by journey-on 13 Replies latest jw friends
If you are hauled in to a JC and disfellowshipped and your whole support system of family and friends
turn against you and shun you because they've been indoctrinated to do so by the WTS, can
you suffer mental anguish? You are shunned and treated like you are invisible at the KH and you go
home and either cry your eyes out or get drunk. Is this mental anguish?
Yup. That about sums it up.
changeling
When a JW child suffers nightmares about demons and being destroyed at Armageddon.....is this mental anguish?
When a young adult decides to leave the WTS after having been raised in it and suffers depression, anxiety, phobias, paranoia, etc. ........is this mental anguish?
When an elderly pioneer brother or sister realizes they have sacrificed financial security in their old age for a pipe dream because of the indoctrination............is this mental anguish?
Where is the defining line? Does anybody have any ideas?
It's the mental and spiritual equivalent to "Waterboarding"
Mental Anguish(n) Mental Anguish is the mental suffering like fear, anxiety, depression, grief etc faced by a person during an event, period , action or situation. A person can claim damages for mental anguish if it was logically connected to the incident. Eg. Seeing the killing of a loved one. magoo  |
Where is the defining line? Does anybody have any ideas?
When it damages your health.
IE: Eating disorders, stress, high blood pressure, hurting yourself, neglecting your health etc.
Where is the defining line? Does anybody have any ideas?
Well, the defining line is if mental anguish can be proven in court. One must have evidence to prove it, maybe, a testimony from a psychologist, hospital bills, bank statement, etc.
Mental anguish happened to me when my two young sons were kidnapped by their JW father and taken to another part of the country, hidden by JW's and assisted by elders in the home congregation. This happened a long time ago but this mental anguish never goes away whenever I have to "go there"...There has never been anything worse that has happened to me in all my life. Still suffering mental anguish!
Is this mental anguish?
No, it's an expression of Jehovah's and the congregation's "love" for the erring individual. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?
Fortunately, the courts speak English and aren't fluent in JWspeak. I hope the time comes when they will take a strong stand on this issue.
Sure it is mental anguish, it does not have to be a permanent state. Things happen in our lives that are hurtful, painful, stressful, things we can't control, you made will try to make sense out it and can't and you will feel mental anguish and probably some depression.
The bottom line is to not focus on it as something that will harm you forever. It is like falling down and hurting your knee, of course you will feel pain, that's the same thing as the mind. If you encounter an unpleasant event, of course it will cause mental anguish. It is permanent? Has it harmed you on a constant basis? Is it impeding your ability to function in everyday life? Those are much larger questions that now touch upon something a little bit more harmful, but mental anguish in itself is not a bad thing, it is a human thing, it's a reaction.
