How Do I Get Rid of these Thoughts?

by jwfacts 25 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  jwfacts

  Though I no longer think like a Witness I still think "That is what I would think if I was still a Witness".

  Everytime I see a birthday party or Christmas on TV I think "ohh, if I was a JW I would think they were pagan, and not really having fun."

  When I speak to someone at work and they say they got drunk or wasted on the weekend I think "oooh, if i was a JW I would be offended by that, but i don't really care anymore."

  I would much prefer to be able to take life for what it is, not constantly compare what it was with what it is and what I am thinking it will be.

  Any suggestions on how to erase the ridiculous notions that were drummed into me from birth? Does it wear off with time, or is this a life long plague that I will be left with?
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  Dismembered

  Greetings jwfacts

  Does it wear off with time,

  Yes, give it plenty. IMO

  Dismembered
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  LittleToe

  You're engaging in a process to divorce yourself from those previous thought patterns. Eventually even this scaffold will disappear. Meanwhile enjoy the experience, instead of whittling about it
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  sass_my_frass

  Same with me; I like it though. It will probably eventually wear off, but in the meantime I'm glad for the reminder that I've come a long way and can now see through the craziness.
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  AuldSoul

  jwfacts,

  LittleToe nailed it. It is just scaffolding. It is your brain's way of retraining itself. If you worry about the fact that you are doing it, that will reinforce the fact that you are doing it in your brain, and your brain will attach significance to that pattern of thought making it more ingrained...that is one way compulsions develop. I don't mean to alarm you, but there it is.

  Hopefully, you can minimize the fact that this thought pattern is there by getting another thought pattern running concurrently that says, "Heh-heh, 'this too shall pass.'" That will train your brain that this extra processing it is doing is unimportant, unecessary and can be discarded. At least, that is how it works in theory. It worked for me.

  Respectfully,
  AuldSoul
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  DHL

  Good idea, AuldSoul!

  jwfacts, whenever I had such thoughts popping up they were almost automatically followed by the thought: "Thank god I'm free!" or "Isn't it great to be out of it?". That often included a relaxed smile (sometimes a big grin). I suppose you could say it was a bit like "Count your blessings!"
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  greendawn

  They will wear out in time and I believe doing deep research on the troublesome subjects will help to shift the balance faster. The emotional energies attached to these ideas and animating them must be drained off.
  
  Eg is Christmas really bad, even if it had pagan origins so what for a long time it serves a christian purpose reminding us about the coming of the messiah.
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  jwfacts

  Thanks, good comments everyone. I understand you are saying, embrace it as a positive change, but don't let it become compulsive.
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  blondie

  Think of how much time it took to build and maintain those thoughts...it makes sense it would take some time to change them; actually the best thing for me is to replace them with better thoughts.

  Blondie
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  daystar

  LT and Auldsoul have the best suggestions here. Time will help replace the programming, or you can actively do so.