Good point Mike
Mental condition of Jehovah's Witnesses, healthy or not ?
by Handsome Dan 34 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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looking_glass
I have a number of friends who work in the psych world. What I found interesting was what they have likened it to people on a stationary bike, the harder they peddle the more they get nowhere. The reason being - if you attempt to be happy, you are not a good JW because there is no such thing as happiness in this system of things. If you gain a sense of happiness then surely you are not doing what is pleasing to Jah, cause happiness in this system means you love what is worldly a/k/a Satan. The harder JWs work at happiness the more exhausted they get emotionally/mentally because they are fighting against what they are feed by their 3 mtgs a week, literature and jw "encouraging" talk amongst themselves. Of course you are going to be screwed up with this kind of cycle of thinking.
Also, if you read some of the studies done out there regarding mental illness and certain religions, there is often times an * next to JW because their research is incomplete. Some of it was due to JWs not seeking mental health help and some of it was because the subject initially was compliant and then later failed to follow thru w/ the researcher so their information is incomplete. My guess for the latter is due to the guilt of admitting to not being a happy JW. But I could be wrong.
And yes, there is mental illness in all religions, as was pointed out. The thing is that JWs are way behind in addressing the mental illness issue. However, now that JWs are taking meds for their "depression" they are all referred to in the hall as prozac publisher/pioneers. It is still made light of and mental illness is still ignore for the most part. Of course that is until some "bring reproach" upon Jah's good name and then it is addressed by way of df'ing or da'ing the person. Again, there is little consideration for the person who is suffering the most, the person with the mental illness.
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bert
I was in a congregation with Joy Gobitus in the late 60's. Older witnesses will remember the Flag Salute issue of the 1940's.She was the daughter of Wally Gobitas the defendant in the suit,went all the way to the Supreme Court and the witnesses won a big victory. Joy was a sweet person,full time Pioneer,seemed to have it all,or so I thought. She for some reason just flipped out one day,went clean off her rocker,was locked up in jail.While in jail she drank Clorox Bleach! I didnt get any details from the "brothers" so never really knew what happened. Weird was what kept coming up in my mind!
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Handsome Dan
Looking glass summarises everything well ......it could be said that mental illness is a helpful and supportive role for their this old Satan run world doctrine. If that is the case then why
address it ! Remember us mortal humans can not fight the ever present Satan and his demons alone he is way too powerful . You need to stay close to god's organization and buy his
magazines and wait for the new order of things
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mcsemike
Dan: That is a good point. It's obvious to the world, and I suspect to many JW's, that they are not normal, even leaving their religious affiliation out of the picture. In other words, if the WT never existed, many JW's would be in therapy or need to be. This religion has a certain flavor to it that appeals to those who suffer certain distinct mental disorders. A few of these are depression, obsessive-compulsive behavior, problems with cognitive dissonance, and persecution issues. They play right into the hands of the WT, which by the way, does not have a clue about how to recognize or treat this disorders.
In fact, the WT really doesn't WANT to treat them. If all of these JW's were "fixed" or cured, they no doubt would leave the WT for good. Since that is unacceptable for several reasons (in the WT's book), the rank and file need to be kept ignorant about the entire situation. Thus we have "no college" and "psychologists are from Satan" and similar nonsense.
If anyone doubts the WT's qualifications concerning health issues, please do a Google on the old medical beliefs the WT once taught. Anti-cancer machines, germs, aluminum pots, having your tonsils taken out (cutting your own throat was preferred, they said), vaccinations, and the ever-present blood issue are just some of the gems this cult is responsible for teaching.
Happy reading.