Does this happen to anyone else? (page 2)

Broken Promises

It takes time, but the feeling eventually goes away. It took me about a year.

purplesofa

It happened to me for a long time,

I just realized the panic feelings are gone now, yea me!

purps

doublelife

thanks again, dgp.

aSphereisnotaCircle, this year would've been my ten year baptism anniversary so it'll take me ten years to reach that goal.

Broken Promises and purplesofa, I'm glad you're past this stage.

I totally feel you doublelife. Before I stopped going I literally had to take a anti anxiety pill just to go to the meeting. Now every once in a while I get that feeling on a meeting night and instead of having to take a pill I go out for a walk.

RebeccaChi

Welcome kgirl!

The same thing would happen to me shortly after I left. It maybe lasted three or four years. I was born and raised in the cult, so Tuesdays and Thursdays were my dreaded evenings for almost 22 years. I probably missed no more than 2 meetings a year as I was unfortunately dragged to the meetings by an over-zealous mother. When I think about it my body actually gets that uncomfortable, sore feeling I got as a kid from sitting still so long. It's sad to think of how much of my childhood was wasted sitting at these mindless, pointless meetings. It takes a little while for your body and mind to readjust after all that. Now it's very rare that I ever think of the meetings on those nights, and cannot picture myself ever committing to such a demanding religious schedule again.

blondie

I've been out almost 10 years. I have other activities now evenings and I mostly forget. From the get-go though it was a relief no longer to have 2 evenings and 1/2 a Sunday a week wasted besides never having a complete weekend day free. I discovered many other fun things to do and I was less stressed trying to fit in things around the meetings. My husband and I from time to time salute our freedom from the tyranny of the meetings.

nelly136

tues thurs and sunday meetings were like a nasty blip on the weekly rotation, one down two to go, two down one to go, restart the cycle, it was like payday in reverse.

as for the feeling in the kh itself, it wasnt until years later when i had to revisit a kh for a wedding that the oh too familiar cold clammy feeling came back and it finally dawned that it didnt matter which kh id ever been to, they all felt exactly the same.

devoid of feeling, devoid of personality, its like an energy vaccuum.

nancy drew

Actually I'm okay until my husband starts messing around by saying out of nowhere "oh did you turn in your time" and than he starts laughing and I have to say "will you stop saying those things" because than that meeting anxiety hits and everything tumbles back in my mind when you hear those phrases its like you've been tasered.

doublelife

truthseekeriam, going for a walk or any exercise is a good idea.

RebeccaChi, "It's sad to think of how much of my childhood was wasted sitting at these mindless, pointless meetings." Ugh, don't remind me.It's so depressing. I don't see myself ever committing to that kind of religious schedule again either.

blondie, I also enjoy having so much time to persue things without having to fit them around the meeting schedule.

nelly136, "its like an energy vaccuum." So true! That must be why I was always tired at the meetings.

nancy drew, that's not very nice of him but I know he's just teasing you. Did he used to be a jw too?

WuzLovesDubs

Thats a very very normal reaction. You are conditioned to go and there is all this GUILT they make you feel when you DONT go. It will pass. The longer you are out. But if you are still looking over your shoulder for them to catch up to your fade then it might take longer. Once you are totally free of them, those feelings will go away.

I do still have dreams of having the book study and meeting for field service in my house. The JWs are all there but they shun me...my house and they still shun me...and Im yelling at them and they dont even acknowledge that I am there. Just pisses me off even more at them LOL.

Does this happen to anyone else?

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