I am late coming to this post.
You said:
if you mean immediate family, the answer is no. I am the only son in the family. All my other relatives are non-jws. They do not know I am no longer a jw and that my dad and mom are shunning me. My granny is very opposed to this religion. She loves me a lot. I cannot let her know my family is shunning me. It will cause a lot of trouble to my parents.
You will have to make more mature decisions and understand that there are consequences for your actions.
Lets start with your extended family........ especially your granny. I'd talk to her about your decision to DA. I'd stress that it was a difficult decision to make. BUT I would not mention the anger from your parents. The cold shoulder treatment. You know that you disappointed your parents and because of their Armageddon beliefs (A total falsehood) they are grieving and very troubled over your decision.
One good reason to go back and reread Pale E's advice to you re parent management.
Being especially kind, helpful and respectful to them and their beliefs is going to go a long way. Leave it to granny to tell the other non JW family members that you have left the belief or not.....its up to you.
An extended family can be very helpful to you.
Going out and getting drunk (been there) puts you in a dangerous situation stumbling home at night or shudder.....driving a car.
Smoking is also not a good idea.....it's a terrible habit to have. And because it's smoke a parent is going to know.
As we have talked about this before........ put simply......... your brain doesn't stop growing until your in your mid to late twenties. What is happening is your mind can not keep up with your body................ risky behavior is the result.
