One of the long term effects of growing up a JW...

by Pwned 54 Replies latest jw friends

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  unclebruce

  Yeah I hate it when that happens
  

  ...real men hunt naked

  

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  KW13

  Anyway all the Aussies are British really **HIDES**
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  Dune

  Never had nightmares about demons, or anything else really. I have a few family members that practice satan worship, voodoo, (dont ask, lol). The non-voodoo practicers in my family say it doesnt work on them cause either 1) They're too spiritual or 2) They dont believe in it in the first place. So maybe questioning their existence might help?
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  Jamelle

  I was raised JW and my mother did her best to scare the bejesus out of me & my sister with her demon stories. Not only that, but cargroups out in service would sometimes get on a demon story telling kick.

  All of this nonsense would be abruptly terminated when someone said "But if we keep talking about them, that will draw the demons attention to us." Which left me feeling panicked and exposed, somehow...

  Looking back, I cannot believe the superstitious crap I was fed! The stories that scared me the most were about my mother's best friend (personally I think this lady has some mental issues and/or just wanted attention). But to a child, it seemed that the stories must be true if they were happening to someone I knew.

  I had nightmares, occasionally, for a couple years after leaving. I always woke up trying to scream the name "Jehovah" which ends up coming out as a cracked whisper. The worst dream was after I bought a scarab necklace (a tourist trinket purchased at the Luxor in Vegas, for god's sake).

  I woke up from a dream where I was fighting off demons to stare at my dresser in the dark, where I knew the necklace was lying. I threw the necklace away the next day. What's worse, I expected it to show up on my dresser again. THATS what my mother's loving care taught me.

  Time should help this fade. I strongly second the idea about combatting the fear head on through gaining knowledge of symbology. I wrote down the book reference to "Man & His Symbols" and plan to read.

  What stopped the night terrors for me, ultimately, was getting pissed off. I was laying in bed in my apartment, terrified to move, when I finally just got angry and said to myself "I refuse to live my life in fear!"

  It was like a weight rolled off my chest and I immediately felt defiant and relieved all at once. My "phobia" has never been that bad since. I still deal with fears, but its at a manageable level.
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  unclebruce

  You're causing flashbacks Jamelle.

  Tell ya how stoopid I was. Once, when I was about 12, I spent hours in bed scared stiff of a weird noise - a combination of squeals and muffled voices .. this went on for hours.. at about 7am my mother called out "come on, you'll be late for school" With that I summond up the courage to slowly get out of bed. Imagine how I felt on finding my small transistor radio under my pillow on but slighty off station! ... demons never worried me so much after that.
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  NewYork44M

  I stopped worrying about demons a long time ago. My favorite movie is the Devil's Advocate.
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  unclebruce

  I stopped worrying about demons a long time ago. My favorite movie is the Devil's Advocate.

  Then how come you still go to bed with the light on?
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  NewYork44M

  Then how come you still go to bed with the light on?

  How did you know that?? The "official" reason is so I can find my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
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  FairMind

  Before I became a JW I had dreams about burning in Hell. Since becoming a JW I mostly dream about good lookin' women.
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  silentWatcher