Brainwashing

Brainwashing

Brainwashing is a process that is brutal, invasive and which is not really possible under normally socially acceptable conditions. Furthermore, while I have heard that under certain (military) conditions brainwashing can be achieved in 24 hours, the methods employed are again not generally available to normal people in everyday life, nor to my knowledge would such methods in any way be legal as they would entail techniques that are not just psychologically brutalising, but physiologically brutalising too. In order to be brainwashed at a minimum 5 conditions need to exist:

1. The subject has to be removed from an environment of external influence
2. The subject has to be deprived of sleep
3. Inflict pain if the subject disagrees
4. Reward the subject with pleasure if they agree (only a small amount of pleasure is required compared to the amount of pain given)
5. Change their biochemistry

A certain amount of time is also necessary for the brainwashing to take effect. This is normally weeks or even months and in most cases, though traumatic, if reinstated into a normal environment even without rehabilitation, subjects begin a natural healing process. Therapy and particularly hypnotherapy makes the healing process much easier and faster of course.

A slower version of brainwashing, commonly referred to as indoctrination could also be considered to fall into this category, however this is agin not something that happens overnight, but rather over a period of at least weeks and months if not years. Furthermore, a whole sub-culture of belief systems has to be bought into. Even in this case, the first condition has to be present to a large degree. Essentially the best innoculation from this type of brainwashing is to be engaged with a varied and culturally diverse population as a routine part of the subject’s day. Some religious fanatics can be said to fall into this category and yet remain brainwashed, but it must be understood that in the very vast majority of these cases indoctrination from a very early age was sustained and consistent, complete with all the five requirements listed above in some cases.