Do Jehovah's witnesses take therapy? (page 2)

careful

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/216729/did-any-you-need-counselling-psychotherapy-jw?page=3

deegee

Now grown man and married he developed a porn addiction and even went to strip clubs and his wife didn't know of this --------Gokumonkey

Addictions, (whether substance or non-substance) are usually a sign of mental health issues. People often resort to certain behaviours to solve/deal with unresolved internal/psychological issues.

The husband had a rough upbringing. His father left him at a young age, leaving his mom and himself to take care of his siblings. He had to learn things faster then any normal child……..The wife how ever had a hard life. As a child her mother left her for a time and father didn't pay much attention to her. She was also molested at a young age --------Gokumonkey

https://www.samhsa.gov/capt/practicing-effective-prevention/prevention-behavioral-health/adverse-childhood-experiences :

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events, including abuse and neglect. They may also include household dysfunction such as witnessing domestic violence or growing up with family members who have substance use disorders. ACEs are strongly related to the development and prevalence of a wide range of health problems throughout a person’s lifespan, including those associated with substance misuse.

ACEs include:

· Physical abuse

· Sexual abuse

· Emotional abuse

· Physical neglect

· Emotional neglect

· Mother treated violently

· Substance misuse within household

· Household mental illness

· Parental separation or divorce

· Incarcerated household member

· Death of a parent

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about.html :

As the number of ACEs increases so does the risk for the following*:

Dose-response describes the change in an outcome (e.g., alcoholism) associated with differing levels of exposure (or doses) to a stressor (e.g. ACEs). A graded dose-response means that as the dose of the stressor increases the intensity of the outcome also increases.

· Alcoholism and alcohol abuse

· Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

· Depression

· Fetal death

· Health-related quality of life

· Illicit drug use

· Ischemic heart disease

· Liver disease

· Poor work performance

· Financial stress

· Risk for intimate partner violence

· Multiple sexual partners

· Sexually transmitted diseases

· Smoking

· Suicide attempts

· Unintended pregnancies

· Early initiation of smoking

· Early initiation of sexual activity

· Adolescent pregnancy

· Risk for sexual violence

· Poor academic achievement

*This list is not exhaustive. For more outcomes see selected journal publications(https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/journal.html).

deegee

The resources which I posted above regarding ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ACEs) were true to form in the case of my father. His mother died when he was a little boy, he was the eldest of 7 children. His father was not the nurturing, caring type. He and his siblings were split up and sent to live with different family members who weren’t nurturing – his only sister was sexually molested.

He didn’t get the help he needed to deal with the loss of his mother and the attendant trauma. He too lost his childhood and had to grow up fast. True to form, my father became an alcoholic, a heavy smoker and womanizer. He died at age 54 as a result of poor health – 26 years earlier than someone who had zero incidence of ACEs.

Gokumonkey

thanks too everyone for the feedback. i find this very interesting not only of my self but the jw thinking. thanks @deegee

Vetiver

I've seen 5 therapists. I never liked a single one. One kept talking about himself too much, another would eat during our sessions and told me one time she had patients a lot worse than me. One was actually a Jehovah Witness who treated supposedly even circuit overseers. I've known 3 people who went completely schizophrenic, but it's hard to say if being a witness triggered or exasperated it. Addictions with porn sex and alcohol are usually related to low levels of dopamine in the brain. Life gets boring and the person is constantly looking for a thrill to feel alive for a moment, but since this an emotion, there will always be the opposite effect in the end. The thrill becomes boring and with addictions, they can stimulate, but eventually it becomes null, then you increase the visual or literal drug, and eventually, feel guilt, anger, depression, anxiety and crash. You taper off, then you repeat the cycle. The patterns of guilt will isolate a witness to believe that the holy spirit has abandoned them. That they haven't prayed enough, or that they were too selfish, or hedonistic. The only way I can see giving a witness psychological advice is to find parallels in a self help book, and throw a scripture in there. You literally have to be a witness or someone of so called, "spiritual confidence or guidance." I know and have heard of many witnesses on psych meds also. I'd stay out of this though. Even if they are willing to listen to lets say...cognitive behavioral therapy, there needs to be change. These are usually life changing, and usually involve self forgiveness, which I think contradicts the idea of being sinful inperfect JW's.

punkofnice

Do jobos take therapy?

As a rule, no. ('No' is always the answer to a jobo).

However, they all need therapy to wake them up to the fact that they're in a cult and being conned.

Vidiot

The Org certainly doesn't seem to like them doing it.

Much easier to state that they're the "happiest people on Earth (period)" if they're never diagnosed otherwise, after all.

BluesBrother

J Ws and therapy? ..... Yes , no hesitation around here. I know several "sisters" that have undergone grief, trauma etc take "counselling" from industry professionals . That includes the wife of a super strict rule-book elder of my acquaintance.

They also keep the pharmacies going with their prescriptions for Prozac , Valium and the like

Do Jehovah's witnesses take therapy?

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