How Have YOU Changed Since Leaving The Witnesses? (page 3)

oompa

I have become obsessive about JW things, and i need to stop. I am prob going to doc today cause my mind is aways racing and i feel very conflicted and anxious. Some people seem to be able to learn the real truth and just move on mentally.......for me religious crap is just stuck in my head nearly ALL the time.....thus i am here way too much. If my wife and son were out, i dont think i would be like this.......but the awkwardness of my marriage is taking its toll.......i also drink WAY to much too often now....i was already a heavy drinker the last ten years as a dub.....but never abused it like this....never escaped into the bottle.......i have a goal and a plan now to get that under control....Bonnzo helped me with it

minimus

You sound a bit obsessive (about everything).

AWAKE&WATCHING

I was stressed out all the time when I was a JW. Trying to work AND attend meetings AND raise kids that I was required to take to the meetings AFTER preparing for them ahead of time while dealing with a disbelieving mate whose relatives thought my religion was crazy was a bit much. Add to that the fact that my youngest child was disabled and I was encouraged repeatedly by some in the congregation to put him in a home somewhere so that I could be out in service more......and blah! blah! blah!

I am more at peace, more like the person I was before I got sucked into the cult, only better. I really LIKE myself and who I am becoming. My whole world view is different. It's nice to relax and not have to think that every single, however small, decision can evoke the wrath of God.

I really love people and I don't have that voice screaming in my head "This person is bad association and will be killed at Armageddon!" I think that was the hardest part for me, seeing such good people in the world and thinking that God was going to destroy them anyway.

mynewlife35

I haven't left yet -due to family- but I can tell you that I no longer look at all "worldly" people as aliens. Raised as a witness, I always felt all other people besides witnesses were "weird" in some way. I didn't think they lived like us...Since I have started making "real" friends I have come to realize all people are the same. Trying to survive and find some level of happiness in this screwed up world. It doesn't matter what you believe= when you make a new friend, do you really care whether they believe in the trinity or not? Or whether they believe they are going to heaven or not? We all have our own personal beliefs about the future, but I am now learning to live in the present...

minimus

I take a lot of stuff with a grain of salt. I put my faith in very little.

JimmyPage

I'm much more tolerant and empathetic towards people in general. And able to converse on a wider range of subjects than were allowed by DubLand. I also feel more at peace inside because I'm not worried about doing enough to please the WT version of God. I'm not in any fear of Armageddon and I also feel closer to the divine because I don't see God as being so demanding of perfection. That also gives me more of a calmness about death and the afterlife. I'm less angry towards cult members and instead of that emotion I just feel sorry for them. I'm able to enjoy the little things in life that I never experienced before like celebrating holidays and being open to my non-JW relatives and workmates.

wary

Hi Minimus

You are always asking questions [thats good]

I feel relaxed and peacefull man

wary

doofdaddy

I am a totally different person, possibly unrecognisable from 10m yrs ago.

I was grinding away at a mortgage. Unhappy marrige and unhappy kids, as they were having doubts but I was too busy trying to keep it all together to see it. I was "old" and boring and bored and tired out at 43.

I now live in a commune, have restrendthened my relationship with my kids and their partners (and grand kids now)and my ex. I travel overseas every 6 months, dance like no one's watching and have a happy and vibrant life.

Now I am a truly spiritual person, not a wannabe putting on a uniform 3 times a week, trying to worship a truly invisible god.

JimmyPage

Doofdaddy: Wow! You live in a commune. Can you be more descriptive of what that's like? How did that come to be for you?

Scarred for life

doofdaddy:

Wow! You go! I don't know if I would like living in a commune but it sounds like you are truly happy. I'm happy for you.

I'm more tolerant of all different types of people and beliefs and lifestyles and I'm totally accepting of other people's spiritual beliefs. I feel free to do whatever I want to do and learn about subjects that dubs would frown on like politics and R-rated movies and all types of music.

I do not fear Armageddon. I never even think about that unless I'm on this board. I do not fear God and worry about His wrath over every little thing that I do. I think of God in a much more positive, loving way.

I live in the present. This is the only life we have. I experience as much as I can.

How Have YOU Changed Since Leaving The Witnesses?

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