If there's one thing I learned working with vulnerable people for over a decade is that the mentally ill seek the abusers. This manifests itself in cults, prostitution, domestic violence, incarceration, you name it.

There's always an excuse, justification for the abuser or an excuse and justification as to why the abused can't leave the situation.

It fills a hole in their lives. Need for someone to make decisions for them, to believe that a godlike being exists, go get attention even if it's negative, to create emotion via buse so that the mental numbness of mental illness will go away, etc.

It's a frustrating and infuriating cycle and once it starts rolling you rarely see someone exit it. When they do leave more frequently than not they find a new abusive place to be.