just a typical marital counseling session?????

by oompa 47 Replies latest jw friends

  • oompa
    oompa

    So how did it go some have asked?

    at some point the lady therapist asked me what was probably my number one concern....it just came out...."I don't know if I can stay married to a JW"...Wife burst into tears...and never let up...not even on the way back to drop me off at work...I also said in session I would prefer an open minded wife, and I don't think Wife would pick me now either...not an unbeliever, not an overdrinker, and that marriage to me meant being able to share pretty much everything with one another, my feelings, my friends, my concerns, and that i did not like living a double life...and explained what that was too......she of course said she would stay in the marriage, and mentioned the adultery only rule...so I said it sounds like she feels she is stuck with me...she said it sounds like our marriage is already over....the lady says she does know for a fact that jw's do indeed get divorced without sex sins...cause she has counseled more that one couple like us...one in, one out....that ended with divorce

    I did say nice things about her...said the things I love.....and vice verse...and we both said we wanted the marriage to work....so at least a good basis for continuing the sessions.....the lady wants us to find common ground and just ignore the religious difference for now...I said great but how can we do that when the religion is all encompassing to my Wife...it is everything....I will be glad to go to the ground if she can find it....but she never got a chance to find it yet...we ran out of time

    Wife mentioned all the time I spend on the computer and so I told her there are thousands of people like me....faders or whatever.....and that I have gotten to know many...and that I need to grow....and that the other docs said I needed a support group and that I don't think she realizes how HUGE this difficult change has been in my life.....and the lady said it is understandable that i would seek out people with similar life experiences....and acknowledged that it is a HUGE thing.......and that she has helped one lady with five straight years of therapy to get over her exit from a similar religion....I mentioned my wife had turned me in to the elders for being on a website with other ex-jw's, and she said yeah but that was cause I was going to meetings then, and that she would not do that anymore since i no longer claim to be a witness and dont go to meetings.

    she asked Wife about associating with others like me...and of course a huge NO WAY....she said she likes her friends and would not want friends that had turned their backs on JW!!!....so i held up my hand and said, that kind of hurts, cause you just said you did not want to be my friend..... as I have turned my back on JW! so the lady asks if we could have others over that were not JW ever...like a neighbor of another faith....of course Wife said she only wanted to be around those with the same beliefs and knows ahead of time there would be just too many differences in non-jws, so she would not want to try that. the lady was kind of speechless.........I just sat through the whole thing kind of looking down glassy eyed and listened mostly, and handed Wife tissues....it caught the lady off guard that I just kept right on talking when Wife started crying....ya...I guess I am too used to it.........so many tears these last three years that is was no big deal....sorry, but that was a sad realization

    when she dropped me off at work she again said she thinks I want out of the marriage...I asked her why would I have put forth the effort to learn how to deal with this odd arrangement we have through counseling if I wanted out?....just more tears...now she will not answer the phone...........kinda went like that...the lady ran out of time and did not even give us homework...like to get us to think about the common ground thing...it just kind of ended abruptly...

    Where are we gonna find common ground???? probably just that we still love each other some.......this cult kills too many families.................oompa

    next session is monday for what it is worth

    btw...my wifes number one problem/concern....is that i get help for Bi-Polar....like I did not really try 27 drugs the past three years and am now drug free....and pretty much said the reason I am what I am is due to mental illness....really....and I admitted to being obsessed over the JW thing....but not to being Bi-Polar

  • kzjw
    kzjw

    I told you it's tough...sorry u had such a rough time. The first one's really hard because you're trying to get everything in at once. adn that's not possible when you're just getting to know the therapist. Monday try to pick one subject that's important to both of you, and take it on issue at a time. Maybe you'll find common ground there.

    Marc

  • oompa
    oompa
    Monday try to pick one subject that's important to both of you, and take it on issue at a time. Maybe you'll find common ground there.

    Marc

    I am open to suggestions. EVERTHING seems to hinge on JWisms. I do not know where to start, but at least I was open and honest.............oompa

  • Hope4Others
    Hope4Others
    to find common ground and just ignore the religious difference for now

    I think you need to start dating again......just the two of you.

    h4o

  • carla
    carla

    I would like to hear how the therapist deals with the jw mind and their ENTIRE life revolving around the borg and how you are supposed to find 'common' ground when the jw puts the borg (not God) before all others. I'm not trying to be a smart aleck I truly want to know what a therapist could possibly say other than for the jw to find some balance and compromise.

    I'm sure the therapist was thrown back a bit by your wifes refusal to have anything to do with those who think differently than her, most people are and don't believe it. I bet your therapist is busy researching the org right now!

  • JK666
    JK666

    Oompa,

    What do you want the outcome to be?

    JK

  • oompa
    oompa
    I'm not trying to be a smart aleck I truly want to know what a therapist could possibly say other than for the jw to find some balance and compromise.

    I'm sure the therapist was thrown back a bit by your wifes refusal to have anything to do with those who think differently than her, most people are and don't believe it. I bet your therapist is busy researching the org right now!

    Carla...that is exactly why I asked her how we would find common ground when the religion controls EVERY aspect of her life? BTW this lady knows a ton about JW's, had a JW employee for years that was one, and has counseled many JW couples........many with one in, one out status.........that is why I picked her. But she still seemed a bit shocked when Wife pretty much said "All I want is to be with dubs"....and that she is a homebody, and is content to just be home with me................oompa

  • oompa
    oompa

    JK...this may sound selfish, but I want her to at least look into the "thought" that maybe this is not the truth! At least explore the possiblility. And yeah I want her out!!! I do not see how I can stay in a marriage like this. However, my first session I made it very clear to the lady that her job is to help me accept this "odd arrangement" of a marriage if my wife stays closeminded for years to come. If she cant, she is to give me the balls to move on. I don't see any other options unless I want to be a misearable doublelifer for life..........oompa

  • Awakened at Gilead
    Awakened at Gilead
    is content to just be home with me................oompa

    Make the most of that then!!!!!

    Seriously,

    Sorry to hear that the 1st session didn't turn out well... although it's not unexpected.... can you try to talk to her about these issues without the therapist? Or do you need the therapist there to help?

    I'm here to help with whatever you need... I'll talk to your wife too if she's willing... she could see that I'm not crazy like the org says I am, lol....

  • White Dove
    White Dove

    Wow! It sounds like your wife is the one with the biggest problem. She won't even meet with others of different faiths. That was no surprise, I'm sure, but she is giving the counselor absolutely nothing to work with. I feel for you. I really do.

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