Depression, Medication, and Other Grey Areas

by startingover13 19 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Julia Orwell

  Yes, it creates low self esteem in women by putting them down all the time. There are constant reminders that a woman is to be subject to the men and quietly submissive. Her role is to be an appendage to the man. She is always told that she is the 'weak feminine vessel' who should always be in awe and respect of her husband's manly leadership, organisational and logical skills. She can't trust her own thoughts or feelings because she's a weak woman, created for the sake of the man. Also remember ladies, Eve was deceived and not Adam, because women are dumber than men!

  There is no encouragement to have a career or do what you need to be happy (which applies to men and women) and it's hard for women because where men can compensate for their low status in life by becoming elders or the guy who holds the microphone, women are told they should be happy scrubbing the dunnies at the KH and cooking for their husbands. They have a natural talent for organising? No, don't become a manager, teacher, lawyer- pioneer. Have a talent for art? Don't become an artist or graphic or fashion designer. Pioneer. Love life and science? Don't go do that science degree to become a biologist or vet. Love history? Wrack your brain for ways to reconcile real history with watchtower history- no, Pioneer! You won't have time to worry about useless studies that don't result in more Hours.

  Get a job cleaning. Have sex with your husband. Pioneer. Do more. Dress like this. Don't have kids. Have kids but raise them like this. Do more. Get married. Don't get married. Pioneer. Do more. Do more. You're not doing enough. Don't be yourself. Don't speak out.

  Hey, I know, because I'm the JW woman who landed on the meds and lost her confidence after years of hearing this crapola.
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  Julia Orwell

  That being said, like LongHairGal, I converted young rather than was born in, and I too never really thought of myself as less-than because I was a woman. It used to get to me, all that crap about submission and that, but towards the end of my cult life it really did wear down my confidence. I always saw myself the equal of any man, and treated them like equals and not superiors. I was always the female friend for hanging out, but not the love interest. An older brother told me I'd find it hard to get married because I'm educated and speak very freely. He was right: the JW guys who didn't view me as one of the boys ran a mile!
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  Xanthippe

  I imagine the damage to born-in women would be worse

  So true LongHairGal I took it in with my mother's milk and it poisoned me.

  Get a job cleaning. Have sex with your husband. Pioneer. Do more. Dress like this. Don't have kids. Have kids but raise them like this. Do more. Get married. Don't get married. Pioneer. Do more. Do more. You're not doing enough. Don't be yourself. Don't speak out.

  Oh Julia I recognize this! In other words let your whole being be subsumed by your husband and the organization. If you are married and you don't have children you get treated like less than an animal. I pioneered but let me tell you no one repected me for it. I thought I was saving lives, I really did, but at that time I was a married woman without children so I was a nobody.

  I couldn't win so I was mentally beaten to a pulp. Yes I ended up with depression but 25 years ago the WTS advised us not to take anti-depressants because it said they were addictive. They advised, think about someone else not just yourself! Do some hard physical work to take your mind off it. Go outside and dig in the dirt!
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  BluePill2

  My mother takes multiple anti-depressants - for years now. She even gets them without prescription (from my grandmother's supply). She is very faithful and has been a witness for over 40 years. I never knew her differently, always on meds and on an emotional rollercoaster.

  During my time at Bethel I had to go to meet a doctor in an official visit (we where making arrangements to get some Doctors under "contract" to treat Bethelites at a better rate or for free - paid by the Society for elder ones). She was from Switzerland and was one of the "favorite" Doctors on the Bethelites list.

  After having a pleasant chit chat, she asked me Why is it that your religion has so many depressed people? I asked her: "What do you mean?" thinking that she was just about to bash our faith. She said that in the past months she had treated an extremely high number of Witnesses with mental depression and suicidal problems and that she was worried. Especially because many of them didn't wanted anybody to know about their problem. She wanted to know more in order to be able to help better. I was flabbergasted and had no words to answer. She was a very nice Lady that really took care of her patients. We closed the contract with her and I kept this conversation to myself. Never commented that back at Bethel.

  Nowadays I know she was right. Looking back at all the Judicial Committees, I think that most people were mentally unstable and victimized by the WT$.
• 

  startingover13

  The worst statement that I used to hear was ; "I don't want to have kids in this system." As if things have gotten so bad now that it's somehow unsafe or unwise to have a child. It's almost like an instilled fear or imcompetence. 'This world is evil and I'll lose field service time if I have kids." That's basically the mentality.
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  OUTLAW

  Why Jehovah's Witnesses Have Mental Problems Jerry Bergman, Ph.D

  ABSTRACT

  A scientific literature review found that the rate of mental illness among Jehovah's Witnesses is considerably above average. The specific level found in the research varies partly because the extant research was on different populations and time periods. The major factors identified as either helpful or harmful to Witness mental health were discussed. Although persons with emotional problems tended to join the Witnesses, the Watchtower teachings and its subculture clearly adversely affected the mental health of those involved. The official Watchtower attitude on mental illness was also examined as were the common beliefs about the problem among Witnesses.

  The History Of The Watchtower Reveals the Sources of Mental Problems

  Jehovah's Witnesses were organized in the late 1800's by Charles Taze Russell, a second Adventist disappointed in the failed prophecies of his fellow religionists. He soon reinterpreted these prophesies and set his own new dates. He first taught the time of the end started in 1798 (latter changed to 1799), that Christ had returned invisibly in 1878 (latter changed to 1874), and that a new world wherein the righteous would dwell forever on a paradise Earth would begin in 1914.[1] With his father's fortune, Russell preached tirelessly, yet when he died only a small band of followers existed as a result of all his efforts.

