So, Was Your Life RUINED Because You Were A JW? (page 2)

daniel-p

No way. Life is it, the only thing we got... if we let anyone "ruin" it, that would be the same as committing suicide, in my opinion. There's always room to give, to love, and if you do that, you've reached the height of living.

asilentone

yes, they would not let me play sports in High School, I hate the Watchtower for that, but I would not let them ruin me permanently, life goes on.

Charlie Cheddar

I think the longer you are in the Org, the more ruined your life becomes.

If you're only in it for a short while (a few years or so), you realise its a load of crap and then leave, then the damage may only be minimal or marginal.

If you're in it for all of your life and then leave (born into it and leave say in your fifties), then i imagine the scale of destruction would be quite considerable. The task of rebuilding your life completely from scratch, i can only imagine would maybe like being born again. Anyone who has done this has my utmost respect and admiration.

CC

VoidEater

Ruined? Well, I survived.

May have been better without the WTS, but then what might have taken its place that would have been worse?

Some nice habits came out of it, such as an interest in actually studying something - which of course backfired on the WTS because I actually studied.

But...a heck of a lot of work to overcome the organizationally-ignored molestation and the terror of "the world".

chickpea

ruined? not so much

i guess my two older kids could
have just as easily been sexually
abused in any other faith group....

getting out of and away from
all things JW has made life, healing
recovery etc infinitely easier....

will i ever be able to admit
to having been a JW without
being embarrassed? not likely

steve2

Life ruined? That's a good question to ask those stuck in victimhood. Life is painful anyway - with or without religion and as I scan the ongoing horrific injustices around the world, and stop licking my own wounds, I realise it is all relative. There are far, far worse things in life than being raised in a JW environment. Try living in a country where your life is at risk simply because of your ethnicity (Rwanda) and in countries where human rights are virtually non-existent (Iran, North Korea) or in a country (e.g., India) where suicide rates of males and females clearly outstrip those of affluent Western countries.

finding my way

Of course not. It's presented challenges, but everyone has those.

babygirl75

I can't say it was "ruined"...would things have been easier for me growing up? Yes, but I still had a good childhood. I honestly think my parents did the best they could. Do I wish my family and I were never JW's? Yep....especially now that I'm older and out. I celebrate all holidays with my husband's family, but none with my family. That really sucks!

milola

I think it definately had an effect on how I interact with "worldly" people. I am not at all comfortable in social situations even though I fake it pretty good. My husband is the only one I met after that I am 100% comfortable with. But maybe that would have been me anyway so who could possibly know.

minimus

see.....things aren't as bad as you might've thought.

So, Was Your Life RUINED Because You Were A JW?

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