Do you know of ones who were mentally ill, that were labled as being demon posessed? (page 2)

Kinjiro

There was a woman (sister) who would go crazy every Circuit assembly. I was about 9 yrs old and all the people were talking about the 'demons' that had possesed her etc etc... most of the kids were scared sh*(&(*&.

I know now that she probably had some type of schizophrenia. Poor woman, to be stigmatized...

I also now that some cases described in the jewish-christian version of the so-called book of 'god' as demonic possession can easily be cases of the same sort of illness or even epilepsy... remember the guy who would foam at the mouth... etc etc?

Ignorance created the gods and myths (including the hebrew version...sorry If I offend thee...NOT)... Science and knowledge will be the death of them all...

zoiks

I had a childhood friend who lost it in his late teens. I don't know what the eventual diagnosis was, but it was obvious that he was mentally unstable on his good days.
Of course, every conceivable nasty rumor was spread about him, including demon possession. There was even a local needs talk stating that mental illness was not the same as being "demonized".

flipper

MISERY- I definitely have an experience for you on THIS thread to show how idiotic elders are regarding chemical imbalance or " mental illness " as you phrased it in your title.

My JW brother-in-law was in his early 20's in 1972 . He and my sister had just graduated the Gilead class and were ready to be shipped overseas to be missionaries. However my brother-in-law was diagnosed with Manic Depression , a condition which required him to be put on Lithium , so they couldn't go to their assignment. They were devastated . But I considered them lucky.

Problem was - his problem didn't GET diagnosed until several months after they had come back to our home town. My BIL was an elder and in those few months before diagnosis he was acting very weird. Going over to people's homes in the congregation saying he had the power to " walk through walls invisibly " . Also he called my brother back at Bethel and called him Captain Kirk of Star Trek because , you see - he was Spock and had to get a message to him. My BIL also started claiming to be of the anointed ( thankfully Memorial was still 6 months away ) so he never partook. But the awful thing was his own FELLOW ELDERS called him in for a judicial committee to interrogate him and accused him of being demonized. Idiots ! Fortunately there was a brother who worked as an intern ( a non-elder ) at a psychiatric hospital and my mom and dad took him there to get a complete psychiatric diagnosis . Problem solved . He was put on Lithium for Manic Depression and he has continued healthy till this day. But certainly with NO help whatsoever from the lame brained elders.

It is disgusting and criminal how un-educated the elders are in the WT society. It's one reason they not only treat psychological problems with disdain and ignorance, but another reason they treat child abuse with disdain and ignorance. They are just too plain ignorant , conceited , and tunnel vision minded to even CONSIDER that human beings have situations like these. Great thread Misery, Peace out, Mr. Flipper

cantleave

I remember a friend of my mum, who had undergone a breakdown.

The elders accused her of covering over a sin and she needed to confess, in order to be cured.

notverylikely

"Misery, thats because the demons aren't after you."

For some reason....that makes you sound kinda hot in my head.

wantstoleave

I personally know many who suffer from mental issues and in the past have come into contact with many unsympathetic, judging elders. For instance my dad and his OCD. While he is not delusional or anything remotely like that, the elders used to avoid him. Now, to this day my father is extremely zealous and strong in his faith and I love that about him. But how much easier his life would've been with a bit of association from the congregation...but it never happened. And because of my dad's mental illness, us kids were avoided like the plague. You can imagine how lonely our growing years were .

In fact, only last year, some 20yrs after dad's illness was diagnosed, I overheard some 20 somethings talking about me and how 'you know her dad is nuts, so is she'. I mean, where did THAT come from?? Why did they feel they could judge me or my dad like that? My dad (and me) is nowhere near nuts. He keeps to himself, studies the bible everyday for hours, keeps his nose clean and is the meekest, mildest, well spoken man I have ever met.

Thankfully I think the organisation is starting to view mental illness in a better light and for the most part, just *some* elders still have the mentality that it's self brought on or demonic. Now my dad is in a different congregation, he receives many visitors and is loved by all. If only he had received that same care 20yrs ago!

jamiebowers

Quite honestly, I never heard of a mentally ill person being labeled as demonized by jws. My mentally ill jw husband claimed there were demons in the mental hospital to which he was forcibly committed. What's really sad is that I was always told that mentally ill people were spiritually weak. At least if they're accused of being demonized, it's no their fault, (unless, of course, they shop at yard sales), but being spiritually weak alludes to the mentally ill person being too lazy and/or wicked to straighten up and fly right.

StAnn

There was a woman in a KH I attended who was one of "the Anointed." She was revered. She was also elderly and bedfast by the time I got to that KH. I was taken to visit this woman and she was raving, absolutely raving. Just lying in her bed saying that Jehovah told her this and Jehovah said that, and everybody took it that she was some kind of oracle. I thought it was obvious she was absolutely psychotic. Poor woman, you know she must have been miserable, and she didn't get any help at all because her psychosis was chalked up to being part of her anointing.

On a personal note, when I left my JW husband, he and one of the elders on my JC said that I must have been demonized because you could just feel a difference in the air in the house since I had left. Apparently, I had demons following me around oppressing people or something, according to them. Of course there are demons in the house when you're married to Satan!

startingover

There was a "sister" in the congregation where I grew up that had mental problems. She was always causing problems accusing the "brothers" of various things. She was eventually df'd after my dad, the congregation servant, conferring with the society, and they told him that having a broken mind was no different than having a broken arm.

agonus

'Just lying in her bed saying that Jehovah told her this and Jehovah said that, and everybody took it that she was some kind of oracle.'

Gosh, there couldn't be anybody on the GB like that, could there?

I've heard about a few people getting disfellowshipped who were severely mentally ill, even schizophrenic. My question is, who in the hell would approve of somebody like this getting baptized in the first place? This is the last religion somebody with even remotely paranoid tendencies needs to be a part of.

Do you know of ones who were mentally ill, that were labled as being demon posessed?

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