Mental health issues

by YellowLab 29 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  YellowLab

  How many of you have experienced or are experiencing any mental health related issues? Were/are any of these issues related to you being a JW? Do you feel many Dubs still in "the truth" have mental health issues but are afraid to seek treatment from a "worldly" psychologist or psychiatrist?

  I was recently diagnosed with severe depression, and Adult Attention Deficit Disorder, and am currently on medication for both. My 3-year old son was diagnosed with severe ADHD, which in turn led to my diagnosis. This disorder is very often genetically transmitted from parent to child.

  I often link my depression back to my Dub childhood (no birthdays, no holidays, no life, low self-esteem). Little do most JW parents know just how much psychological damage they are doing to their children with all the "rules".

  Interested in hearing your comments.

  YellowLab
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  franklin J

  Hey Yellow lab.

  Yes, I was in therapy for two years after I left Jws. I was diagnosed with depression, but refused any drugs. I did work it all out eventually. That was 20 years ago. Best thing I ever did.

  Having been raised as a JW, and suddenly losing my entire support network,I went through what was diagnosed as "culture shock" and had to be "deprogramed". Sounds funny, but the depression was very real and very scary. It is all traced back to that religion. Therapy worked for me. When I made new friends on the outside and had new non JW experiences and got into a life routine "back in the real worl" so to speak, my life took on an even keel.

  regards

  Frank
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  FreeToBeMe

  Like Frank, I too had therapy but not for a good while after I left the JW BOrg. When the BOrg and I first parted company I went it alone so to speak. I wasn't a great one for making friends and engaged in largely solitary pursuits, be it with reference to work or with regard to leisure activities. I was a loner. Having looked back over my past experiences I have come to realise that being a loner wasn't a natural course for me but, one that was imposed on me by the application of JW rules and dogma. Having been abandoned by BOrg membership (incl. family) prior to walking and then dealing with the subsequent rejection by them, simply because I didn't fit in with their self-centred doctrine, trust was an issue. If I couldn't trust BOrg membership and my parents, then who could I trust?

  I made the erronous decision of thinking no-one, and remained as alone out of the BOrg as I was in it. 11 years ago that had to change, and so it did (13 years after I parted company with the BOrg.) It still amazes me how I lasted so long, in those early days there was truly nothing to draw support from. Anyway, paranoia, depression, anxiety and other emotional disorders associated (for me at least) with a life of isolation and a lack of trust had to be dealt with. I chose to avoid medication, and given some of the experiences I've heard others have had with regard to meds, I'm glad I chose as I did. All I can say is that therapy worked for me, albeit I'll accept it isn't everybody's cup-of-tea. I finally went with a therapist whose philosophy and practice was based upon a Humanistic approach, it worked for me. I'd tried a number of other therapeutic schools of thought (e.g. psychoanalysis, sociopsychology, jungian and adlerian therapy, hypnosis, aromatherapy and acupuncture) all to no avail. Mind you, given my life's experiences it's hardly surprising that a Humanistic approach was the one I settled for.
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  Phantom Stranger

  Mother and grandmother diagnosed as depressive as JW's.

  I was diagnosed as an 18-year-old. Like franklin, eventually handled it w/o ending up depending on antidepressants. (NOT saying they're bad, but my mom has been on them for 20 years and uses them as a reasons to not do any therapy - so that's dependence).

  I don't think it's the rules per se, YellowLab - I think it's the conditional, performance-oriented love/acceptance. Having rules is just having rules - many cultures and subcultures have that. But feeling doomed if you screw up once - that's where insecurity comes from, IMHO.
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  wednesday

  i am bipolar/depressed. I have been in treatment for years. I keep an ongoing relationship with doc and threapist. When i was a active JW, they belittled me for seeking such help. they said it would take me out of the truth. Guess they were right, b/c when i finally started listening to my therapist, i saw a whole new world open up to me and realized how duped i had been. (eventually). I am very grateful for the help they have given me.

  and yes these problems, like other diseases, run in families.

  weds
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  berylblue

  Welcome, FreeToBeMe!

  I have had almost every psychiatric dx in the book...don't think any are true anymore except depression.
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  berylblue

  Oh, geez, I' m sorry, Welcome Yellow Lab!

  And a (()) to all who have posted on this thread.
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  dmouse

  I did have serious depression just before leaving the JWs, it was when I realised that my whole life until then had been based on a lie. So I left the religion, changed my job and tried a whole new outlook on life. I haven't had depression since then (about 15 years)...until now:

  I've had a lot of serious shit happen to me lately, mainly marriage, employment and finances all going pear-shaped.

  Last week I couldn't function for a couple of days, I just felt like crying all the time, though I was sleeping OK.

  I went to the docs and he put me on Prozac. The trouble is I do feel better now but don't know if it's the meds or that I'm starting to cope anyway.

  Since taking the prozac I have felt really dozy during the day but unable to sleep at night, and my appetite is reduced.

  I'm thinking of stopping taking them - my reasoning is that if I get used to using them I'll need to keep on forever, because as soon as I stop and the drug wears off I'll just feel down again. So I need to find a way of coping without drugs.

  Has anyone else had experience with prozac? Good or bad?
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  1VTHokie

  Hi Yellow Lab,

  I was diagnosed with ADD (innatentive) three years ago. I am also being treated for depression. I take medication for both, and it has really made a difference. Are you being treated for ADD? It took about two years to get the right mix of medicine that worked the best, but I could tell a difference especially in college classes. When taking notes, I could finally remember the whole sentence when writing it down.

  * I used to have a yellow lab named Kelly. The sweetest dog!

  Rita
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  nobody told me

  I had 3 bouts of depression in 20 yrs with the Jws. After going through "culture shock" and returning to a normal life, I learned that the "world" has a much better support system than the witnesses could offer. Right now depression free, why go back to the dubs? Sorry, but guilt and fear are not for me anymore.