The modern techniques of brainwashing and menticide – those perversions of psychology – can bring almost any man into submission and surrender.
This chilling truth comes from the book, The Rape of The Mind by Dr. Joost Meerloo.
He was a psychiatrist who treated survivors of Nazi concentration camps and later studied how American POWs in Korea ended up parroting Communist ideology.
He describes how relentless psychological pressure can turn even intelligent, strong-willed people into obedient followers.
In the book, he makes two deeply unsettling arguments.
First, these methods of mind control are not confined to dictatorships.
They are at play, of course, in a subtle way, in democratic societies as well.
You see, the political and corporate elites are always fighting for more money and power.
So they are constantly assaulting your mind in an attempt to recruit you.
It’s in their best interest that people are capable of doing their jobs, but nothing more.
Essentially, their goal is to create an environment that produces useful idiots on a massive scale.
Second, only a few people seem capable of resisting this mental conditioning.
They’re not immune to propaganda. But they have developed a kind of inner strength that helps them recognize it, question it, and push back against the manipulation of their behavior.
In this article, we’ll explore how you can become part of that rare, enlightened minority.
The Fifth Martyr
Under the communist regime in Albania, there was a notorious place called the prison of Spac.
It was built into the face of a mountain where winters are harsh and summers insufferable.
Now, this place is not for criminals. It is reserved for people who dare to speak against the regime.
They are forced to work in the mines, surviving on scraps and enduring systematic torture.
It is a place designed to break even the toughest souls.
But then something special happens.
A small puppy slips through a hole in the prison fence.
The prisoners take him close. They feed him with what little bread they had, name him Tart, and raise him as their own.
Over time, Tart grows up to be a big, loyal dog.
For them, he’s a humane thing in a place guarded by animals.
Then the political prisoners organize a massive revolt that brings the entire prison to its knees.
For three days, there’s a massive fight against the guards.
And during the chaos, Tart is witnessing his friends being beaten, so he fearlessly attacks the guards and the special forces.
Now, they don’t have any illusion that they can gain their freedom, but all they ask from the regime is to be treated like humans.
Unfortunately, the regime rejects their demands and brings in the army.
The revolt is crushed, and the prisoners have to face more punishment.
Most of them receive added sentences, while the 4 main organizers are sentenced to death.
For their sublime act of courage and resistance, today they’re remembered as martyrs of freedom.
But the regime isn’t done…
They gather all the prisoners, set up a hanging tripod, and announce that there will be one more trial.
This time, the accused is Tart.
One of the prisoners, a former Colonel, says to the guard: “Please don’t hurt him, if you want a soul, take mine instead.”
“Don’t worry”, one of the guards sneered, “Your turn will come.”
Tart becomes the fifth martyr.
This story perfectly illustrates a key lesson in protecting your mind from being killed.
Never underestimate the monstrosity of humans.
In situations of extreme cruelty, those who have been able to survive the experience and even thrive after regaining their freedom are those who fully accept the situation they are in.
They have no illusions. They don’t tell themselves, “This will pass,” or “they wouldn’t dare.”
They know that things won’t get better, it won’t get easier, and that they will probably die.
It may seem like pessimism, but it’s not. It’s pure realism. You’re acutely aware of what you’re going through, and that allows you to tap into every bit of brain function and emotional potential you have to make it.
So you don’t waste your energy on false hopes that someone will save you, and you stop believing your tormentor might wake up one day with a conscience.
Instead, you concentrate on how you can endure one more moment. From that clarity, you can find strength because you’re reclaiming your brain.
But this brings us to a more challenging realization…
We Are Accomplices
You know, people living in countries with high levels of corruption, or with a totalitarian past, often see themselves as victims of fate.
They say, “Some evil people rose to power and ruined everything.”
I understand their view, but I disagree with it. In fact, I believe we are all accomplices.
As I said, during communism, there were special prisons for people against the regime.
We basically identified some of the wisest and smartest people, and sent them to internment camps.
As a society, we destroyed them and their families, but we also destroyed ourselves. Because we silenced the very people who could have helped us rise.
Those individuals could’ve become teachers, parents, politicians, writers, researchers, psychiatrists… and they could’ve instilled a culture of responsibility and enhanced functionality in how we think and live.
