Coherence and its Effects on Scam Victims
Coherence is a Necessary Component in a Healthy Life and Mind – for Scam Victims it is Ripped Away but it Can Be Recovered!
Primary Category: Scam Victim Recovery Psychology
Author:
• Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
About This Article
Coherence is a key element in a healthy, balanced life, but for scam victims, it is often shattered by the betrayal and deception they experience. Psychological coherence refers to the alignment of one’s thoughts, emotions, and life experiences, creating a unified sense of self and understanding of the world.
When scam victims lose coherence, they may feel emotionally fragmented, confused, and overwhelmed. This disconnection can impact their recovery, leaving them struggling to make sense of what happened. However, through recovery efforts such as therapy, emotional processing, and rebuilding trust, scam victims can gradually restore coherence.
By acknowledging their trauma, understanding the manipulation they endured, and rewriting their personal narrative, victims can regain emotional stability and reclaim a sense of control over their lives. Through this journey, they move from victim to survivor, creating a cohesive understanding of their experience and a path forward.
Coherence is a Necessary Component in a Healthy Life and Mind – for Scam Victims it is Ripped Away but it Can Be Recovered!
Coherence in psychology refers to the extent to which a person’s thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and life experiences are aligned, consistent, and make sense as a whole.
It involves the ability to integrate and understand experiences in a way that forms a unified sense of self and the world.
Coherence is a key factor in emotional well-being and psychological resilience, as it helps individuals to navigate challenges, make sense of their experiences, and maintain a sense of stability. However, in the case of scam victims, this Coherence has been ripped away because of the betrayal and deception of the scam and the resultant psychological trauma that remains.
Part of the purpose of recovery is to restore coherence in scam victims transforming them into survivors.
Coherence – Generally Speaking
Key Aspects of Psychological Coherence
Cognitive Coherence: This refers to the logical consistency in one’s thoughts and beliefs. A person with cognitive coherence can link events, causes, and outcomes in a way that makes sense to them. This helps individuals process information and maintain a stable worldview, which can reduce anxiety and uncertainty.
Emotional Coherence: Emotional coherence involves a consistency between one’s feelings and external expressions. For example, if someone is sad, emotional coherence would mean their facial expressions, body language, and verbal communication reflect that sadness. When emotions and expressions align, individuals tend to experience greater emotional clarity and understanding.
Narrative Coherence: This relates to how people create and tell stories about their lives. A coherent personal narrative means a person can integrate their past experiences, present circumstances, and future goals into a meaningful story that makes sense to them. Trauma or significant life disruptions can challenge narrative coherence, leading to feelings of confusion or fragmentation.
Sense of Coherence (SOC): This concept, developed by sociologist Aaron Antonovsky, refers to a person’s ability to view life as structured, predictable, and understandable. Antonovsky proposed that a strong sense of coherence is key to maintaining health, particularly under stress. SOC is composed of three dimensions:
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- Comprehensibility: The belief that events in life are predictable and understandable.
- Manageability: The belief that one has the resources or abilities to cope with life’s challenges.
- Meaningfulness: The belief that life has purpose, and challenges are worth facing.
Importance of Coherence in Psychological Well-being
Resilience: Coherence contributes to psychological resilience by helping people understand and process difficult experiences. A coherent understanding of a traumatic event, for example, enables individuals to integrate it into their overall life story, reducing the emotional impact over time.
Emotional Regulation: When people experience emotional coherence, they are better able to recognize and understand their feelings, which allows them to regulate their emotions more effectively. This reduces the likelihood of emotional outbursts or confusion.
Identity and Stability: Coherence is closely related to a stable sense of identity. When thoughts, emotions, and actions are aligned, individuals feel more grounded and secure in their sense of self. This stability can be challenged in situations of trauma or crisis, where coherence may temporarily break down.
Lack of Coherence and Psychological Struggles
When coherence is lacking, individuals may experience confusion, distress, or fragmentation in their thinking, emotions, and identity. This is often seen in conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where traumatic memories are difficult to integrate into a coherent personal narrative. Similarly, in anxiety or depression, people may struggle to make sense of their experiences, leading to feelings of disconnection or overwhelm.
