WTS Phobia implants

by Brummie 6 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  Brummie

  edited to say "dang I posted it in the wrong thread"

  Just read this post by Dan and wondered just how many of us are still facing the same things

  Since leaving the WT I occasionally have mental visions of dying a terrible, violent death. Dan's my name, anxiety and pessimism's my game...

  The Watchtower implants these horrific thoughts into the pigeon holes of our brains from birth, if we lose jah's protection by leaving the borg the worst scenario is bound to happen to us they say. This implants the morbid phobias without us even realising they have been planted. I had the same phobia's as the above plus when in the process of leaving the WT I wouldnt go into a building without first knowing where the fire escapes where, wouldnt go on public transport unless I could sit next to the escape door etc, That was because the phobia was implanted that if I left we would lose Jah's protection, so I found myself overly protecting myself!

  Then I would get anxieties about bad things happening to those people I cared for the most, if they were going on holiday or sumpthin my focus would be the dangers of the motorway rather than focus on the good time they were going to have.... I would dread hearing bad news about them...maybe this was due to believing that Job lost his family when God took the protection from around him, and that fear is implanted through various WT studieswe are left thinking = we have lost His protection so we could lose our family...its a confusing time, all we think we have left is to die without hope therefore existence becomes a morbid experience. They train us to focus on the worst things in life that we then find it hard to recognise the beauty of life in the present, I believe the reason for this is that they want us to be so dependent on their future paradise, if they can get us morbid now they can keep us hoping on them to sort it out, all our happiness is future, we need to strive to get into paradise.

  OK so then we leave the WTS we deal with doctrinal issues and cruelty issues etc but how many of us have dealt with the phobias? How many of us have recognised the WTS planted these phobias? I get the feeling some who left years ago continue to carry them even now.

  Can anyone here honestly say they have got rid of all these phobias now? If so, how? and what good advice could you give to those poor folk who are still going through this?

  Brummie

  sorry if all this has been discussed before

  Edited by - Brummie on 23 October 2002 20:5:4
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  DanTheMan

  One of the major sources of irritation I had as a JW, was the endless stream of counsel on 'bad association'. I even remember an article that made some references to how dubbies need to be careful not to be too friendly towards others who they may meet while they are on vacation. The Watchtower's "mama knows best" attitude towards those in the fold got to where it sickened me. They turn every situation into a test of faith in Jah and the org.

  Unfortunately, the indoctrination still lingers as I am struggling to make new friends in Satan's world(tm). Accepting people for what they are, instead of on the people-phobic, us-and-them lenses that the WT put over our eyes, is just one of many challenges I'm dealing with since leaving the cult.
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  Brummie

  Dan you are doing fine, many go through life not being able to even talk about their experience, its a learning curve and through time we do begin to undo the indoctrination and deal with the issues until we are liberated mentally as well as physically from that disgusting org. Being honest with yourself as you have been here is a positive step in overcoming the WTS, they do not teach us to be honest with ourselves. Be patient with yourself and the people=phobic problem will fade, dont know about you but I found people were patient with me enough when I left regardless of how I viewed the us and them situation.

  Brummie
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  Scully

  Of all the "phobias" the WTS instilled in me, distrust of other people is the one that has lingered. I know that non-JWs are not the scary demonized drugged up sex crazed people the WTS makes them out to be. But for every time I get "burned" in relationships and friendships, I find myself adding another brick to my emotional wall between me and everyone else. Of course, the people who caused the most damage were JWs..... because those were the people who had the most opportunities. As a dub you are expected to forgive and forget, and yet the very people who caused the harm were the ones who never seemed to get it that their behaviour was not just disturbing someone else to the point of spiritual "stumbling", but it was wounding someone emotionally.

  I guess the way I deal with it now is by keeping my distance and keeping somewhat detatched, not getting too involved or too close. It works, for now.

  Love, Scully
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  Cicatrix

  Amen, Scully. After the elders received my dissassociation letter, they approached my mother to find out why I left. She said she wasn't sure, but maybe it was because of the way I was treated by the congregation members.Their response--"Well, we didn't see anything wrong with the way the friends were treating her." Then they read her a scripture about ones who leave losing Jehovah's spirit(ooh-there's that scary warning again).She pointed out the fact that the congregation hasn't grown in years, maybe because of the way the members treat each other.She suggested that maybe it was time they start noticing that this was happening, because if they didn't, they would just keep losing members until there was no congregation left. She offered them a paper that she found while researching a project for a college course that discussed behavioral reasons why Jehovah's Witnesses were a threat to societal structure--hehe.They declined to take it for some reason.Oh,did I mention it was written by a former elder:)

  I find myself keeping a distance from people,also. Partially because of what I went through at the kingdom hall and partially because of living in an unhealthy marriage(which was also related to the borg somewhat). I've been countering this by taking college courses that focus on human communication and psychology, and doing a lot of journal writing and asking questions on this board that I always wondered about but was afraid to ask with Big Brother hanging over my head.I've also confided in some people about the spiritual and physical abuse, and they have kindly given me things to read that have helped. But people still seem to know that there is something up-especially those that have dealt with abuse victims. Like Brummie said, most are very patient and understanding, especially if they know or suspect your background.But still, I think it's prudent to be careful about self-disclosure.

  One thing that helped me, oddly enough, was a book called "The Artists Way". It ascertains that in order to live your life to its most full and have the ability to really create great art and writing, one must first deal with things from your past that are holding you back. It has writing exercises in it, and encourages the use of a journal. Doing the exercises and journal writing were actually my catalyst for getting out of the borg. As I wrote, I realized that I would be happier if I was dead forever, than I would be if I was living forever in paradise with people who were constantly nitpicking, trying to catch me doing some horrible sin, and, like Dan said, "turned every situation into a test of faith in Jah and the organization."

  As far as the Job rationality goes(oh how I so remember that one), look at it from another angle.Did Jehovah remove his protection from Job's family because they were bad?No--so why are they even trying to prove that removal of spirit argument using this account?That takes things out of context big time, and witnesses are really good at nailing others for taking things out of context:) Are Jehovah's Witnesses really protected in some special way? Are their families free of death, accidents, and illness? No. And what was the reasoning from the platform on that question? Oh, yeah, that "time and unforseen occurence befall us all-including Jehovah's people."So, they argued the Job issue from both sides of their mouths--anything to prove what they want to prove. But does it make it so?Did it make it so in Jesus' time when the religious leaders of his day were adding to the letter of the law and burdening the people with rules they were incapable of following(sound familiar?)

  Yes Scully and Dan, alot of us are struggling with it.It's one of those cult tactics that is so useful.It's used precisely to put up a wall between indoctrinates and others.It's what allows the control to be so effective. We've gotten a lot farther than others who are still in the borg and can't let themselves see all the dissension and pain, because we realize we've been affected.So we'll deal with it in alot of creative and different ways because we are free to do so. Isn't it great to have the freedom to talk about it?:)

  Well, gotta get off my soapbox and go to bed now.

  Cicatrix
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  Pleasuredome

  Dantheman

  some of the most bad associtations i've ever had were JW's!! they were some of the most unconsciencious people i've met. no doubt their conscience was screwed up by the WTS.
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  Englishman

  Brummie,

  The Waverley, Severn Rd, WSM, most nights around 10, not between 28/10/02 and 3/11/02.

  Mike.