good person" who may get blindsided. Having a good upbringing may actually make you more susceptible since you are not expecting others to do harm for pleasure or control.

If you have been violated or “ruined” by a narcissist, sociopath, or psychopath or other dangerous person or want to reduce your risk of that by identifying them early, I encourage you to view the help resources here and at the bottom. Watch the video(s) and see my Christian perspective on the issue below before assuming these conditions aren't real.

The idea that the Bible says all diseases come from demons is incorrect. It is sometimes used as a false accusation against the Bible. The Bible separates the idea of evil spirits from disease, listing them separately such as in lists of things from which people were healed. For more accurate information about spirituality, see streetlightinfo.com The accepted idea in psychology that sociopaths cannot be cured seems to conflict with the Bible, which offers hope for all people. A Christian view of sociopathy may include the idea that people who don't change are neither willing to change nor to accept Christ's help to do so. Another view is that even sociopathy may not be "actualized" if a person develops in an environment that doesn't trigger them (that part is cited in various medical literature), and that choice can affect the outcome.

However, the "nurture" or choice aspects of "nature vs nurture" do not apply to all psychological diagnoses. For example, there are movements to not view cognitive differences such as autism and ADD as something wrong with someone, but rather as diagnoses which offer different strengths and weaknesses than "average" people in between have.

Stories

Survivor Services

Materials

I am happy to say that a few years ago I found love and got married to someone who follows Christ. After getting help from hearing and reading an outline of my own life story in an ACoA meeting and in Adult Children of Alcoholics by Dr. Janet G. Woititz EdD, I began to connect to people who are emotionally and financially stable instead of feeling the need to be a rescuer. Another book along those lines is "Wounded Boys Heroic Men," which has a title that purposely appeals to that dysfunction and is a collection of testimonies. The latter book is emotionally heavy, so if it applies to you, you may need to take a break between chapters.

As the video above explains, every sociopath is a narcissist, but not every narcissist is a sociopath. There is an excellent culture of questions and answers including personal experiences if you search for “narcissist” on Quora. These experiences and behaviors are closely related to sociopathy. You can ask questions on Quora about how to identify or escape from a bad situation of any kind. There are both experienced and educated people on there. Learning more can help you prevent people from manipulating you even if you are in a situation with children and can't avoid the person.

Assistance

If the person committed abuse or neglect or other crimes, contact help such as Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) (215) 343-6543 or the police (911) immediately. If you've seen abuse of someone else's child, you can contact ChildLine at (800) 932-0313.

If a person is willing to get help, refer them to help for that such as America's Keswick. You can find more information about substance abuse at The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, including how to avoid enabling drug abuse.