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Original poster

Controversial networks (considered by some to be "cults") mumsnet readers need to be aware of

188 replies

hoodathunkit · 15/03/2020 07:08

This is going to be a very long thread and posting it is very overdue

The word "cult" is quite loaded and obviously one person's religious movement or psychotherapy / life coaching / wellness organisation is another person's cult.

Sometimes cultic dynamics arise in family and extended family groups also, so the word "cult" can be a loaded and problematic one.

There is a lot I need to share here, this is made more urgent by the fact that, while I train hard and am fairly healthy, I do have underlying health problems that mean there is a chance I may not survive the comming storm.

I am somewhat dyslexic and have always struggled with spelling. I am pushed for time and do not trust spelling / grammar apps on my computer so I hope readers will forgive my occasional typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

I will be doing this in small, digestible posts for ease of reading.

I would say "enjoy!" but what I am about to share is not remotely enjoyable. This is going to be a thread of horrifying, dark, twisty rabbit holes with many network links to material other posters here have shared.

More to follow shortly

OP posts:
DuckWillow · 15/03/2020 15:48

Am cursing you now lol....I have so much to do and I am down a rabbit hole.

Anyway you probably know about this but here’s a flyer about a one woman show she did. From madness to sanity in which she explores her own mental health and talks a little bit about a damaged adolescence.

www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4476685

DuckWillow · 15/03/2020 15:40

Hope you are okay hood as it sounds like you have a lot of worry with regards to this virus.

Your deep clean is a good idea. At the very least a nice clean home for isolation which is always good.

Am disappearing down the rabbit hole now about this woman. Weird....I always associated her with an 80s kink thing. Hadn’t realised she was still going.

Coyoacan · 15/03/2020 15:08

Thank you for posting this. I'm another one who doesn't understand the reaction of some people to your post.

Look after yourself

picklemewalnuts · 15/03/2020 14:27

I remember Hood from previous posts. She has extensive understanding and research around cults.

I completely understand her desire to ensure her work isn't lost before she can present it properly.

Her urgency to share means that her posts are a bit terse and incoherent, but her message is important and worth persevering with.

DuckWillow · 15/03/2020 14:04

Is she still behind the websites though (as in maintaining them)?
Or are they just old archived sites which still have her name (whatever it really is) on them.

Original poster
hoodathunkit · 15/03/2020 13:52

Perhaps she has grown as a person and is now able to put all that past to bed.

Of course people grow and change over time

However this woman is behind a diverse range of dubious websites that indicate that she has not changed at all

Sorry really have to go for now but please check the links in my earlier posts

OP posts:
Original poster
hoodathunkit · 15/03/2020 13:50

Thanks for posting OP - truly fascinating - and the way you have presented the timeline is clear - I have learnt quite a bit about a weird niche history so Thankyou - as someone upthread has said - this was a slightly odd (at best) group of fetish kinksters - which is fine as no one is being abused - n current times they will have got significant posts in major bodies - political parties charities or lobby groups

You are very welcome

Thank you for your post :)

Some of the extremely concerning things about Miss Martindale or whatever she calls herself now is that

a) she works as a child psychotherapist
b) she is delivering LGBTQ training to social workers and MH professionals that is accredited with CPD credits
c) she is running women's empowerment circles

there is more, but the cleaning awaits

OP posts:
DuckWillow · 15/03/2020 13:47

Her later interview as a child psychologist is interesting though. No matter what her odd past is she always came across as very intelligent and able to look at different things with a sometimes bizarre approach.

Perhaps she has grown as a person and is now able to put all that past to bed.

Original poster
hoodathunkit · 15/03/2020 13:45

The OP says, in their OP, that they are unwell. They have offered us some content, for free, which we can choose to read, or not.
OP, get well soon. I liked your posting style.

thanks for your kind post, much appreciated :)

Just to clarify

I am an older poster with heart and lung conditions on top of a virus outbreak. There is no proper contact tracing or testing here so I do not know if I am infected.

I am not ill other than with asthma and a rare medical condition that I would rather not post about as it is outing

I exercise very seriously to stay well and so I hope that this storm will pass me by but I cannot be 100% confident until the storm has passed.

Things will get bad for me if I cannot get outside to exercise. I can and will exercise indoors but it will be very difficult.

If I do become unwell or die I will have over 10 years worth of research into sinister, child abusing, misogynist cults and psychotherapy quacks that may fall into the wrong hands or go to waste.

