How Dysfunctional A Witness Were You? (page 2)

lfcviking

always being told that we are inferior, that we're not doing enough

Totally agree, this does has long term consequences as i and i'm sure many have found out.

The point is--------being a Witness does NOT help a person who's depressed, suicidal or confused. Only after they get out might they feel better. I would have to disagree with that one. There is an expression that goes: Time doesn't heal wounds, it is what you DO with the time that counts. Same is true with being a JW. If you are a JW and fall in line with the rest who are not doing what is right in Jehovahs eyes then sure, you won't be happy. On the other hand if you do whats right, even though you will be black balled, you will be happy.

This is what Jehovah has said, your Repurchaser, the Holy One of Israel: "I, Jehovah, am your God, the One teaching you to benefit [yourself], the One causing you to tread in the way in which you should walk. O if only you would actually pay attention to my commandments! Then your peace would become just like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Isaiah 48:17-18

pobthespazz

I like to think my sister and I were ok , but our parents definitely were not , mum secret drinker , dad very physically abusive

Fleshybirdfodder

I was pretty bad. We had a really oppresive elder body and you could slip up and say "gee" on the platform and be hauled into the B-school for a counselling. I think living in that constant fear caused me to do things that someone in a more open and supportive environment wouldn't even consider doing. I still carry a lot of guilt with me today from that. I think that although many non-dubs are alcoholics for instance, the dub that does have a problem with something like alcohol abuse has more guilt, and that is exacerbated if they try to cover it up (as most do if they care about their position in the congregation) by the added guilt of "hidden sin". The congregation in my experience is a never-ending hamster wheel spent "keeping up with the Joneses", and since that is impossible to do because no one is ever doing enough, frustration and exhaustion ensue as a matter of course. Since admitting these entirely natural feelings would be seen as a sign of one being "spiritually weak" it becomes a vicious circle that would cause even the most well-adjusted to be dysfunctional.

Dysfunctionally yours,

FBF

ClaireManEater

Very! It is only now that I'm coming around.

sexyk

I was doing drugs, getting drunk, and havin sex all at the same time. Then going to the meeting giving # 4 talks, in charge of the microphones, reading at the bookstudy, and giving prayers, and almost reading the watchtower on the platform on sundays. I was dysfunctional in the religion, but only i knew that LOL.

Good times

minimus

Agapa, I see you must still be a Jehovah's Witness, huh?....."If you do what is right, even though you will be black balled, you will be happy"....... Sounds like "cult speak".

whyamihere

My family was one of the most "Dysfunctional" JW families out there!

However, I put the "FUN" back into Dysfunctional.

Brooke

Satanus

My case is the reverse, i functioned quite well. I had learned to block the affects of childhood abuse and just did the things i thought i was supposed to. Except for depression, i didn't feel, i just did. So, i did the parttime cleaning work, and later became a self employed painter. I did as much service and other wt activities as i could. I managed to live like that for over 20 yrs, until i hit the wall. Since i have released the internal stuff and started to experience the world directly, i find it hard to handle. In some ways, i may be less functional, now. I think i'm learning how to do stuff i should have learned 30 yrs ago.

S

Golf

You hit the nail on the head when you said, '...we were not doing enough." The organization keeps one's mind in a low self-esteem compartment. This is mind control at it's best. This type of control is not love by any stretch of the imagination.

Golf

How Dysfunctional A Witness Were You?