It’s not surprising that, to this day, we haven’t been able to establish democracy. Even after communism fell, we didn’t punish those who helped the regime (the spies, the prosecutors, and the guards), and we kept the same mentality.
So, for over 80 years, what we have had is mediocracy.
Mediocre leaders, mediocre governments, a mediocre population.
One might say, “Sure, the leaders are corrupt and a lot of government workers are useless, but the people are not like that. They don’t represent who we really are.”
Yes, they do.
They didn’t fall out of the sky.
They are a product of our daily life, of our compromised behavior, of the narratives we tolerate, and the voices we’ve chosen to suppress.
So the sicker the society, the sicker those at the top.
Now, of course, in every country, there are many smart and capable individuals. Some have more, some have less, but we all have them, right?
The problem is that, more often than not, they are ostracized by the crowd or find participating in politics beneath them.
However, as Plato warned us, one of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
There is another quote I found while researching for this article that perfectly captures what I’m trying to say:
People who elect corrupt politicians, impostors, thieves, and traitors are not victims, but accomplices.
The masters of thought
Whoever controls the media controls the language we use—and the ideas we discuss. When certain words, phrases, and ideas are promoted while others are quietly suppressed, people begin thinking and expressing themselves only within the boundaries set by the media.
Rape of the Mind by Joost Meerloo
Over time, these narratives become familiar, and eventually, we accept them as our own. We internalize these views without questioning whether they’re accurate, beneficial, or if better alternatives exist. That’s coercive persuasion dressed in a business suit.
It doesn’t feel like brainwashing techniques, because it doesn’t need to.
Look, no matter where you live, the media is probably controlled by a few individuals. And they decide to do business with certain corporations and political parties.
Now, what narratives are they going to push in their media outlets?
Narratives that give you a clear view of reality or narratives that serve the owner and his partners?
So we think what people at the top want us to think.
Of course, there are many honest journalists and media personalities who truly want the best for their audience.
But in the grand scheme of things, with or without the conscious awareness of people working there, the media puts the population into a…
Constant State of Confusion
One of the most unsettling experiences reported by survivors of concentration camps was the feeling that nothing made sense anymore.
It became impossible to distinguish truth from lies and right from wrong.
Everything felt uncertain and meaningless.
That environment stripped away their sense of normality, and eventually, they’re ability to think clearly. They became mentally paralyzed.
Today, something eerily similar is happening on a different scale.
Major national issues are wrapped in endless arguments, conflicting data, and shouted opinions.
When the dust settles, the average viewer is just as ignorant about the real cause of their problems as it was before consuming all of this content.
What’s worse is that this confusion instills in them feelings of fear and hopelessness. It floods the human mind with so much noise, so much contradiction, that negative thoughts begin to dominate their daily life.
As a way to protect their sanity, people will be pushed to look for easy solutions.
This is why extreme ideologies gain traction: They offer quick fixes and simple answers.
It gives people a sense of control, of understanding… that finally something makes sense.
But not everyone seeks answers at all. They just want to numb the noise.
So they turn to alcohol, drugs, or other cheap pleasures to tune out the world. Those habits will alter their brain function and trap them in a feedback loop of escapism.
Which brings us to…
The Use of Addiction
Meerlo argues that democracy ends where enslavement to drugs and alcohol begins.
Democracy means having the freedom to live your life as you want, but it also means being responsible and thinking for yourself.
Addiction strips people of control over their minds and actions. It hijacks brain function, rewires neural behavior, and shuts down the part of you that questions or resists.
Basically, it puts people in a state where they become vulnerable to mind control techniques
Now, in countries with high levels of corruption, every single system has a lack of meritocracy and efficiency.
This strengthens the underground world, making illegal drugs readily available.
Meanwhile, above ground, corporations formulate products to be as addictive as possible.
The regulations toward products like opioids, alcohol, nicotine, sugar, social media apps… remain loose because the corporations that sell them own a piece of the system.
They either buy off politicians directly or fund their campaigns, controlling them indirectly.
As the economy declines, people have to work harder to maintain their standard of living.
They have little time for rest or social activities.