I was planning to make some films and podcasts but I am feeling the pressure of time as I do not want my work to go to waste

I am a trafficking survivor and have experienced trauma and mental health problems. I would never deny that part of my experience

One of my more painful, recent experiences relates to being gaslighted over money and bullying by various people, including family members, who were able to dismiss me as deluded as I have a history of mental health problems.

I would invite readers here to check out my links themselves and, if something does not make sense, just ask me and I will do my best to explain or clarify, as I always do.

Anyone calling me out in the disgusting, gaslighting manner that some posters have here, should feel free to post details of their mental health qualifications and their reasons for concluding that I am sufficiently mentally unwell to be taken seriously.

I am not under lock down yet but may be soon, simply because of my proximity to very elderly people whose vulnerabilities are more significant than my own and my proximity to an outbreak.

I hope that clarifies things :)

More to follow on this cult soon, however I must get this deep clean done in case I become ill and cannot do it later

OP posts:
lucasthecat · 15/03/2020 13:43

Thanks for posting OP - truly fascinating - and the way you have presented the timeline is clear - I have learnt quite a bit about a weird niche history so Thankyou - as someone upthread has said - this was a slightly odd (at best) group of fetish kinksters - which is fine as no one is being abused - n current times they will have got significant posts in major bodies - political parties charities or lobby groups

DuckWillow · 15/03/2020 13:26

I will read more but tbh I have always seen Miss Martindale (or whatever she calls herself these days) as a kinkster with some odd beliefs. I've never taken her or any of her societies seriously.

I will have a read though and check out some of the links.

HorseWithNoLang · 15/03/2020 13:04

.. it just makes it all the more intriguing...

Agree.

Never heard of any of these people or groups before.

Louis Theroux territory.

WrathofFaeKlopp · 15/03/2020 12:57

Thanks for this information, I will study it later. Let's hope the thread isn't pulled.

How fascinating that some people react to the posting in such negative terms.

Why is that I wonder?
it just makes it all the more intriguing.

Original poster
hoodathunkit · 15/03/2020 12:16

off to do some more frantic deep cleaning so that's it from me for a while

OP posts:
Original poster
hoodathunkit · 15/03/2020 12:15

That's not the point.

It is the point

It is exactly the point

OP posts:
Original poster
hoodathunkit · 15/03/2020 12:14

Why are some posters not pleased that this is being raised/discussed?

If they don't like it can't they just fuck off?

I find it interesting - should I go and see a fucking psychiatrist?

Thank you for this post, much appreciated Flowers

I always expect gaslighting when posting about tese kinds of issues, but I seem to have hit a nerve here

I would appreciate some specific details about why exactly some posters here want to dismiss me as mentally unwell

OP posts:
Original poster
hoodathunkit · 15/03/2020 12:11

I think you are just advising not to click on links within the links?

exactly

usually, but not always, links within the way back machine at archive.org will take you to another page on the way back machine

links on the archive at archive.is will take you to the (possibly dodgy) website

one thing you can do if on the archive.is is to right click on the link so that it gives you a drop down menu

then select "copy linnked address"

then enter that link into archive.is

then remove the archive prefix and save again

OP posts:
Original poster
hoodathunkit · 15/03/2020 12:07

bingbangbing

In what way exactly do you think I am unwell?

other posters here understand and appreciate my concerns

can you please be specific about why you think I am unwell?

Do you mean mentally unwell? are you a mental health professional?

OP posts:
Oncewasblueandyellowtwo · 15/03/2020 12:01

hoodathunkit

I think you are just advising not to click on links within the links?

OneEpisode · 15/03/2020 11:41

The OP says, in their OP, that they are unwell. They have offered us some content, for free, which we can choose to read, or not.
OP, get well soon. I liked your posting style.

HorseWithNoLang · 15/03/2020 11:41

Ah, sorry.

bingbangbing · 15/03/2020 11:23

@HorseWithNoLang

That's not the point.

The OP sounds very unwell.

I second @Mlou32

HorseWithNoLang · 15/03/2020 11:13

Why are some posters not pleased that this is being raised/discussed?

If they don't like it can't they just fuck off?

I find it interesting - should I go and see a fucking psychiatrist?

OneEpisode · 15/03/2020 11:03

I find cults very interesting. “panacea” is one founded by women. It starts with an established religion (Anglican Christianity) and with principals like respect and care, and ended in abuse. They moved to Bedford. They told followers that the garden of Eden was close to a decent Debenhams. To encourage them to commit to the cult.

OneEpisode · 15/03/2020 11:00

OP you can report your own post if you’ve posted links you now regret. Mumsnet can edit sometimes but are very ready to delete a post. You can repost without the links.

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