Reporters and Saboteurs
Categorised in: Insights
Safety is of vital concern to anyone who has been traumatized. It often drives your thoughts, feelings and choices. “Is that person safe or not?” is probably the most often asked internal question. A hyper-vigilant state keeps you on alert long after the trauma has passed. In actuality, your view of what or whom is safe—and what is not—has been skewed whenever there has been abuse. Some of the people who “feel” safe may be abusive or manipulative. But since abuse is a familiar feeling, the denial parts can be taken in again by smooth sounding words.
People are conned when there is a wall between the “gut” feelings, the shattered parts of the mind, and what the spirit may perceive. The more shattered and dissociative the person, the more areas that are walled off from a united agreement. If the trauma is denied and separated by amnesic walls, it often is repeated in various forms until it has been worked through and healed. The more parts of a person that communicate and network together, the more safety can be maintained. To “not know” keeps you open to being re-traumatized and unable to wisely protect yourself. See also the article on: “Why is Safety so Important?”
One major issue concerning safety has to do with what we could call “reporters”. Reporters can be real people or can be alters inside or may even be programming that is installed in the survivor. In a simplistic example, a family often has an unwritten rule “don’t talk, don’t tell the family secrets”. The victim is deeply wounded by that rule, judges the family, and swears they will tell (or alternately that they won’t tell). Then, just like other judgments, this bitter root bears bad fruit, and the person finds themselves gossiping frequently or silent and rigid in their refusal to tell anything about the trauma. Either extreme is hurtful and is the result of taking on God’s job as Righteous Judge toward their family. It will produce negative fruit until that judgment is confessed and forgiven. See Basic Healing Concepts. So the victim may find themselves frequently wailing to others about how horrible their family is, or at times, take the other extreme and not even share the truth of the abuse that will help them find healing. Again, either side is excessive and will keep them trapped in a negative cycle.
When the trauma and resulting dissociation happened, there can be a rather objective, often detached part that watches what is happening, takes mental notes and is able to report it. If this reporter tells the story, there may be little, if any emotion involved. The feelings have been split off into separate areas where they are contained until they leak out or overflow at inopportune times. There can be more than one reporter alter, each having a different area of responsibility and perspective.
In a similar way to a journalism reporter, the alter who does that job remembers what she considers important facts, stores them on the computer of her brain, and gives them to her “boss” when it is required. Sometimes it might be the counselor or friend who receives the story in its unedited, unemotional, factual way. The listener might be tempted to believe it is not a big deal, because there is no accompanying nonverbal information to confirm that story is true. Since the story is cut off from emotion and physical “body language”, it does not seem authentic. Contrary to what the listener would guess, this is a red flag that there has been severe trauma that cannot be processed in the usual nonverbal ways.
This is true in a much more complex way with cult survivors. The reporters are very valuable to the cult. They tell if the victim is trying to get help or letting their secrets out. Thus there could be a number of reporters that report on different areas and have instructions to trigger certain programs if the survivor is talking or leaving or whatever the cult does not want. If, for example the father has groomed the victim to tell him what is going on, he may be able to trigger that alter to come out and tell, even if the victim knows this will put themselves or others in jeopardy. There can be many “silence programs”, programs to retraumatize, self-destruct, drop out of therapy, confusion, and on and on. These are designed to keep the survivor from getting help, and at the mercy of the cult. There may be a relative or so called “friend” who is the external reporter too, who keeps an eye on the victim to see they keep silent.
Reporting does not have to be done in person. Electronic messages, phone/cell phone messages in code, prearranged signals, and even messages interdimensionally are possible. As witty and sneaky as any secret agent, reporters can be programmed in more ways than we can imagine. This brings up the subject of saboteurs. Reporters can sabotage progress, but there can also be whole categories of alters dedicated to sabotaging the healing journey.
Saboteurs can be as simple as those caught in the conflict of fear of change or of the unknown, so they resist healing. Or they might be as complex as programmed alters who use specific mechanisms to keep the victim stuck in their cycle of trauma. They can be like “protectors” who use strong negative emotions to keep people from getting close. See Self Defense Systems article. This is a major reason why safety is such a huge issue. If you can’t be sure when you are betraying your own self, or pushing away helpful people and allowing perpetrators in, how can you ever feel safe?
There are specific prayers focused on creating a safe environment, which should be on-going. Trust needs to be continually built with support people and counselors, since that is such a difficult area for you who have had trauma.
It is common to find this resistance to healing; in fact, it should be expected and taken is stride as a part of the journey. Acceptance of every part of your system is so essential for healing. Don’t be surprised if you have just made good progress and then a denial part jumps out and questions everything that has been achieved.
Saboteurs can originate from the denial side in saying it was all imagination or that none of this ever happened. They can also come from the pain side of the conflict and be motivated by intense fear of punishment that will come from not cooperating with the perpetrators. Whatever the source, they need to be met with respect and openness. Listen to their story, no matter how bizarre it sounds, and take their fears seriously. Remember, they know something we might not know, and we need to take that into account. Don’t demand that everything makes sense logically, there are advances in technology we can barely imagine, not including the demonic activity that can take place in other dimensions. Great discernment is needed in finding the source of the pain and conflict.
Now lest we get upset at how this folly can happen, remember, the reporter alters and saboteurs were born out of severe trauma and often live in constant fear of something terrible happening. This is not their imagination. Often, there is such ruthlessness and horror perpetrated against humans that they have a real reason to live in fear. Programming can also cause self-inflicted pain, anxiety, torment, and more. Often there is demonic involvement, so the demons will intensify the torment and pain.
What makes this all so complex is that you the survivor are pitted against yourself to betray yourself and stay in bondage. See how the cult would not have to worry about the secrets getting out, if the victim comes and reports to a cult member every time they go against the agenda of the cult? This is a major reason why safety is such a huge issue. If you can’t be sure when you are betraying your own self, how can you ever feel safe?
Fortunately, none of this surprised Jehovah-God. He can never be out-smarted. He understands it all and has unusual Holy Spirit-led tools and ways to set people free. He is Faithful and Trustworthy. The bottom line is that programming is a belief system and like all ungodly beliefs, can be changed by the truth. You can find freedom in giving up the lies and fears for what Jesus, the Way the Truth and the Life, has to say.
You now have a choice to break from your self-destructive past patterns and take steps toward healing. You are not ensnared by lies unless you choose to be. You can let the Truth set you free. You can choose to work with all your parts to walk in the light and communicate together so you can have greater measures of safety. Agree with the reporters and saboteurs inside to work together for a different kind of “safety” than the old one they were previously pursuing that got you traumatized and stuck. Let Yahweh give the reporters and saboteurs new jobs that help you on your healing journey.
Use the resources on this website to find greater insight and understanding for all your system. Check out the links and referral network on this website too.
I bless you with wisdom, discernment and especially hope in being true to yourself as you confidently and safely heal.