I think it really was slightly, or greatly, different for everyone.  There were so many variables.  I think the biggest cost was the huge waste of time it was, so many of us spending it trying to serve Prem Rawat, trying to dedicate to him and to do as little else as possible.  That's the biggest damage in my opinion, and the one that probably affected the most people, to varying degrees.

I think the reason it was so hard to look at Rawat and knowledge objectively is that on some level, each of us knew that if we did that, our whole belief system could collapse, and we might have to deal with the fact that we were duped, that we had no real basis to believe what we did.  That's a very hard pill to swallow, and it might be easier just to take whatever rationalization you can, and not swallow the pill.

I remember often thinking that some of the more egregious things in the cult were a "test" being given to me by my Master to make me stronger, and to "bring me closer to him," or "to give me the chance to surrender."  Those are all very dangerous rationalizations, because you can live in them for a long, long time, and they are circular, so you can't work through them, unless you step outside the circle.