I believe that the primary factors for someone to commit suicide originate with the dangerous mindset of the WT organization - I personally know of several witnesses who committed suicide - the last one not so long ago: he hanged himself - most probably because he could not take the sustained pressure of living up to unrealistic standards. The WT controls your thinking in every step of the way; once you are in, you are a part of their domain of constricted thinking of WT-theology first and foremost, then the bible as a second consideration. Cursed you are if you dare to take the bible as a sole authority and not the Watchtower! The pressure they put on you to do better and better without being able to do better makes you become a disoriented individual - then every time you sin you feel guilty and try to do better once more, yet all the time you are thinking that you are the worst one and nobody is as bad as you are... Then you try to correct your mistakes and all the while you are thinking that there may be a possibility you be df'd and if that happens you would lose all your friends and family as they would consequently shun you (forever if necessary) - so what life is there to live for beyond the witness-realm you reason... And on and on it goes; you are constantly fighting with your conscience whether you are doing enough in the service, study enough, pray enough, give enough comments, do not watch too much tv, or on the internet too often and if you do, then they may question you which sites you visited... There is a forced composure of wanting to be fully accepted by the witnesses, at the meetings, at home, at work - yet there is always the angst of some elder or "traitor"-witness lurking to find out if you are really doing what you are supposed to do...and if you don't...well, then there might be a meeting with the elders or even a JC-meeting trying to extract information out of you because they "heard from the grapevine" what you have been doing allegedly...
And on and on it goes, reaping havoc on your mind and stability and eventually the unthinkable happens where one commits suicide and wants to be free from all this "harassment" and probing by an organization who demands the impossible but forgets that we are all humans and are all in need of loving compassion which cannot be found anywhere but outside...outside where there are tears of real care...care of those who are able to show deep love...
Richie :*)
Suicides within Jehovah's Witnesses
by Leander 20 Replies latest jw friends
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Richie