And all these pressures create an environment where people crave an escape from the monotony and problems.
The easiest way to do that is by grabbing whatever gives them a temporary sense of relief. They gradually develop an addiction, and good luck overcoming it.
Isolation
The modern means of mass communication bring the entire world daily into each man’s home; the techniques of propaganda and salesmanship have been refined and systematized; there is scarcely any hiding place from the constant visual and verbal assault on the human mind.
Rape of the Mind by Joost Meerloo
Earlier, we talked about how the media creates confusion. But it also has the power to isolate you.
In the past, cults and totalitarian regimes had to isolate people physically to control them.
Today, that effect can be achieved through propaganda alone.
Here’s how it works…
Mass media and politicians increasingly promote division. They fragment society into groups based on socio-economic background, race, ethnicity, ideology, and gender.
Then they shove these divisive narratives down people’s throats until they start seeing other groups as not worthy of trust… or even as enemies.
Of course, people have differences. But they’re nowhere near as pronounced as these narratives suggest. And for sure, they don’t justify all that hostility.
Still, the damage is done.
Even if you don’t subscribe to these tribal narratives, you can still be affected because they influence people around you.
When you talk to them, it’s very noticeable that you don’t really belong, which makes it harder to connect with them.
To make matters worse…
The propaganda machine frequently amplifies our deep fears, like economic uncertainty, public health crises, civil unrest, and other threats.
Again, these issues exist but are blown out of proportion to keep people on edge.
Finally, social media platforms reinforce the division by promoting content that already aligns with our views, making it hard to consider other perspectives or understand what’s truly happening around us.
As a result, people become trapped in fictional versions of reality.
The more isolated and fearful we feel, the more we rely on the media and authority figures to offer us a sense of certainty and direction, which makes us even more isolated.
So it’s a vicious cycle that makes us vulnerable to mind control.
If you think feeling restless and alone is enough, think again.
Isolation can have a far more powerful and disturbing effect.
The Masochistic Pact
When someone is separated from their usual environment, they lose the ability to compare their current state with familiar, normal experiences.
This loss of perspective can trigger long-buried fears, anxieties, memories, and especially guilt.
And here’s the thing: We can feel it for almost anything.
Something we did.
Something we didn’t do.
Failing to meet expectations.
Even just a vague sense that we’re not “enough,” without knowing why.
Under stress and isolation, these feelings are triggered, and they create a strong urge to confess or seek punishment as a form of relief.
Manipulative people and regimes exploit this tendency to break down our resistance.
They repeatedly suggest that we’ve done something wrong or immoral, and we need to obey to feel better.
In the final stages of brainwashing, where accusations, pressure, and even physical abuse become overwhelming, victims often start to blame themselves.
But at first, it’s not compliance.
It’s a strategy to cope with the relentless pressure.
They believe that by being more cruel to themselves than their oppressors, they can somehow prevent greater suffering.
Meerloo argued that brainwashing methods provoke the same inner defensive mechanisms observed in depressed patients.
Through their mental self-beatings, they try to get rid of fear and avoid a more deeply seated guilt.
In other words, they punish themselves in advance to overcome the idea of final punishment for some hidden, unknown, and worse crime.
This pattern is also common in victims of domestic abuse. That’s why even though they’re suffering, they find it difficult to walk away.
But as the pressure intensifies and self-punishment doesn’t bring relief, his actions evolve into a desperate plea for mercy.
It turns into a ‘Masochistic Pact.’
The victim submits, not simply out of compliance, but as a way to seek connection and compassion from their tormentor.
It’s as if they’re saying, “I am punishing myself as you want; please stop hurting me.”
And behind that, deep in the circuitry of the neurons, the cycle becomes hardwired.
Which brings us to a difficult modern question:
If extreme views in the media can send people down such a dark path…
Should we censor those who spread them?
To Censure, or Not to Censure
A quick historical note: The Republic of Albania was a communist country from 1945 to 1991.
During the same period, Kosovo was occupied by Yugoslavia. Today, Kosovo is an independent republic with approximately 93% of its population being ethnic Albanian. So when I use the term Albanian, I also refer to those from Kosovo.