  The second president, a lawyer named Rutherford, used his law background to create one confrontation after another with the state and almost everyone else including business, medicine and even religion. Soon Jehovah's Witnesses became infamous throughout the world for their legal clashes which often involved violence.[2] A fighter with no small legal skills, Rutherford recruited several other attorneys and the Watchtower soon had themselves positioned as martyrs. The small band of devoted--some would say fanatical--followers, they achieved something that no amount of money could buy: name recognition, and, at least in the legal profession, an admiration for their legal success and tenacity.

  The third president, N.H. Knorr, ruled from the 1950s to the 1970s. He toned down their behavior and worked tirelessly to modify their public image from fanatics to quiet, determined Christians fearlessly going about their work preaching the good news of the Watchtower's kingdom. Pushing numerical growth to the exclusion of almost everything else including the health of individual Witnesses, his policies paid off. Except for the 1975 fiasco, growth has usually been steady. 1975 was their third recent major prediction for Armageddon, the other two were 1914 and 1925 which caused upward of one million people to eventually leave the sect.[3] They have carefully cultivated a public image of a God fearing devoted people, determined to ferret out God's truth from the scriptures and live their lives fully according to them. Behind this facade lies a nightmare which resulted in a rash of mental illness and social problems considerably higher than that found in virtually every American religion. The reasons for the Watchtower tragedy are complex and can only briefly be explored in this short review.

  The Scientific Research

  Especially since the 1975 date (which was predicted to usher in God's kingdom on earth) failed, the numerous problems in the Watchtower congregations have received much mass media and scholarly attention. Most intensively studied problems include disfellowshipping, doctrinal disputes, and their recurring prophetic speculation failures. [4] Witness mental health issues have also been examined by many investigators.[5]

  The writer, as a former Witness for over twenty years, was extensively involved in various administrative levels of the organization. This gave him first hand access to information relating to most social and bureaucratic aspects of the Watchtower. He has also used his decade of extensive clinical experience with Witnesses and an extensive literature review as a basis for his evaluation. Outsiders have limited access to inside information, and for this reason are forced to rely on official publications, all of which are viewed by Witnesses as quasi-inspired.[6] The literature reveals eight academic studies which explored the problem of Witness mental illness. These will be briefly reviewed by year, the oldest first.

  .............................................................................................................................................

  To Read More..Click this Link:

  http://www.seanet.com/~raines/mental.html

  ...................................................................... ...OUTLAW
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  startingover13

  Great article, Outlaw. By the way, your pictures on people's post are always worth 1000 words haha.
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  gutted

  Everyone is going have their skewed viewpoint due to their personal story and experiences in the organization. There are many women with low-self esteem from all different walks of life, men too. It is a complicated issue with environment, genetics and upbringing all factoring into it. That being said I do think the JWs and religion in general makes people feel terrible. The message is clear, you are a sinner and you are never good enough. I suppose the added burdon of the do-more JW mentality doesn't make it easier. It's enough for someone who is on the more sensative side of life to really take these things personally and torture themselves over it. I'm not a woman but I sure did.
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  paranoia agent

  It might be love bombing when you get in, but after a while for the rest of your life as a jw, it's more like a funeral, now imagen going to many funerals on a monthly basis, as if this would not give rise to depression.

  Also, WB$T$ inculcates cognitive distortions which leads to depression.

  When I stopped attending meetings mum was very down, because of the negativity delusions WB&T$ produce in their literature, and that Armageddon is just around the corner and the world is all doom and gloom, while the prejudice that she (and all jw's) have about worldly people turned out to be her son.

  So mum went to an elder in which he said the usual, that she did her job as a mother and not to worry, let Jehovah worry about this. The elders say nothing helpful, that mum is helpless, which created more anxiety and depression. She started taking depressants for a short time because she did not like the reaction she got from them. I bought mum a book on CBT and asked her to see a psychologist instead of a psychiatrist, but she did not read it and did not see the psychologist.

  Now that she has a long absence from the hall, surprise surprise she feels a lot better.

  I now a ton of jw's who suffer from this problem, I think I can narrow it down to:

  Requirements to not sin are to high so you constantly feel guilty and since there is no control this guilt turns to anxiety.

  "Put all your worries with Jehovah" so that thing inside your skull for decision making won't be necessary, the WB&T$ will do it for you, meaning that you loose confidence with yourself.

  If's and should’s, I should be like this and not like that, instead of being yourself and expecting others to not be themselves

  "The world is a terrible place" this in CBT is known as filtering were anything positive is filtered out thus the belief in the irrational, so imagen people with this mentality, they will be very negative people and may end up suicidal.

  "You are either with us or against us" this is all or nothing thinking, I am either a good or a bad guy, being a normal human being isn't good enough, or I am either against or for jw's, I apparently according to jw's I cannot be undecided or simply that I just came to the conclusion that this religion isn't for me. Look at the world in colour instead of black and white and feel that anxiety just fall off of you.

  Prejudice towards others, we all know what jw's really think about apostates, homosexuals, gamblers etc.
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  ShirleyW

  Being a born in as a kid you really don't know the "back story" about folks in the Cong until you grow up, so like you mentioned that a certain sister looked upon sex a just a wifely duty, I guess you've found out by now she is by no means the only one. Antidepressants weren't as popular when I was growing up as they are now, so I could give you a list (as well as many other folks of my age) of several sisters and brothers that definitely needed something, I myself think they need some major psychiatric help, but now from here on the board, Xana, Zoloft, whatever else is out there is not unusual in the Borg.