6 weeks of Dear Lee

by Lady Lee 6 Replies latest jw friends

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  Lady Lee

  I can barely believe it has gone so fast but I have finished my 6th week of Dear Lee over at Freeminds. There are a few readers daily which makes me want to continue.

  Each daily column covers an aspect of counseling post-JW or recovery issues and I am always looking for new questions so feel free to post them and I will get to them in the near future. You might want to check to see if your question is already there first though.

  Also responses to the columns are welcome. You need Foxfire to respond though. I know my IE won't work there.
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  besty

  Freeminds recommends Firefox :-)

  Lee is doing a stunning job over there - any exiting JW or ex-JW with questions should make her column their first call, and then return visit...soon you and Lee will be having a Study :-)
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  Lady Lee

  Thanks Besty

  No studying. No underlining of paragraphs I promise.
• 

  hamsterbait

  AW - Lee,

  I am sooo disappointed. No underlining? No conformity?

  And here i was hoping you would crack the whip and control my mind!

  Its a great column.

  HB
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  Dogpatch

  Lee is doing a great job. She has things in mind to cover, but if you offer her suggestions on what topics you would like to see answered and the dialogue on the READ MORE link at the bottom of the column, I'm sure she would be happy to oblige in time.

  Lee has a lot of professional experience; she's not just another ex-JW. She pulled herself up from a lot of pain and went to school and was determined to get her life together, so you never know how much she can help you till you ask!

  Randy

  Her first introductory post in her blog:

  Introduction to Jehovah's Witness Support Series

  So you might be wondering what this is all about.

  Simply put, it is about recovery.
  
  There are some people who can walk away from the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower Society and go on with their lives with few scars. They are the minority. Like any person who has been subjected to a long-term assault on their actions, feelings and thoughts people who leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses will most likely walk away with scars – issues that need to be dealt with after leaving a high control group – a cult.. I will briefly address these issues.

  I was a Jehovah’s Witness for 22 years. I was married to a Jehovah’s Witness who eventually became an elder. After I left him and the religion I went to school (T.S.S - professional counseling degree from Dawson College and a BA in Applied Social Service Program from Concordia University) and became a counselor for abuse victims, first working with incest survivors and later with battered women. I also did some counseling with ex-cult members, and some ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses. I worked in the field of trauma counseling for 16 years before I retired so have a lot of experience to draw from both personally and professionally.
  
  The issues that abuse survivors experience are the same issues that people who leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or any similar group, experience. Many suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, feelings of abandonment, low self-esteem, difficulty in deciding how to live their lives without rules to dictate every thought, feeling and action.
  
  Not everyone is the same even though that is how we were treated as Jehovah’s Witnesses. We are individuals. We each need to find our own path to recovery. I will provide pointers. Some of what I say may help. Feel free to ignore what doesn’t work for you.
  See you soon.
  Lee Marsh

  You can go to her blog directly with the tabs at the top: PEOPLE>BLOGS>DEAR LEE

  and also ARTICLES>SUPPORT>DEAR LEE
• 

  dinah

  Lee helped me more than she knows. I have so much love and respect for her. But ya know, she deserves it.

  I remember reading her site and spent a whole day just crying for her (and me). I didn't suffer the abuse she did, but had the same cult-indoctrinated mind-set. After reading her page, I felt so STRONG and much less angry.

  Lee just grabs problems by the horns, and tries to help us do so too.

  I've read her columns. I can't think of anything to suggest that she hasn't covered.

  Maybe just like this forum, meet people who love you when you show your ass. I hate that some people don't have support.

  Maybe the whole "making friends" thing I've seen many talk about on here?
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  AllTimeJeff

  Lee, I have given thought to starting a thread on the practical aspects of a JW exit.

  For example, many/most former JW's have much to learn in the way of money management, credit and what affects credit scores, (admittedly, it seems most of the US population missed that memo in 2009), real estate, college, kinds of college, etc.

  While there are many former JW's who do suffer from debilitating mental illness, my guess is, most are confused as to whats next, and how to pragmatically incorporate themselves into the world they find themselves in. (they probably wouldn't use the words I chose, but I hope you catch my drift...)