Do You Feels That Your Life Was Ruined Because of Ypur JW Experience?

by minimus 35 Replies latest jw friends

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  ttdtt

  I would say parts of my life were.
  Now I have 2 amazing daughters which was a major reason we left instead of just perpetually being a PIMO.

  Being in for about 5 decades meant losing out on the life I should have had.
  Has meant losing just about all my friends I thought I had.

  I am messed up in many ways because of the cult.
  I think the hardest is having really believed in Everlasting life, and now knowing I will die really die in a few decades.

  Because of the 2 kids I have that are my world, I would not redo my life if I could though.
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  punkofnice

  Yes. My head is not in a good place. I'm not mental (I don't think), but am now a nihilist with a very negative world view. Even typing this seems futile.
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  just fine

  Early in my exit a counselor asked me if the JW experience was what i wanted to define the rest of my life. The answer was no way, I want to put this behind me and move on.... and so I did.

  I would not let them have the satisfaction of ruining my life. Have you ever seen the glee when someone who has exited the JWs, life goes to shit? Wasn’t going to let that happen.

  In some respect it has made me stronger, I had to leave everything behind, parents, family, friends, everything familiar. I have confidence that I can handle anything that comes my way, having had to grow up without the safety net of family and find my own way.

  I am happy, successful, and educated. Take that Watchtower!
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  Phizzy

  I do feel that my life is pretty shit because of the JW religion. I have to live on a very small pension, because we were dissuaded from paying in for a good one, I was also dissuaded from getting a decent career, so never made any money.

  I won't waste what time I have left looking at "might have beens" though, I am determined to be as happy as possible, really grateful for the blessings I do have, and to be of help to my fellow humans when I can.

  I do hope I live to see the demise of that hateful JW "religion", and I hope in the mean time I can persuade some to leave and many never to join.

  The real life, and real happiness are found outside and far away from the JW hell.
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  ttdtt

  punkofnice - hard not to have that same attitude.

  50 years stolen is what it comes down to.
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  Finkelstein

  Screwed up a little but not ruined
  
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  Finkelstein

  The JWS religion is a example of how common people who are looking for answers to life end up amerced in lies, ignorance and corruption orchestrated by men who run a publishing house.
  
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  The Fall Guy

  Years ago, certain steel components were heat treated in baths of molten salt and then a furnace, in order for them to withstand the stresses of the rigours to which they'd be subjected. Some components were twisted by the experience and discarded. The parts which endured could then take whatever came their way.

  Ruined? Definitely not. More determined and resilient.
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  snugglebunny

  Nope. It didn't change me irrevocably. It did impede my maturation however. But that's common to most cult followers. It's also common to drug addicts, so I guess it's got a lot to do with dependency.

  Ultimately, once you've left, you will go through a period of realisation, then outrage, then whining, but eventually you realise that no-one said that life is fair - or equal - and you just get on with it.
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  mentalclarity

  I think alot of this depends on how old you were when you left and the severity of your experiences. I was fortunate enough to leave young to go back to school and start a career. I also was able to save my kids from being indoctrinated. My experience was pretty tame in comparison to many on here -

  I did need a huge learning curve when I left to get some life skills I didn't posses as a born-in. The choices I make now about my life are very intentional - that includes being responsible for becoming aware of how my JW upbringing might have skewed my thinking. Being a JW took time away from me and I am not willing to let it take any more of my time. As soon as I got out I hit the road running and I am now reaping the rewards. My life is far from ruined.