by Julia Orwell 16 Replies latest jw friends
I never met such a physically and mentally ill group of people outside JWs except for at the local hospital or old folks' home. From chronic fatigue to fibromyalgia to depression to arthritis to kids lacking lustre to heart problems to cancer, bipolar to every CO and his wife having food intolerances...
Are Jehovah's Witnesses the most ailing group? What is your observation?
Really?
What pathology did you suffer from?
pc
It's been getting better since I left.
I think it just seems that JWs are constantly ill because they whinge and whine and complain all the time about every little thing they suffer in this wicked system that they lament so much.
We need the new system.
Yes I'be heard that a few times. Every little sniffle highlights how unendurable this 'system' is. Remember groups of sisters standing around at the hall, talking of nothing but their ailments and the ailments of others? Gets you down to listen!
Because they have very little interesting going on in their life their focus becomes inward. I suspect that a lot of what they crap on about is nowhere near as bad as they make out. When your religion makes you a greyed out drone, you have to do something to make yourself deserving of attention.
Me? I took an arrow to the knee.
That's one of the things that made field service unbearable, the conversation was either all gossip or a competition of ailments. If there was nothing wrong with you, they would make something wrong with you and tell you how much the new world is needed. Don't dare change the subject, no other topic is worthy of discussion in field service unless its about the length of someone's skirt or the immodesty of someone's form fitting dress.
So many of them don't have a life. So the smallest sickness becomes a focus for them. It makes them more faithful than the next person to have any illness and still attend the meetings.
The good thing about physical ailments - as any JW would tell you if they felt safely anonymous - is you've got the near-perfect "reason" to sleep-in Saturday morning and miss out on Field Service, and on Sunday, the Watchtower Study and Public Talk.
Thankyou. It has been my observation that jw are the unhealthiest group of people.
Julia - it's the same here in the States. And it's most likely the result of so much negativity in our lives. As JW's we are conditioned to be judgemental, suspicious, afraid of criticism or reproof, and competitive. That in itself will make a person neurotic. Add to that list - personal disappointments, fear of displeasing the control group, the persecution complex, and suppression of personal hopes/desires/dreams and people do become ill - on all levels.
I've noticed that during their transitions out of the congregation, many become involved in positive activities. We begin to exercise, watch our diet, take up some sort of hobby, even change careers or go back to school. Good things!
At the saying goes...."misery loves company." How true with JW's...
