Is Discussing Jehovah's Witnesses Therapeutic For You???

by minimus 29 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Lady Lee

  There really is benefit of talking about the past traumas. Here we are able to get support and validation for our experiences.

  I was out for 10 years before I found the WTS was wrong. During those 10 years I had personal counseling but it mainly focussed on the abises in my past, not on the JW experience. I thought I was alone for so long. Finding this site was so helpful. There are so many great people here.

  Is it hard? Sometimes. But I now have the skills to deal with any new issues that arise.

  Now when I am talking to non-JWs who know nothing about the JWs I have two very different tactics.

  When I lecture I give them all th einformation and examples of what a ciltic group is but I never tell them until the end of the lecture. People are always stunned.

  On a one to one basis it depends on how we get into the discussion. Sometimes I tell them immediately and other times do the same as in a lecture. The results are always interesting. And the result is always that the person says they would never fall for it now.
• 

  ICBehindtheCurtain

  YES!!!! It has helped me cope with the anger you initially feel when you know the truth about the "Truth", since I found out about all of the lies, I have helped members of my family and some freinds see them also, and now we can all vent with each other which is great, we are all pretty much undercover, it's call "theocratic warfare" hahahaha, they want to play that game? we can too!!!!

  Now I participate in this forum one, because we share a common bond and there's great people here, two, because if I can help anyone open their eyes and see religion for what it is, and help loosen the ties it has on people, then I will have contributed to making this world a better place for future generations.

  If there is no religous fervor, there will be alot less wars!

  IC
• 

  Apostanator

  When workmates ask about my mom or family......all bets are off. I tell them all about the JW religion. The more I tell, the more they ask. One time I was on channel 7 here in Boston doing an interview on cults and some of my workmates saw me. I had a field day at work answering many questions from those who asked. It definately was very theraputic.
• 

  Jankyn

  Um, depends on the situation. It's frustrating sometimes to try and explain my upbringing to what I often call "normies," but it can have its good points.

  For instance, last night we were all sitting on the porch with our jack-o-lanterns and a big bowl of candy, waiting for trick-or-treaters, when someone suggested telling ghost stories. I had none, but I did tell a few stories of instances when objects were "demonized" in my congregation--and my friends laughed themselves silly. I was a hit.

  On the "therapeutic" side, I think any time my experience is confirmed as real by others who've shared it or a similar experience, it makes it easier for me to accept it and move on. It validates my experience, allows me to feel what I need to feel, learn what I need to learn, and get on with the rest of my life. So, yes, it's "therapeutic" for me to talk/share with other x-JWs.

  Jankyn
• 

  Big Dog

  More catharitic than therapeutic for me. Helps me get rid of the anger that I feel towards the WBTS. Give them a good beating and I feel better.
• 

  littlerockguy

  It is for me. When I quit going to meetings because I couldn't take it anymore I still believed all of it though I couldn't discuss why I wouldn't go anymore with anybody still in and when you talk to people that dont know much about the witnesses they just look at you with a "so what" kind of response like quit going is just like quitting any other church. This site as well as Ray Franz's books helped me start to break down the walls and helped me escape the mental captivity I have been in for the past 20 years.
• 

  twinflame

  It is wonderful to know there are people that understand what you have gone through and the lingering affects that remain. Reading posts here has also raised my awareness of what some have gone through and made me realize leaving was much easier for me than others. I have learned about empathy to a huge degree.

  I love telling anyone that has questions about the wrongness of the WTS and their control, deceptiveness and ruination of families. I am more grateful to be out than I am ashamed to have been in. If I could ever sway the decision of anyone considering becoming a JW, it would be a huge triumph.

  I absolutely hate the thought of trying to talk to an active JW about it. It makes my blood boil from frustration. I would only do so with one that had seriously expressed doubts.
• 

  Jordan

  I'll admit, I've found it very therapeutic posting here, plus, it reminds you that there are others like you.
• 

  AK - Jeff

  Absolutely!

  I still tend to 'defend' them personally a little bit. I don't want people to think ill of them as individuals. I don't. I still love them.

  But I want no one to ever listen to them seriously if I can have any influence in that at all. While the 'cult experience' has wisened me, I don't want anyone else to get that wise that way.

  In a way I feel the same sort of anti-witness zeal I felt when a young witness. I am on fire with the anti-truth serum. [made from blood]

  Jeff
• 

  mrsjones5

  I love explaining to people what the jws actually believe. It's always an eye-opener for those who really had no idea how twisted jw doctrine truely is.

  Josie