Coherence in Scam Victims and How They Can Regain It Through Recovery
Scam victims typically experience a profound disruption in their sense of coherence.
After becoming victimized by a scam, they feel confused, betrayed, and overwhelmed, which can shatter their understanding of themselves, the world, and their ability to trust others. This lack of coherence, which affects their thoughts, emotions, and life narrative, can leave them feeling disoriented and emotionally fragmented. However, through recovery, scam victims can work toward regaining coherence, rebuilding their sense of self, and making sense of what happened to them.
While this is not the only thing that recovery does, it is important to give it some focus so that the overall effects of recovery help to rebuild coherence in every scam victim’s life.
How Scams Disrupt Coherence
Scams, especially romance and financial scams, can deeply affect a victim’s psychological coherence by introducing contradictions in their beliefs, emotions, and life story. The following types of coherence are often disrupted:
Cognitive Coherence: Victims may struggle to reconcile their prior belief in the trustworthiness of people with the reality of being deceived. They might question their judgment, asking themselves, “How could I have fallen for this?” This cognitive dissonance can create confusion and a sense of inadequacy, as their mental model of how the world works no longer aligns with their experience.
Emotional Coherence: Scam victims often experience intense emotional conflict. On one hand, they feel shame, guilt, or anger for being scammed; on the other hand, they may still feel lingering affection or loyalty toward the scammer, especially in romance scams. These contradictory emotions can be confusing, making it difficult for the victim to process what they feel or to regulate their emotional responses.
Narrative Coherence: The victim’s life story can become fragmented after a scam. They may feel that their previous sense of self has been shattered—especially if they saw themselves as intelligent or cautious. The scam experience can leave them feeling disconnected from who they were before the scam and unsure of who they are now. This lack of narrative coherence makes it harder for them to move forward, as they struggle to integrate the scam experience into a meaningful life story.
Regaining Coherence in Recovery
The journey to recovery involves rebuilding the victim’s sense of coherence across these three areas. Here’s how scam victims can work toward regaining their mental and emotional clarity:
Restoring Cognitive Coherence
Self-Compassion and Education: Scam victims often blame themselves for what happened, believing they should have known better. Regaining cognitive coherence involves recognizing that scams are designed to exploit emotions and trust. Educating themselves on how scams work and understanding the manipulative tactics used by scammers can help victims reframe their experience. Instead of seeing it as a personal failure, they can begin to see it as a deliberate act of deception that could happen to anyone.
Challenging Negative Beliefs: Many scam victims internalize negative beliefs such as “I’m not smart enough” or “I’m too trusting.” Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques can help victims identify these irrational beliefs and challenge them. For example, they can replace “I was foolish” with “I was targeted by a professional criminal,” which more accurately reflects the reality of the situation. This shift helps restore cognitive coherence by aligning their self-perception with the truth.
Rebuilding Emotional Coherence
Processing Emotions: Scam victims need to give themselves permission to feel the full range of emotions that arise after the scam—anger, sadness, fear, betrayal, and even grief for the lost relationship or financial security. Emotional coherence can be restored by processing these emotions in a safe environment, such as through therapy or support groups. Naming and validating these emotions helps the victim regain emotional clarity and reduce feelings of internal conflict.
Releasing Emotional Attachments: In romance scams, victims may have developed a strong emotional attachment to the scammer, even after realizing they were deceived. Emotional coherence is regained by acknowledging the reality of the relationship and grieving its loss. Letting go of emotional attachments to the scammer, whether through closure rituals or therapeutic support, helps the victim align their emotions with the truth.
Reconstructing Narrative Coherence
Rewriting the Life Story: A key part of recovery is helping victims reframe their experience and integrate it into their overall life story in a way that makes sense. Instead of viewing the scam as a standalone event that derailed their life, they can see it as part of a larger journey of learning and resilience. Narrative therapy (reframing) can be a powerful tool for this, as it encourages victims to rewrite their story from a place of strength, where they emerge not as a helpless victim but as a survivor who is gaining wisdom and awareness.