For a long time, I believed it was a good idea to censor certain individuals who promote extreme views, or at least to regulate the language used by influential figures on TV or social media.
But to my surprise, I changed my mind because of an interview with Adem Demaci.
He was an Albanian intellectual also known as the Mandela of Europe because he spent 28 years in prison for openly opposing the Serbian occupation of Kosovo.
By the time of the interview, Kosovo had declared independence.
The journalist asked him what should be done about individuals who publicly lie or try to discredit important figures like him who have contributed to the country.
He said, “Let them express themselves freely.”
Demaci argued that it’s essential to build a culture where everyone can say what they believe, even if it’s controversial, even if they’re paid to lie.
When their views are exposed to open criticism and debate, the public becomes less likely to believe them.
He then shared something even more surprising.
Back in the 1960s, when he and his fellow activists spoke out against the Yugoslav regime, they hoped to be imprisoned.
They knew Albanians would be more motivated to resist and draw international attention to Yugoslavia’s repressive policies.
You know, they would ask, “What did these young men do? Did they rob? Did they steal?”
Well, they spoke against the Federation.
It doesn’t look good, does it?
All those repressive policies caused a lot of suffering to Albanians in Kosovo, but they also mobilized them against the occupier.
It woke them up. It made them stop pretending things “are not that bad”.
And for a country to move forward, it needs intellectuals who are not scared of words and who are willing to sacrifice for what they believe in.
Which leads us to…
Who Resists and Why
Meerloo analyzed people from all walks of life: ordinary civilians trapped in internment camps after occupation, those who openly resisted oppressive regimes, a few psychologists and psychoanalysts, and soldiers captured as prisoners of war.
Dr Meerloo analyzed all sorts of people who went through internment camps and noticed some similarities in who endured and why.
Generally speaking, those who were able to endure that harrowing experience were those who had self-awareness, who accepted the danger, and who realized, even slightly, how bestial man can be.
But let’s take a closer look at what really sets them apart.
People often surrender primarily due to unresolved internal conflicts. Meaning when you have a lot of guilt, fear, or past trauma.
Under normal circumstances, these conflicts are kept under control, but during intense pressure, they can resurface with overwhelming force.
This is why athletes are no better equipped than those who are physically weaker. And having a high level of intelligence cannot help you either; in fact, your intellect makes it easier to find rationalizations to surrender.
So what actually helps people endure is fortitude.
You know, in high-stress situations, your brain can become a screen that projects a series of vivid, worst-case scenarios.
These internal images are reinforced by fear and emotional response, and they bypass logic. It’s very difficult not to believe them.
That inner voice starts begging you: “Just give in. Make it stop.”
Now, resilient people recognize that this inner voice is not a product of logic. They understand that if they listen to it, things will get worse. So they learn to ignore that voice and focus on surviving another moment.
Another effective strategy is embracing religious faith or political ideology.
But the most powerful source of resilience is the sense of mission or inner purpose.
It’s when you identify with a higher ideal, which can be love for your homeland, love of freedom or justice, or even hate and revenge. A clear, deeply held belief gives people a reason to resist, regardless of the physical or mental toll.
In other words, having something you’re willing to die for can give you the strength to keep living.
Now, people will always try to escape a hellish environment, and those trapped in it will do their best to survive.
However, there are some special individuals.
They will voluntarily embrace hell to inspire their oppressed people to go…
From Silence to Freedom
As I mentioned earlier, Demaci and his friends were hoping to be imprisoned. In a way, they lured Serbian authorities to do the unjust thing, hoping they could trigger the spirit of rebellion in Albanians.
This wasn’t an easy task because for decades they had fought and failed to gain liberation, and they were largely convinced that Yugoslavia was invincible.
Still, many intellectuals and artists worked hard to keep the spirit of resistance alive.
Then, Milosevic, who was basically a fascist, became president of Yugoslavia. He dials up repressive policies against Albanians, and that’s the beginning of the end for Yugoslavia.
Albanians started to abandon the delusion that they can achieve anything through peaceful or political means.
That’s when a fighter named Adem Jashari, along with a group of relatives and friends, organized attacks against Serbian police.
In 2 years, they organized many successful attacks, which helped shatter the myth of invincibility.
