Why quitting can be good

Having to be happy for the benefit of others is one example of emotional labour. Cabin crew, sales assistants and carers are all expected to regulate their emotions to provide the right experience for the customer. But what about High Control Groups? Wearing a Kingdom smile and being happy was a requirement for Dad as a Jehovah's Witnesses - and is replicated in other groups. Is this the ultimate in emotional labour?   If you'd like to support the podcast why not become  https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/   Research Paper Korczynski, M. (2003). Communities of coping: Collective emotional labour in service work. Organization, 10(1), 55-79. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247747517_Communities_of_Coping_Collective_Emotional_Labor_in_Service_Work   The Managed Heart by Arlie Hochschild Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; 3rd edition (13 April 2012) Language ‏ : ‎ English Paperback ‏ : ‎ 339 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520272943 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520272941

3 Aug 202159min

Just before her world premiere at the Galway Film Festival, Filmmaker and ex Jehovah's Witness Kamila Dydyna talks to us about Debutante, her short film about the experience of a young Jehovah's Witness having to endure a Judicial Committee, an internal hearing to determine whether she will be disfellowshipped and shunned. It's a powerful short film and Kamila talks about her motivation for making it. It's a wonderful interview and we so much enjoyed talking to her about the making of the film and her plans for the future. Support the 'What should I think about..?' and become a patron https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/   Support Kamila here https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/DebutanteFilm   Kamila's blog about her experience of making Debutante https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/making-film-against-all-odds-kamila-dydyna

31 Juli 20211h 1min

This bonus episode is a review of a lecture from the International Cultic Studies Association Convention that addresses the question of fundamentalist groups and the mental health of leavers who were raised into them.  Thank you to Producer Bob and Jordan for being guest panel members on this episode.

30 Juli 20211h 22min

Following on from our interview with Jill Adams, Celine and Stephen explore the trials and tribulations of finding love as a Jehovah's Witness and some of the challenges after you leave. Stephen opens up about his identity crisis upon leaving and some the effects it had upon his relationship. Tweet of the week looks at the Flood and the story of Noah and asks some tricky questions about the belief that it literally happened as written.

27 Juli 20211h 10min

High Control Groups insert themselves into their followers sex lives and relationships. This has consequences both while part of the Group and upon leaving. We speak to Jill Adams, ex Jehovah's Witness activist and creator of the YouTube channel 'The Fig Leaf' about some of these issues and the journey leavers make once they leave the beliefs behind. We talk about life inside the group including attitudes towards gender roles, the requirement of women to be in submission, sexual restrictions within marriage and outside, as well as what it's like to be brought before the internal judicial system of the congregation. We also discuss the conditions that allow abuse to happen within the organisation. Jill's channel is called the Fig Leaf, here is a link. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR_1M97L8eiWjPPt1OBGstQ

25 Juli 20211h

What are cognitive biases? Why do we have them? And how do cults manipulate them? We discuss heuristics and how they give rise to biases and delve into just a few of them including Essentialism, Conservatism, The Halo Effect, The Fundamental Attribution Error and the Self Serving Bias. We also talk about Daniel Kahneman's book 'Thinking fast and slow' and learn about the two system thinking model he uses.    Useful references Biases wheel https://www.visualcapitalist.com/every-single-cognitive-bias/ Cognitive biases list https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/   Thinking fast and slow, Danial Kahneman Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin; 1st edition (10 May 2012) Language ‏ : ‎ English Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141033576 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141033570

20 Juli 20211h 5min

Bethan is an ex mormon blogger and writes about her experiences as a member of the LDS church. In today's podcast she talks about her beliefs and worldview as a Mormon, early happy times within the Group as well as her struggles to maintain her beliefs even after she'd left. She also discusses the Group's position on the role of women, sex and sexuality and how it affected her. A fascinating interview with lot's of parallels to other Groups.

18 Juli 202158min

What is narcissism? How do people become narcissists? Is there a link between narcissism and leadership? What about cults are they led by narcissists? And what is malignant narcissism?  We discuss these questions by reviewing a lecture by Charles Zeiders and Peter Devlin author of the book Malignant Narcissism and Power: A Psychodynamic Exploration of Madness and Leadership. It's fascinating stuff! Our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout Our Merch https://evilsheep.teemill.com/   Book featured on today's show https://www.amazon.co.uk/Malignant-Narcissism-Power-Psychodynamic-Exploration/dp/0367279630 Lecture featured on today's show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrPyH3Q8mdg&t=308s

13 Juli 202159min