Finding Meaning in the Experience: Regaining coherence involves finding meaning in what happened. For some victims, this may mean becoming advocates against scams or educating others to prevent similar experiences. For others, it may mean understanding that the scam taught them valuable lessons about trust, boundaries, or vulnerability. By finding meaning, they can create a narrative that allows them to move forward with a renewed sense of purpose.
12 Tips to Help Scam Victims Become Survivors
Here are 12 tips for scam victims to help them regain coherence in their recovery, starting with accepting the truth of their situation:
1. Accept the Truth of the Situation
Acknowledge that you were the victim of a crime. The scam happened, and while it may be difficult to recover your money or see justice served, it does not have to define or destroy you. Accepting the reality of the situation allows you to stop dwelling on “what if” and start focusing on moving forward.
2. Acknowledge Your Emotions
Allow yourself to feel the range of emotions that come with being scammed, such as anger, sadness, fear, or guilt. Recognizing and processing these feelings helps prevent emotional suppression and allows for emotional healing.
3. Challenge Self-Blame
Understand that being scammed is not your fault. Scammers are skilled at manipulation, and falling victim to a scam does not reflect your intelligence or worth. Replace negative thoughts with more accurate beliefs, such as, “I was targeted by a professional scammer.”
4. Educate Yourself About Scams
Learning how scams operate and understanding the tactics used by scammers can help you make sense of what happened. This knowledge empowers you to recognize that you were deceived by a deliberate scheme, rather than making a personal mistake.
5. Rebuild Trust Gradually
After a scam, it’s natural to feel distrustful of others. Start rebuilding trust by surrounding yourself with supportive people, whether friends or family, or a professional trauma-informed support provider. Gradual exposure to trustworthy relationships will help restore your faith in people.
6. Rewrite Your Story
Instead of seeing yourself solely as a victim, view your experience as part of a larger journey of growth and resilience. Consider how the scam has taught you valuable lessons about trust, boundaries, or vulnerability. This helps integrate the event into your personal narrative in a constructive way.
7. Seek Professional Help
Consider therapy to help process your emotions and regain mental clarity. A therapist, especially one trained in trauma recovery, can guide you in addressing cognitive distortions, emotional conflicts, and help you rebuild your sense of self.
8. Set Boundaries Moving Forward
Learning to set boundaries in relationships, whether online or offline, can help protect you from future scams. Clearly define your limits when it comes to giving money, trust, or personal information, and stick to them.
9. Engage in Self-Care
Self-care is essential in rebuilding emotional and mental coherence. Activities such as exercise, meditation, journaling, or spending time with loved ones can help calm your mind and restore a sense of balance.
10. Surround Yourself with Positive Support
Connecting with other scam victims or joining a support group from a professional provider can provide validation and emotional reassurance. Hearing others’ stories can help you feel less isolated and give you a sense of community in your healing journey.
11. Demand Truth
Scam victims must demand absolute truth from everyone, including family, friends, and support providers. No more “little white lies” or sugar-coating about how things will just be fine with time. Instead, seek out honest conversations about what happened, how challenging recovery can be, and the fact that it’s possible to get through it with commitment and hard work. The truth is essential for rebuilding coherence and trust.
12. Be Patient with Yourself
Regaining coherence after a scam takes time. Understand that healing is a gradual process and allow yourself the space to move forward at your own pace. Each step, no matter how small, brings you closer to emotional clarity and recovery.
By following these tips, scam victims can work toward regaining coherence in their emotional, cognitive, and personal narratives, which is essential for their overall recovery.
Building Coherence in Therapy
Therapists often work with clients to restore coherence by helping them process their experiences and align their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Techniques like narrative therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and trauma-focused approaches often aim to rebuild a sense of coherence, enabling individuals to construct a more integrated and meaningful understanding of their life experiences.