Things culminated in 1998 when 8000 Serbian army and police forces surrounded his neighborhood.
There were about 60 people, including women and children.
In an incredible act of resistance, they fought bravely for three days and nights.
Tragically, everyone in Jashari’s family but one perished.
This is a unique event in history where a family fights an army.
It also became a defining moment for Albanians everywhere.
More and more people joined the Army for the Liberation of Kosovo (ALK), and with financial support from the Albanian diaspora, they purchased weapons.
ALK soldiers would cross the northern Albanian border, where they received military training and medical aid.
Their core mission was to protect civilians, who were constantly under attack from Serbian forces.
Meanwhile, 900,000 displaced people found shelter in the Republic of Albania.
Then, in 1999, with the intervention of the USA and NATO, Kosovo was liberated, and in 2008 it became an independent Republic.
Looking back, I believe that if Serbia hadn’t treated Albanians as second-class citizens for decades, and of course if it weren’t a genocidal country that started 4 wars… You know, they were so deluded that they essentially agreed to fight against NATO… things might have been different.
Now, you cannot expect to be treated fairly by people who have invaded your country. But if Serbians had some basic sense and humanity, they would probably still control Kosovo, and who knows, Yugoslavia might have lasted longer.
So yes, extreme environments can break individuals and even entire nations.
But some individuals like Demaci and Jashari endure and remind everyone else of who they were before the crisis.
Because in the end, freedom is not handed down. It’s reclaimed by those who are willing to suffer for something greater than themselves.
What nearly kills you may be the very thing that saves everyone else.
Common Questions About Mind Control
You have probably heard the term “mind control” a hundred times by now. It gets easily thrown around in documentaries, conspiracy threads, and social media videos.
The problem is that it can create the perception that it’s only applied in dystopian regimes or secret military bunkers.
But as you’ve learned in this article, psychological manipulation is not a bug; it’s a feature of any society.
So, to make it clearer, I have picked some questions and answers.
Is the CIA really involved in mind control?
They basically wrote the playbook.
Back in the 50s and 60s, the Central Intelligence Agency launched a secret program called MK-Ultra.
Their goal was to control people. And since the federal agencies had less oversight, they engaged in unethical procedures.
They experimented on human subjects without consent. They used drugs, sleep deprivation, and psychological torture to break people’s will.
We know this because most of their documents were declassified.
Now, it’s important to understand that such experiments sound awful, and the general public pays attention to such stories.
But you must realize that it’s much simpler and effective to manipulate public opinion using the subtle methods we’ve covered on this site.
How does emotion play into mind control?
Think of emotion as the Trojan horse. By hijacking it, you can bypass critical thinking and make people susceptible to accepting certain ideas or messages.
That’s why modern media focuses on spreading highly polarizing narratives on ANY issue.
Their goal is to arouse strong emotions in people and make them accept certain narratives.
Were people really experimented on with electrodes?
In the 1960s, a Yale researcher named José Delgado implanted electrodes into a bull’s brain. With a remote control, he could stop it mid-charge. Then he did it with humans. He could literally flip aggression on and off, like a light switch.
But physical control has many limits, and again, psychological manipulation is scarily effective.
Isn’t this just something cult leaders do?
It’s true. Cult leaders use the same core techniques:
- Isolate the subject
- Control the narrative
- Overwhelm with emotions
- Offer certainty in a chaotic world
The difference is the scale of what is done.
A charismatic leader can control millions of people without ever meeting them. You know, the masses or the crowd want to be led, and anyone who mirrors their fears and desires can step into that role.
Is sleep deprivation really used to manipulate people?
Yes, and it works frighteningly well.
It is one of the most effective tools to break resistance.
You get disoriented, the judgment is weak, and you become highly suggestible.
That’s why in interrogation, it is used to wear people down so they’re more likely to tell the truth.
But here’s the thing: Most of us are already in this state. We spend so much time in front of a digital screen that we don’t get enough sleep. Add to it the constant over-stimulation, and you have an exhausted population.
We are too tired to think clearly about what’s happening in front of our eyes.
Image Sources:
American Soldiers Captured In Korea
Recilience Painting by Saatchi Art
The Barque of Dante
