by headmath 35 Replies latest watchtower scandals
Occassionally I get a twinge of depression about being in the org, but I've been lucky enough to have good "worldly" friends that help ground me. A good thing because I also sometimes feel I will have a nervous breakdown, but have been OK thus far. :)
CC
There are many cases on the web, in articles, even here that are evidence that being inside Jehovah's witnessing causes mental breakdowns, depression even suicide. The witnesses causes high pressure to succeed and prove oneself through knowledge this is the path to rightousness right? Well atleast in their eyes. These are large contributions to not only stress but psychological problems that can enhance due to the level of stress to begin with.
Sure you can become mentally unstable in many different enviroment but we can not rule out the fact that this poor kid tried to swim to bethel and then later claimed he was God. Its a truely sad story where i think the cult of JW plays a big part. Nor can we rule out the many other stories in which JW has played a part in break downs, suicides attempts and suicide.
And why arent a lot of JWs institutionalized? Well if you notice a crazy person will never ask themselves am i crazy? and would never ever admit it to themselves that they actually are either! JW's can cover up law breaking from fraud to theft to even worse things like child abuse i am sure that they could easily cover someone or a number of people visiting a certain place of help. Just imagine like in fraud or over "brushed under the carpet" cases the image that "JW causes people to go mad" would portray to the public hmmm not to appealing...JW need numbers and effiecentcy maybe they could cover up not bein a spy here and sayin there is but surely it is somewhat possibe its happened before with more ludicrous circumstances so why not again.
But truely sad story
The witnesses causes high pressure to succeed and prove oneself through knowledge this is the path to rightousness right in their eyes. these are large contributions to not only stress but psychological problems that can enhance from stress.
What is truly amazing to me is the absolute arrogance and the cold indifference of the leadership to these problems. Instead of lightening the load, they continue to push, manipulate, and coerce the members to do more, to continue to produce good stats as if they were distributors for Amway. It's disgusting; the way the WTS continues to use guilt and fear to coeerce the friends. I would love to see this corporate contraption get sued into oblivion.
Again I must put my foot down and emphasise that there is a distinction between depression, suicidal tendencies etc and actually runnning (or in the case of that young man, swimming) in public declaring oneself to be a Deity. While I admit that certain practices and beliefs of JWs are NOT good for a person's emotional well-being and his/her interaction with society as a whole, using the story of an institutionalised young man to accuse the JW religion of causing insanity is terribly biased and far-fetched.
I'm saying that this JW kid's experience is unique. You don't hear cases like this every day and you can't exactly sweep this sorta psychosis under the carpet! You cannot put this in the same category as depression. In recent memory no other JW has been trying to swim to Bethel, screaming that they are Jehovah now, am I correct?
This young JW's experience, tragic as it is, cannot be solely used to prove that the JW religion causes insanity.
At best you can only prove with anecdotal evidence that the religion causes depression and even suicidal tendencies.
We must be careful that bitterness doesn't cloud our sense of reason.
INQ
In one congr. I was in,one of the elder tolm me that 50% of the friends were taking something for mental sickness
The daughter of a good friend of mine was DF'd. For whatever reason she decided she wanted to be reinstated. The elders told her she had to "go on meds". The elders told her parents it was better for her to be on medication than to be part of the world. Sadly, the family cooperated. There was no medical need, they were simply obeying the elders directive to dope their daughter into compliance.
In another congregation the elders told one publisher that before s/he could move into the congregation s/he would have to agree to go on meds. The publisher asked why, since there was no prior history, etc. and the elder conducting the conversation said it might be because he was jealous; he had to take meds in order to function. Thankfully the publisher decided not to move into the area.
Is it really possible to get medications without demonstrating a need?
Haven't the elders been warned [through the pages of the WT] not to dispense medical advice?
Is this issue as widespread as I'm beginning to believe it is?
I doubt being a JW caused this man to go insane, but it may have added to his problems that were already going on in his brain.
My son has a friend that was completly normal all though school, shortly after graduation, he started getting weird, now he's on medication for schizphrenia. He weird ALL the time now, but if he doesn't take his medicine, he's dangerous, to himself and others.
This young man is not and has never been a JW. Strangely enough though, my son said when he was at his friends house the other day, two JW's stopped by. He started weirding out on the JW's, so they left a watchtower and left. I asked my son what was the date on the WT, I might want to take a look at it. He said he thought Nick, his friend had used it for tp.
lisa
At best you can only prove with anecdotal evidence that the religion causes depression and even suicidal tendencies.
Actually, the research that has been done into the negative emotional effects of cult-like and high-control groups has been overwhelming.
While an individual may resort to anecdotal evidence to promote their own individual claims, the evidence that has been established regarding JWs and other cult-like groups is hardly anecdotal. True, nobody has statistical data to show how many JWs are on Prozac, or how many have had nervous breakdowns; it does not take a rocket-scientist to figure out that the enormous pressure, emotional manipulation, and mind-control tactics used by the WTS contribute enormously to emotional problems.
But don't take my word for it. Why not look into the research of organizations and researchers who have presented all of the relevant information themselves. I urge you to look into the research done by individuals such as Margaret Singer, Robert J. Lifton, and Steven Hassan.
Here are some links for your convenience:
I suppose that some could claim that the research done into mind-control is based merely on "anecdotal" evidence. Well, in that case, perhaps all of the evidence that smoking causes lung cancer is "anecdotal" as well.
I have to agree with the points that Inquistor is making.
Certainly being a JW leads many to depression. However, the scenario you describe of the young man swimming to Bethel and believing himself to be God sounds very much like bi-polar disorder. B-P and schizophrenia usually have onset in early twenties, so this would fit. I believe these illnesses are of organic origin.
But claiming that the religion CAUSES INSANITY to the degree that one needs to be institutionalised, is ludicrous!
Look at it this way - does the bOrg really help? Does the bOrg have any practical methods or advice to any of the rank and file who are dealing with mental health issues? Does the bOrg actively encourage the rank and file to seek out professional help when it comes to mental health issues? I'd give that a big fat NO (I could be wrong they may have changed policy on me since I've been gone but I doubt it).
So while the bOrg may not incite or cause mental health issues (personally I lean towards that they actually do) they really don't do anything to help those among the rank and file who are dealing with such issues. In other words, they may not cause it but they sure don't help it.
Josie
I hung a rope from the ceiling in my room at the age of 17, with a noose and all, and sat there looking at it. Then I hung it around my neck, and the only reason why I didn`t climb up on the chair and jump, was not because of some noble reason, that I "couldn`t do it to my family", or "I choose to live" or whatever, it was simply because I didn`t have the guts to do it. I didn`t do it because I was even more terrified of dying, and the dying moment, than living. This was a result of having been brought up in a destructive cult. No wonder that kid went nuts. Lots of jw-kids go nuts. Some kill themselves. It`s a sick, sick cult.