Professional support is often essential in helping scam victims regain coherence. Therapists trained in trauma recovery can guide victims through the process of cognitive, emotional, and narrative integration. Support groups also offer a space where victims can share their stories, feel validated, and learn from others who have had similar experiences. These resources help victims rebuild trust in themselves and others, paving the way for recovery.
Summary
In summary, psychological coherence is about creating alignment and understanding within one’s thoughts, emotions, and experiences, which supports emotional health and resilience.
Scam victims often experience a profound disruption in coherence, affecting how they think, feel, and understand their life story. Cognitive dissonance, emotional conflict, and a fragmented personal narrative can prevent them from fully processing their trauma. However, through recovery, scam victims can restore coherence by challenging irrational beliefs, processing their emotions, and rewriting their life story in a way that empowers them. With the right support, they can regain clarity, rebuild trust, and move forward with a renewed sense of purpose.
The Coherence Theory of Truth
The Coherence Theory of Truth is a philosophical concept that suggests that the truth of a belief or statement is determined by its consistency and coherence with a larger, established system of beliefs or knowledge.
According to this theory, something is true if it fits well with other beliefs, ideas, or facts that are already accepted as true within a particular framework. In other words, truth is not judged in isolation but by how well it integrates into a coherent and consistent body of knowledge.
Unlike the Correspondence Theory of Truth, which posits that truth is determined by how accurately a statement reflects objective reality, the Coherence Theory focuses on internal consistency. For a statement to be true, it must logically fit within the network of beliefs or knowledge already held, without contradictions.
At the SCARS Institute, we combine the two theories into a combined or coherent whole in the application of our work and the truth we tell those struggling to recover from these crimes. In other words, we make sure we are coherent and that what we represent is in correspondence with reality,
Key Aspects of the Coherence Theory:
- Consistency: A belief is true if it does not contradict other beliefs within the system.
- Integration: Truth is found in how well a new belief integrates into an existing web of interconnected beliefs.
- No Isolation: Individual statements are not evaluated for truth in isolation but as part of a whole.
This theory is often contrasted with other theories of truth and is particularly favored by philosophers in the fields of idealism and rationalism, where internal consistency and logic are emphasized over empirical verification. It’s also relevant in areas where complete, direct correspondence with reality is difficult to establish, such as abstract systems of knowledge like mathematics or ethics.
Origin of the Coherence Theory
The Coherence Theory of Truth is primarily associated with the works of German idealists and British philosophers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of the key philosophers who developed and advocated this theory include:
G.W.F. Hegel: The German idealist philosopher is one of the most prominent figures in the development of the Coherence Theory of Truth. Hegel argued that truth is found in the totality of ideas and that individual beliefs can only be considered true when they fit within a coherent and unified system of thought.
F.H. Bradley: A British idealist philosopher, Bradley is often credited with further elaborating the Coherence Theory in the English-speaking world. In his book Appearance and Reality (1893), Bradley argued that truth is not an isolated fact but rather a feature of the consistency and coherence of a set of propositions within a comprehensive system.
Harold Joachim: Another British philosopher, Joachim was influenced by Bradley and expanded the theory. His book The Nature of Truth (1906) is one of the clearest expositions of the Coherence Theory, where he argues that truth must be understood as part of an interconnected web of beliefs that support each other.
Though the Coherence Theory of Truth predates these thinkers, they are widely regarded as key contributors to its formal development and articulation.
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Important Information for New Scam Victims
- Please visit www.ScamVictimsSupport.org – a SCARS Website for New Scam Victims & Sextortion Victims
- SCARS Institute now offers a free recovery program at www.SCARSeducation.org
- Please visit www.ScamPsychology.org – to more fully understand the psychological concepts involved in scams and scam victim recovery
If you are looking for local trauma counselors please visit counseling.AgainstScams.org or join SCARS for our counseling/therapy benefit: membership.AgainstScams.org
If you need to speak with someone now, you can dial 988 or find phone numbers for crisis hotlines all around the world here: www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines
A Question of Trust
At the SCARS Institute, we invite you to do your own research on the topics we speak about and publish, Our team investigates the subject being discussed, especially when it comes to understanding the scam victims-survivors experience. You can do Google searches but in many cases, you will have to wade through scientific papers and studies. However, remember that biases and perspectives matter and influence the outcome. Regardless, we encourage you to explore these topics as thoroughly as you can for your own awareness.
