Has leaving made you stronger?

gutted

This is a follow up to a thread on how the religion screwed us up (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/207143/1/Did-This-Religion-Screw-You-Up-If-So-HOW).

I remember reading in Combatting Cult Mind Control that an individual that has experienced and left a cult is a much stronger person than your average Joe Shmoe. I agree with this. I'm sill in the process but I can see myself becoming mentally stronger. We have such a unqiue perspective on life living on "that end" and now making our own way.

What do you guys think? Has it made you stronger in the end or are you still suffering quite a bit?

OnTheWayOut

Has it made you stronger in the end or are you still suffering quite a bit?

People can be both. Those are not mutually exclusive. Overall, I am not "suffering quite a bit" but maybe others are both.

I am much stronger when using my powers of reasoning. I am much stronger emotionally. I mean, I avoided emotions and was a timebomb waiting to explode from years of suppression. My fade and seeking understanding and posting on this board has allowed the venting to come out and the defusing of the timebomb. I can seem a bit weaker because I have emotions now instead of suppressing them, but I know that's healthier and stronger in reality.

I am much more well-read on the Bible and religion and science. I am more aware of issues and how they affect people. JW's tend to be in a bubble about issues and don't want to know squat about what information is available on the Bible, religion, science.

LongHairGal

GUTTED:

There may be a lot of truth to this. I suppose I am stronger now that it is ten years down the road. The first few years were a mix of conflicting emotions: anger, desire for revenge, paranoia of being cornered, etc. Now I have mellowed out a bit. I do have a general anger in that I want the religion to be exposed and I would like to tell off all the idiots who criticized me over my full-time job.

I came away from the whole JW experience with a gift for spotting manipulation and can see it coming a mile away. These same tactics are used in other religions and elsewhere. This is partly why I would never get involved with another religion again.

designs

Just Coooler

mrquik

I was in for 50 years. Still have a lot of animosity for lost opportunities & friends, but I'm getting better every day. Memories fade & new opportunities arise every day.

Lady Lee

It won't make you stronger unless you take the steps required to recover properly. People who were DFed in the past and had no access to the internet or a support system suffered so much they mostly crawled back tothe WTS beliving there was nothing else for them.

Now with the internet people can be better informed if they can get past the fear and start reading. The support is out there for them and they have a much better chance of recovery. THEN they can be stronger

nugget

It is all relative and under what circumstances you left. It may also depend on whether you had any control over the exit. It also depends how much of a life you have built outside the organisation when you cut the cord. We were lucky in that we had connected with people outside the organisation and made good friends before the end game was played out. We also had started pursuing education and building links in the community.

We were well aware of the personnal costs and were prepared to pay the price so for us it was a positive choice.'In addition when the final face off came we found the strength to stand up for our principles. Part of this was because we were in it together and doing it for our children. This gave us courage and determination. I cannot tell you how lucky I feel when I see others who have made this stand alone and go through daily turmoil.

I am also a stubborn, strong willed woman who relished the opportunity to be myself. How things develop over time I cannot say and it is early days but leaving has certainly shown me that I dodged a bullet there and other people desperately need help and support to make their outcomes positive ones.