The pressures of Jehovah's Witness life (page 2)

LongHairGal

Rich:

I never did ALL of it. I did as much as I could or felt like doing. I worked full time and got home late. I didn't have time to do all the reading they suggested and I didn't want to. Sometimes I went over the WT for Sunday and did some bible reading. Maybe I went over the Tuesday night chapter (if it was interesting).

As time went on, I couldn't make all the meetings. Thursday night was the worst. I never really felt too guilty because I thought all their meetings were unnecessary and all their reading impossible.

I felt they were totally out of touch with reality about what a normal working person had to deal with.

LHG

hambeak

Candidlynuts put it right on remember how we were told to make an effective schedule? It seems every hour of every day was scheduled. I believe this was not just mind control but control of every aspect of our lives. If you followed the schedule you didn't have time for anything else. If you tried to schedule recreation that would have been a no no, and more likely than not counseled as being a lover of pleasures rather than lovers of god. As Oulaw said as a jw child you didn't have a choice, it was horrible and in a sense child abuse.

DannyHaszard

My repressed sex life in the Jehovah's Witnesses True story,i couldn't have made this up guys.

The wanderer

Dear exwitless:

I see and understand your point. To be honest, the reason
that I write such deep "Watchtower" issues is because
these questions have stayed with me for years.

If I raised questions as a Jehovah's Witness the only
thing that it guaranteed was having more enemies in
the congregation. I was labled as the "trouble-maker"
in the truth or the "congregation go against."

For now, please be patient exwitless, while I re-
evaluate things. In the mean time, enjoy the
content of the articles and post your
thoughts and ideas because I am
sure it will help someone.

Respectfully,

The Wanderer

Nosferatu

JW kids don`t have a choice..Unless you want a beating,or to be kicked out of the house,you`ll do as your told....WBT$ approved child abuse,dealt out by Idiot JW parents

That's pretty much it. I remember how a "good article" would come out about how to make a schedule for your family. It never lasted. Monday nights became bible reading nights for a short time. Saturday night was to study the Watchtower. We rarely studied for the Thursday meeting. There was just no point, plus I often came home on Thursdays with my arms full of school books so I could miss the meeting.

Oh yeah, and for the longest time, Friday night me and my dad would go study at an elder's house. We did the live forever book, that brochure with the globe on the front, and I think we even did the Reasoning book. We weren't progressing very quickly, and neither of us made it to baptism (although I became an unbaptized publisher).

The studies eventually fizzled out after 3 to 4 years. My mother got a replacement for the elder, thinking I would be able to "relate" to someone younger. I was already 18 years old, and I wanted out of the JW religion. Saturday night was assigned to be study night for me and Brother Flathead, and we would be studying the Watchtower. That's when I began rebelling, and I my depression started getting the best of me. I never looked at that bastard while we were studying. I just kept my face buried in the Watchtower.

He went as far as trying to get the Watchtower Conductor to "look for my hand" on a certain question at the Watchtower study. I never raised my hand, but I felt the WTS Conductor staring holes into me with his eyes when it came to the question that I was supposed to answer.

Brother Flathead forced me to sit with him by moving my books from the seat beside my parents to the seat beside him. He also tried "encouraging me" to make the meetings by picking me up for them. I thought it was pretty funny when I drove to the meeting while he waited outside my house to pick me up.

I remember one study we had in my room. He was obviously disturbed because of my extensive Led Zeppelin and Guns N Roses collection, and a poster of Led Zeppelin staring down at him from my wall. He told me to throw out all my Led Zeppelin because Jimmy Page sold his soul to the devil to become the world's greatest guitar player.

Eventually, the studies stopped because I wasn't progressing. I was actually getting worse.

How did I deal with the stress, the depression, and the slavery?
http://www.myspace.com/cannedpeachesmashup

I expressed myself through music, even though I couldn't play any instruments. I also vented in a journal which I still have. When I go back and read through it, I can't help but feel saddened at how wasteful those 13 years in the org were. I spent most of that time angry, sad, and depressed.

cyrus

Hi guys i guess i wasnt much of a witness ,i did what i felt like doing no more no l;ess felt sorry for my ex she fell for all the bs including the no oral sex rule mon fos in bethel to blame for that one.lets face it you can blag it big time if you have half a brain cell the secret with pre study is read the question first then scan 4 answer 10 mins 4 wt and ten 4 book .i was always a good reader so even reading 4 cong wt study 4 cong was easy all i did was use a flouro marker to underline answer and everyone would the u were the dogs bollocks no pressure at all .Bit of advice 4 you lovely ladies blagging it with believing husbands buy ur self a rampant rabbit sex toy u wont give a s..t about anything else trust me and u bros get one 4 ur wife she will love u 4 ever and will will not want to get up 4 service u use it on her until she get comfortable with it she will then be at it all day trust me bros she will love it

cyrus

SORRY FOR LOWERING THE TONE...........NOT, !!!!!!!!

Doubting Bro

Having been raised a JW, I never really gave the schedule a moment's notice. I would be stressed due to being first a MS then an elder, but never attributed it to the correct source. Being a single MS wasn't too bad and the schedule was pretty easy to keep. Getting married made it a little tougher but the conditioning I received from childhood onward made it doable. Being an elder really made it tough because there were constant meetings, much paperwork, always on the platform in addition to trying to be a "good shepherd". I tried to combine activities like visiting sick one when I was out in service so that I could at least do both. But, there was never enough time. Depression and frustration grew. I always felt (as others have mentioned) I was a failure because there is no way to live up to the standard.

Once the kid came, I started unraveling. I found out about the UN thing, then found this place and suddenly I could make sense of what was happening. It isn't US, its the unreasonable demands on time placed by the WTS. You can NEVER do enough. I started to see just how similiar the JWs are to the Pharisee's of Jesus day. How unChrist like the whole thing is.

The pressures of trying to measure up in a works based religion are impossible. You either 1) live your entire life disappointed in yourself, 2) constantly critize others to make yourself feel better, 3) numbly go through the motions or 4) leave.

I am grateful for the experience of having been able to deal (sort of) with these types of pressures for my entire life. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

troubled mind

candidlynuts your post brought back some awful memories ...... Someone asked me last night why I stayed for so long .......it was because that was all I knew . All those years I went through the "right" motions while I suppressed my true feelings. I went through self hate , depression ,pretending and general unhappiness because of the pressure .

PaulJ

Simply put I didnt cope. I was ok when my parents were pushing me but one i got married (young, obviously!!) it was never the same and I couldnt keep up. Then I left and just felt guilty.... until I found this website.

The pressures of Jehovah's Witness life

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