A Note About Labeling!
We often use the term ‘scam victim’ in our articles, but this is a convenience to help those searching for information in search engines like Google. It is just a convenience and has no deeper meaning. If you have come through such an experience, YOU are a Survivor! It was not your fault. You are not alone! Axios!
This is but one component, one piece of the puzzle …
Understanding how the human mind is manipulated and controlled involves recognizing that the tactics employed by deceivers are multifaceted and complex. This information is just one aspect of a broader spectrum of vulnerabilities, tendencies, and techniques that permit us to be influenced and deceived. To grasp the full extent of how our minds can be influenced, it is essential to examine all the various processes and functions of our brains and minds, methods and strategies used the criminals, and our psychological tendencies (such as cognitive biases) that enable deception. Each part contributes to a larger puzzle, revealing how our perceptions and decisions can be subtly swayed. By appreciating the diverse ways in which manipulation occurs, we gain a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges we face in avoiding deception in its many forms.
“Thufir Hawat: Now, remember, the first step in avoiding a *trap* – is knowing of its existence.” — DUNE
“If you can fully understand your own mind, you can avoid any deception!” — Tim McGuinness, Ph.D.
“The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.” — Pema Chödrön
Statement About Victim Blaming
Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and to not blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and to help victims avoid scams in the future. At times this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims, we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.
These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.
Articles like these help victims and others understand these processes and how to help prevent them from being exploited again or to help them recover more easily by understanding their post-scam behaviors. Learn more about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org
SCARS Resources:
- Getting Started: ScamVictimsSupport.org
- FREE enrollment in the SCARS Institute training programs for scam victims SCARSeducation.org
- For New Victims of Relationship Scams newvictim.AgainstScams.org
- Subscribe to SCARS Newsletter newsletter.againstscams.org
- Sign up for SCARS professional support & recovery groups, visit support.AgainstScams.org
- Find competent trauma counselors or therapists, visit counseling.AgainstScams.org
- Become a SCARS Member and get free counseling benefits, visit membership.AgainstScams.org
- Report each and every crime, learn how to at reporting.AgainstScams.org
- Learn more about Scams & Scammers at RomanceScamsNOW.com and ScamsNOW.com
- Learn more about the Psychology of Scams and Scam Victims: ScamPsychology.org
- Self-Help Books for Scam Victims are at shop.AgainstScams.org
- Worldwide Crisis Hotlines: International Suicide Hotlines – OpenCounseling : OpenCounseling
- Campaign To End Scam Victim Blaming – 2024 (scamsnow.com)
Psychology Disclaimer:
All articles about psychology and the human brain on this website are for information & education only
The information provided in this and other SCARS articles are intended for educational and self-help purposes only and should not be construed as a substitute for professional therapy or counseling.
Note about Mindfulness: Mindfulness practices have the potential to create psychological distress for some individuals. Please consult a mental health professional or experienced meditation instructor for guidance should you encounter difficulties.
While any self-help techniques outlined herein may be beneficial for scam victims seeking to recover from their experience and move towards recovery, it is important to consult with a qualified mental health professional before initiating any course of action. Each individual’s experience and needs are unique, and what works for one person may not be suitable for another.
Additionally, any approach may not be appropriate for individuals with certain pre-existing mental health conditions or trauma histories. It is advisable to seek guidance from a licensed therapist or counselor who can provide personalized support, guidance, and treatment tailored to your specific needs.
If you are experiencing significant distress or emotional difficulties related to a scam or other traumatic event, please consult your doctor or mental health provider for appropriate care and support.
Also read our SCARS Institute Statement about Professional Care for Scam Victims – click here
If you are in crisis, feeling desperate, or in despair please call 988 or your local crisis hotline.
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