It seems that many people here have been greatly depressed because they were or still are Jehovah's Witnesses. What about you?
Were You Depressed Because You Were A Witness?
by minimus 42 Replies latest jw friends
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confuzcious
I'm an expert on depression. Let me know if you need any advice.
The PAXIL Class.
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LB
Not at first. But then as I began to realize that I wasn't doing enough (as we were always told) I got depressed. But the bigger depression kicked in when I discovered the truth was all BS. I really felt bad about getting my family involved. Since my son is still in I still feel guilty, not so depressed, but guilty.
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Introspection
Toward the end I was, though I got myself out without knowing anything I was depressed for about 3 years after that.
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Downunderandout
Yes, at first I was fine and was on a JW newbie high, but as the reality of everyday life and the constant bombardment of "do more" "you are not good enough" I became depressed enought to warrent medication from my doctor.
Happy to say now, I am out and have been for three years, am fine, happy and balanced.
DUO
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mrs rocky2
It is very depressing to be told to 'wait on Jehovah' for every possible problem under the sun. The years go by, same problems, different faces. Couldn't figure out why God would fix it then let it get broke again just with different faces, same problems...broken record here, sorry. Continually being told you aren't doing enough, what you are doing is not good enough,etc. didn't help either. Or having kids from the hall tell my kids not to play with 'worldly' kids and then exclude my kids and other mean spirited stuff. Stopped going to meetings, depression eventually went away when I realized the lies, falsehoods, and deceptions.
Mrs R - working on inner peace and contentment
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neyank
I think many people were depressed because the WTS tries to suck the natural tendency to enjoy life out of people.
We were always told not to waste time doing things that took time away from spiritual pursuits.
In other words, we should use our free time being out in field service distributing worthless magazines.
Jws are not allowed to have dreams and pursue them.
Unless your dream was to further the WTS cause.
Become an elder,ms,ect...There are some that take time to do things for enjoyment outside of the org., but for the most part the WTS beats thier followers by making them feel guilty for spending time doing things that the WTS finds useless.
Which is anythingoutside of meetings and field service.
After all,the WTS teaches that everything will be destroyed soon, anytime now, so a good JW would want to spend as much time as they can scoring points with God by being at the meetings and selling, distributing, placings useless magazines.
neyank
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RAYZORBLADE
Definitely. Not 100% of the time, but more often than I was before I became a dub.
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gotcha
before i knew about the crappiness of the religion, i felt sad because i never was an efficient jw. i tried to be 'normal' in school but in trying to do that battled with my conscience.
when i knew about all the lies, depressing since my conscience was already shaped by the teachings of the religion so it's hard to erase it....and also bitter because of all the sacrifices i had to go through.....nothing major just the little things that a child/youth shouldn't be deprived of.
not depressed at the moment but months ago was feeling really down because of the feeling of being stuck forever in this religion.
i am still technically in. sad isn't it.
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minimus
There is no need to feel stuck in this religion forever, even if you're still "in", like me. JW's have learned to perfect living the double life. I feel, at this point, that since I don't believe in much of what JW's actually teach, for family's sake and other considerations, I will do what I have to do. Is this hypocritical? Yes. But, sometimes I think it's a necessary evil.....Regarding JW newbies being on a spiritual high, the only place to come from that is DOWN. That surely will get a person depressed as well as confused.