Rescue from Conspiracy Theories

Part 2. The relief that conspiracy theories offer

3 min readFeb 24, 2021

Why Conspiracy Theories?

Powerlessness comes with a sinister list of side effects. A powerless person will look for self-worth, uniqueness and attempt to understand a world that is, by its nature, without order. It is a pain that leads a person to hold tightly to an imaginative and wildly unsupported claim. That pain allows a thinking person to accept a thing without thought.(1) In an attempt to regain that power, a conspiracy theory presents itself, and often it isn’t just accepted as a possible truth but as an identity reclaimed. The person becomes the theory, not just accepts the theory. In doing so, our anxiety, powerlessness, and fear all have a box or a construct to fit into neatly. In a way, the conspiracy theory becomes conspiracy therapy.

“The comfort of conspiracy theory is that it provides a well-defined enemy and a sense of control (or at least structure) in the face of upheaval and disempowerment”(2)

The first benefit a conspiracy theory presents to its victims is that it is, at its core, a pattern.(3) When a significant event occurs, such as the Vegas massacre, the loss of an election, or a global pandemic, it can be hard to accept that something outside of our control has happened without some unifying cause. We need to regain control quickly, and by connecting the dots to uncover a secret plan, the conspiracy theorist can find hegemony over circumstances. Our brains are naturally attracted to patterns. They are comfortable, understandable, and, most importantly, predictable.(4) Lack of control intensifies this need for patterns and leads to seeing them when they don’t exist.(5) The reality is, our world is stochastic. The patterns don’t necessarily exist. Thus, inventing them is catharsis.(6)

The second benefit of a conspiracy theory is that it brings a sense of uniqueness. Uniqueness is often the first casualty of the dehumanizing effects of disempowerment.(7) It may be tempting to dismiss the need for uniqueness as vanity, but the reality of the situation is, we all have this need. It’s a basic necessity, and some would argue, belongs on Maslow’s Hierarchy.(8)

“The conspiracy theory offers the chance of hidden, important, and immediate knowledge so that the believer can become an expert, possessed of a knowledge not held even by the so-called experts”(9)

The third benefit of a conspiracy theory is that it places us in a group, or tribe, of like-minded individuals. This group becomes a sort of club. Think of the unity felt within QAnon adherents chanting, “Where we go one, we go all!”(10) This need for a group is more than comforting; it’s a primal psychological need.(11) When we find our people, we will do anything to stay in the tribe. An unfortunate quality of any group is that it doesn’t allow for dissent and will, left to its own devices, collectively sink further and further into extremist views. Any attempt to question could, and often does, mean expulsion from the group. As Gustave Le Bon put it in his landmark work; “Crowds do not admit doubt or uncertainty, and always go to extremes — Their sentiments always excessive.”(12) A person within a group will go to great lengths to protect their predetermined conclusions. This phenomenon is called Identity-Protective Cognition and makes breaking through nearly impossible.(13)

Taken together, the effect of patterns, uniqueness, and tribal affiliation makes the task of extricating a person from cycles of conspiratorial thought complicated. I would take it further and say that, by mere evidence-based methods, it’s impossible. So, what are we to do?

In part three, I’ll present a proven and practical framework built on understanding the conspiracy theorist’s profile and why that person seeks out conspiracy theories for answers. As we transition to the methodology, it’s essential to ask yourself if you are personally able to intervene. For many of us who have suffered harm by conspiracy thinking, the pain is too great. Please, take care of yourself first. If you wish to continue, I’ll see you in part three.

(Read Part 3)

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Rescue from Conspiracy Theories

Part 2. The relief that conspiracy theories offer

Written by Jonathan Taylor