A Little Bit Culty My Toxic Father and Bahai: Jared Van Driessche’s Survival Story (Part 2)
Jan 15, 2026
Jared Van Driessche, a survivor of childhood abuse in a high-control religious environment and an executive protection expert, shares his harrowing journey. He discusses the impact of parental and emotional abuse, and the struggle to heal while navigating a faith that prioritized belief over safety. Jared sheds light on how he transformed his trauma into a career protecting others and his upcoming film project about breaking cycles of family pain. He encourages fellow survivors to seek help and challenge stigmas around vulnerability.
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Childhood Rescue Through A Kind Friend
- Jared credits meeting his future wife in fifth grade as the first real kindness that helped him survive abusive home life.
- That relationship gave him an external safe connection outside the Bahá’í community when he felt abandoned.
Extreme Childhood Abuse And Family Complicity
- Jared recounts severe physical abuse that included being forced to eat his own feces by his father.
- He describes his brother cheering their father on and carrying guilt about it decades later.
Use Skill-Building As A Rescue Strategy
- Do use focused goals and skills to self-rescue when you feel trapped by trauma or ideology.
- Jared taught himself security skills and pursued executive protection to build a new life and purpose.
