This is an excerpt from the metawiki page on brains. It is written in wiki format, where each link leads to an article on that subject. Please adjust your reading style accordingly.
Brainwashing is the technique that cults and oligarchs who control the media use to control your thoughts with propaganda.
There are many common techniques that cults and high control groups, intelligence agents, marketers, and abusers use to manipulate people. If you break down common brainwashing techniques and apply a contrarian approach, you can develop a program to reinforce agency, neuroplasticity, and resilience instead of breaking it down.
Isolation / Community - you brainwash people by isolating them from contradictory influences, creating a limited information environment (bubble) that is impervious to criticism. Social isolation is heavily incentivized by social media, and the incentivized laziness of staying home and having work, food, shopping, and relationships come to you. Engaging in community building, family, diverse friendships, and a variety of IRL social activities promotes resilience. Broad education and a variety of interests and information sources keeps you from being brainwashed by your bubble.
Us vs. Them / Inclusivity - demonizing an out-group is a primary brainwashing technique. Embracing inclusivity and universalism as a core principle makes it hard for demonization to be taken seriously.
Breaking Down / Building Up - attacking the self-esteem, identity, and beliefs of the brainwashing target is another technique. In the media, this takes the form of ads and shows that feature people who are way richer and more beautiful than you because they own products you cannot afford but must have if you want anyone to take you seriously. Positive psychology and the philosophy of optimism are all about building people up.
Stupid Diets / Eat Anything - a lot of brainwashing and grift starts out with questionable dietary recommendations that deprive the body and make it susceptible to suggestion. Many cults and religions use fasting and diets to reinforce in-group identity and break down resistance. A diet rich in variety and love for all food will increase your resistance to ascetic cult diets, and helps you identify more with diverse cultures and viewpoints through culinary empathy.
Repetitive Music / Love for All Genres - listening to the same handful of pop musicians over and over will limit your range of thought. Listening to a wide variety of music improves neuroplasticity and resistance to thought control. This goes for group singing as well.
Love Bombing / Universal Love - brainwashers shower love on their target while reinforcing the idea that this love can only come from the in-group or its guru. Dirty brains are promiscuous, finding love everywhere in the universe and with many family, friends, communities, and philosophies.
If you intentionally do the opposite of everything brainwashers try to make you do, you have a great recipe for a happy life with good relationships, a strong sense of self-awareness and free will, open mindedness, empathy, and critical thinking.
Some good articles on how to reverse the effects of brainwashing on others:
See also: Brainwashing, Cult of Personality, Combating Cult Mind Control, Anti-Cult Movement, 8 Brainwashing Techniques that Manipulators Use, BITE Model of Authoritarian Control
How to Brainwash Someone
Dark Persuasion - The History of BRAINWASHING from Pavlov to Social Media
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