The Cult That Disguised Itself as Empowerment

If you think you’d never fall for a cult, you’re in good company.
That’s what most of NXIVM’s members believed.

When actor and whistleblower Sarah Edmondson joined NXIVM, it looked like a self-improvement program. The curriculum focused on communication, goals, money, and relationships. It attracted high-achievers and promised transformation. Twelve years later, Sarah learned those same tools were being used to control and manipulate people. What looked like personal growth became branding, blackmail, and trauma packaged as empowerment.

With NXIVM back in the headlines after Allison Mack’s new podcast, Sarah’s story matters again. Coercive control doesn’t only exist in cults. It can live anywhere that demands obedience, loyalty, or silence.

The Illusion of Belonging

Sarah said, “When you’re in a cult, you don’t think you’re in a cult.”
It begins as connection. People join because they want to belong, to grow, to be part of something that feels important.

The danger appears when questioning becomes betrayal. When a system convinces you that your doubts mean weakness, control has already begun. Whether it happens in a company, a coaching program, or a relationship, the sign is simple: when loyalty to someone else replaces loyalty to yourself, you are no longer safe.

How Black-and-White Thinking Creates Control

Sarah said, “Black-and-white thinking is culty thinking.”
Control thrives in certainty. Coercive systems divide the world into right and wrong, in or out, pure or contaminated.

When a leader or group defines the only truth, people stop thinking for themselves. The cure is curiosity. Ask hard questions. Stay open to the gray. Certainty is comforting, but it can cost you your agency.

Healing After Escape

Sarah shared, “Leaving NXIVM was the easy part. Healing after was the work.”
Leaving is only the beginning. The real work comes after the escape, when you start to rebuild trust in yourself.

Healing from coercive control means learning to recognize your own voice again. Therapy, boundaries, and small consistent choices rebuild safety. The process is rarely dramatic. It is quiet and repetitive. Freedom is not about the exit. It is about learning to feel safe inside your own life again.

The Truth About Growth

Sarah still believes in growth but rejects the idea that people must be fixed to be worthy.
She said, “You can go on a seeking journey and want to better yourself, but you’re already whole.”

Self-improvement should not require surrender. You can want more without losing yourself. The healthiest kind of growth comes from self-respect, not from obedience.

Trust Your Gut

Sarah gave one of the clearest warnings: “If you’re in a group and your gut tells you something’s off, and the leader says you’re in resistance, leave.”

Your instincts are there to protect you. Pay attention when you feel uneasy. When a person or system tells you that your discomfort means disloyalty, walk away.Listen to the Full Episode

Sarah Edmondson joined me on Reinvention Room to share what really happened inside NXIVM—the rise, the unraveling, and the lessons we can all use to reclaim our own agency.

🎧 Listen to Part 1: “Inside the Notorious NXIVM Cult: Sarah Edmondson’s Story” — available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

If you’ve ever questioned your belonging, your intuition, or the systems you put your faith in—this one’s for you.

Listen Now: The Reinvention Room Podcast

Watch Now: Reinvention Room on YouTube

If you’ve got a podcast or an idea that won’t leave you alone, here's your sign to take it seriously. Not just because it's fun (it is), but because it can change how people see you, connect with you, and trust you. That's the magic.

And if you're wondering how to make it actually work? Book a free clarity call with me at allisonhare.com/freecall. I'll help you turn that idea into a tight, bingeable, client-attracting machine.