Thank you for reading! I think, after six months of distance, I felt secure enough in my ability to stand my ground and not get drawn back into the craziness. I’d experienced the real world long enough that I would never believe the cult’s propaganda about it again. My time away was rehab, and it broke my addiction to being part of a collective and having my days’ activities and beliefs dictated to me. So, to answer your question, it wasn’t so much part of my recovery to face them as it was evidence of my recovery.