How Growing Up in a Cult Prepared Me for the Pandemic
I Was In Isolation Boot Camp
My sisters and I got a kick out of watching “regular” people cope with the isolation of 2020 due to the pandemic.
It truly did bring the worst out in a lot of people. They simply weren’t psychologically prepared for the demands it placed on their autonomous lives. It was sometimes surprising to see who broke down under the pressure and became belligerent and combative.
I grew up in a religious cult.
There were more nos than yeses in my life until I left home at age eighteen to forge a new life for myself. Our way of life was like the strictest COVID lifestyle but on steroids.
Isolation? Yes. Everyone outside the church were sinners after all.
We weren’t allowed to mix and mingle with the civilian world. Y’all were sinners and we were told to stay away from you. Our parents enforced our isolation by homeschooling us, refusing to let us play with kids outside the cult, and removing all temptations that everyone else took for granted from our lives. Movies, books, dating, sports, music, TV, radio, holidays, worldly clothes, well, you get the picture, everything everyone else was doing.
Virus variants? For sure. Just about anything one might enjoy was labeled a sin. Sin was the great virus — toxic, lethal, and spreading like wildfire among humanity.
We were told that we were born in sin and even as tiny newborns needed redeeming. All those OTHER people were doomed. They were merely one step away from being the Walking Dead. We had to avoid their potential deadly bite at all costs.
Death? You bet. We were born to die. Life was one long COVID test to see whether we were positive or negative. If positive, we could die and burn in hell for eternity.
We spent more time thinking about the next life than we did about the current life. This life was merely a long test to see if we’d qualify for the next life which was supposed to be better if you earned it.
Masks? If you count long gray dresses to the ground and capes to cover the silhouette of your breasts, then yes. We were dressed accordingly for our own protection.
We were told that our bodies were something to be ashamed of and that any sexual urges should be resisted. Virginity was prized. The garb was merely a means to keep us from tempting other people with these bodies we inherited through the lottery of birth. The less we were aware of our bodies the better off we would be. The long gray dress did a good job of making us invisible and thus protecting us from wanton ways which would ultimately kill us.
I didn’t find the pandemic to be all that stressful.
After all, I’d prepared for isolation, masks, viruses, and death during my formative years. In fact, my life growing up was far more restrictive than what the government mandated for a short period of time.
Think about it!
During the pandemic, I still had a TV, music, my computer, iPhone, and plenty of things to entertain me as I waited for the day when things would return to normal. While everyone else was having a meltdown, I was feeling very much at home but blessed at the same time. I could remember much starker days. Trust me.
Life is funny, ain’t it.
Teresa is an author, world traveler, and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
