JW illness

Rosey

I don't mean an illness that makes you a jw ;) that would be scary.

I was wondering if everyone else felt that there was a huge amount of illness within the borg.......if there still is?

When I was a jw I remember there being a magazine about CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) and ME ( mylo encephalitis? something like that) and at the time hearing a report on the radio that said it was on the increase and particularly among people in caring professions such as nurses, home workers, AND JW's. Of course that was a big deal to some jw's i knew....."see people recognize we care"........

Anyway I can name in my head at least 6 JW's I knew who were diagnosed as having ME or CFS.......as well as others who had severe depression.....and illnesses like this.

Since I have left I have met ONE person with ME...a nursery nurse who hates children and her job.

Does the borg breed depressive illnesses?.......Was/Is it a common illness among jw's because they care so much they are giving up too much of their lives and not really getting anything in return? Don't know if I was being sarcastic there or not!

Comments ;)

Rose x

ninja

have you no washing or tidying to do?.....he he

mindmelda

That's a great question, actually. I have fibromyalgia, (a mild case, it used to be worse) and know of quite a few JWs who have it and/or Chronic Fatigue.

It's well documented that all of these immune related disorders are aggravated or perhaps even caused by stress and emotional trauma. Other groups prone to these immune system irregularities are victims of domestic abuse, rape or child abuse/incest. Unfortunately, it's led some doctors to believe they're psychosomatic, but they do have actual physical symptoms. The immune system is affected adversely by prolonged emotional stress and trauma.

There are also genetic factors. My two daughters suffer from fibromyalgia too, but I didn't raise them as Witnesses, and plenty of non-Witnesses suffer from these illnesses. Accidents and illnesses are also triggering events that tax the immune system for prolonged periods. But, yes, if you have the genetic factors and then are subjected to a lot of emotional trauma or abuse, that can be the triggering event, according to what I've read.

It's interesting that Mormon women also have a high rate of these sorts of illnesses.

StAnn

Mindmelda, I have a terrible case of Fibromyalgia. I just started Lyrica this week and really hope it helps.

I am one of those people who suffered physical, sexual, and emotional abuse as a child and as a young adult; was raised a JW; and was in a car accident when I was nine years old, right before all of the FMS symptoms emerged. Classic case.

So I definitely had all the triggers. My mother says that she knew when it started because I stopped playing. Before the FMS, I would play outside with my friends all day. Once the FMS started, I would just stay in my room and read.

Yes, I've noticed that lots of JWs have FMS but I've met lots of people outside of the Borg who have FMS. A stressful life does manifest itself in our bodies.

St. Ann

Brocephus

I used to get Chronic Fatigue Syndrome every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 and Sunday at 9 AM. Couldn't keep my eye lids open to save my life.

snowbird

Bro Cephus, you are a hoot!

Thanks for giving me a good laugh.

Sylvia

rebel8

The borg:

Is terribly stressful, which is known to cause measurable physical problems
Requires unsavory tasks such as field service, a valid excuse from which is illness (so people tend to make stuff up)
Attracts crazy people
Attracts people who have real ailments because they're yearning for a permanent cure

Now off with me, I've got washing to do.

ziddina

Ooooo, What Rebel8 said!

And what BroCephus said!

I never developed those illnesses, but I sure faked illnesses to get out of going to the meetings!

Zid - Feeling a bit 'green'; can't go to the meeting tonight....

megaflower

In the fall I esp had fatigue and the remedy was NFL Football every Sunday afternoon.

WTWizard

What happens when the witlesses are not allowed to regenerate? They have to be up in the morning every single day, whether they feel like it or not, to do field circus. Then there are all those boasting sessions to attend. Sleep is in short supply among the witlesses, and it is known that sleep deprivation can play havoc on one's immune system and metabolism. In fact, college students kept on 4 hours of sleep per day for 6 days functioned like 60 year old diabetics--I would not be surprised to see much more diabetes among the witlesses than among worldly people (some of who smoke).

Other factors include a drab lifestyle where everything fun is forbidden, insults to one's intelligence, a crap diet (going to McDonald's all the time because you need to get more time in is not healthy), inconsistent exercise from sudden starts and stops, breathing smoke in from the householders (and dry cleaning fumes from dry cleaned suits), catching tuberculosis at the door, and never being "good enough". These things all contribute to people being fat (and I have seen more than my share of fat people among the witlesses, including people that gained their weight when they became witlesses). It also contributes to mental illnesses (and more medication, which ruins the brain and the liver--needlessly, since the illness was caused by the Washtowel Slaveholdery), cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, and fatigue.

And yes, I have noticed more than my share of people that got very sick as witlesses. I have seen people in their 40s, 50s, and early 60s dying of things like liver cancer, heart disease, and even scattered cancer throughout their bodies (maybe too much dry cleaning chemicals being breathed in). One "brother" was quite fat, out of shape, and had heart disease (and he was only in his 40s when he got a major heart infection)--and very strong in the cancer. Seems that people that do not enjoy anything and are under this pressure, and get little sleep, tend to get sick more than others.

JW illness

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