14 DAY TRIAL // That Katie Holmes agreed to give Scientology a try when she married Tom Cruise is no longer a secret. However, the extent of her involvement with the cult remains unknown – but word has it she’s addicted to the “treatments” she’s subjected to on a regular basis.
Star magazine spoke to a few experts (story via here) about Katie, Scientology and what the effects of all their treatments might be on her, and it would seem that they are as addictive as heroin.
This would explain why she always looks so exhausted and drawn, as if she couldn’t care in the least bit about what is going on in her life, it is being said.
“Although the FDA has taken the position that the ‘e-meter’ device used in Scientology’s ‘auditing’ or counseling sessions, serves no medical purpose, former Scientologists tell Star that it gives subjects a temporary feeling of euphoria, followed by a crash and a craving for more,” Star writes.
In other words, whenever she’s being “audited,” which happens quite regularly, Katie is getting her fix – and she’s forced to come back for the next session.
“The e-meter emits a low-level electric charge that goes to the brain. In response to that stressful stimulation, the body releases endorphins, hormones that cause a pain-killing, mood-elevating effect,” former Scientologist Arnaldo Lerma tells Star, confirming the above.
Experts believe that the e-meter also prompts an endorphin release because its use is “socially rewarding.” Being surrounded all the time by Scientologists, Katie really has no other choice but to keep coming back for auditing.
“Endorphins are natural painkillers in the brain that block pain receptors from within the body exactly the same way drugs like morphine kill pain from an external source,” Dr. Gregory A. Smith, an addiction expert, says for the mag.
“So when you stimulate endorphin activity within the brain, you are doing the exact same thing as taking morphine or other opiates, such as heroin on opium. That feeling of a natural high can become addictive,” he adds.
For a bit more on what auditing actually is and how it shapes thought and manipulates the mind of the person being subjected to it, see a testimony from a former Scientologist here.