How have you changed since finding this forum? (page 2)

kls

This forum has actually saved my life,for real. I was a sobbing ,depressed mess and my time was running out and i was looking forward to the relief. I am married to a verably abusive jw. With no income of my own and no way out ,kids all grown i had reached my end. My son's girl friend was looking into the web for jw information and found ,Freeminds and told me to check it out. I was so shocked and discusted and became more enraged at this cult knowing my husband and i were involved in such crap, then bring our kids in to it. By this time i had been out for years and stopped my kids from going at the same time ,but could never get my cult minded husband to see. I started looking at exjw sites and found one ,i logged on hoping for some support somewhere.

talesin

kls, you are so right *but i am no longer alone*

Last year, as soon as I got on the net, I started searching JW sites. I landed here, after reading some of Randy's site. My first nite at JWD, I read Nic's poem "A Child of Nine" - I was home.

For the first time, I was hearing stories like my own. People who had the same issues, the same behaviours to overcome. It was the one thing I had felt was lacking, that I could not provide for myself. For the first time in my life, I have 'peers'. A few weeks ago, I was reading someone's exit story, and he expressed feelings about growing up JW that were exactly like mine. It felt sooooo good, I was moved to tears.

There is another realization I have come to since being at JWD. We are just like everyone else, all different opinions, politics, religious affiliations (or non religious), it's just another group. What I mean to say is, we're NORMAL.

Edit: Forgot to say, at times I get very ANGRY, cause I'm learning about the elders not reporting child abuse, Silent Lambs, and the UN scandal for the first time. I can hardly stand it sometimes, there is so much pain here.

talesin

Badger

I've become a lot more relaxed, I've noticed, and more frank with my long-held doubts about the organization...and toher have noticed, too.

Elsewhere

I'm more relaxed, confident, and assertive.

I also flirt more.

Special K

I've been out for 11 years now and I still had a couple of J.W. related books in a box upstairs.

Today they go in the garbage... The Aid to Bible Understanding, Insight to the Scriptures (two volumes).. and more importantly my J.W. bible... I flipped through it. It is well worn and was well used when I was a dub...and then I said.. Do I really believe this? .... No, I don't. so out it goes too.

There now I don't think I have one book of there's anymore.

I'm done with them and being here has nailed that home to me even more so. I have learned so many more flips flops since I left the borg...it was mindboggling.

sincerely

Special K

SheilaM

OH YES I have changed a ton

xjw_b12

I treat ALL people with dignity and respect.

I have learned I am not better than them, because I had the truth, while them, poor pitiful dogs, were going to die a horrendous death at Armageddon, and then I was going to live in their house, while the birds and insescts cleaned the meat from thier bones.

Welcome to Truth Seeker

willyloman

Caterpillar...Butterfly.

Oh, and Truth Seeker: WELCOME! You will love it here.

cyber-sista

YES!!!

When I first pulled into this site I was in rather desperate shape. Even though I had mostly been away from the meetings for about a year I had no support in my exiting process. I didn't even know there was any support out there for people who had left the Org. I was still under the impression that sites such as this were run by foaming at the mouth evangelical apostates. It was with shaking hands that I finally did an internet search to find this site and others--so many people here and at a few other sites helped me out so much. I was encouraged to find an exiting therapist which has also helped me out greatly. He also agrees that sites such as this are a great support group for those who are in the process of transitioning out of the Org. In a very short time the information here has helped me more than anything and has saved me years of trying to figure it out on my own. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED TO MY ONGOING RECOVERY. I have benefited from reading your experiences and suggestions, love--and humour!

Since arriving here only a short time ago I feel much stronger and the Org seems much smaller. I feel sorry for all those who are still captured in there.

Hapgood

As a JW I felt so beaten up, I was never good enough, could never do enough. I lived in fear of dying at Armageddon, I knew that I would not make it. Consequently, I was a very miserable, unhappy person with a very low self esteem. What I found out on this forum was, that's not true! This forum has made me realize it's the evil cult of the Jehovah's Witnesses that perpetuates this myth that we are never quite good enough, we could never do enough, it leaves us with unbearable guilt. When I realized that the JWs is just a book publishing company masquerading as a religion, that's when I was free. Thanks guys!!

It's been a long road and a long road is still ahead. I'm really happy now. I'm more relaxed. I'm more tolerant. I still need to work on the low self-esteem, I brought that with me when I joined the JWs. Being in the JW religion made it worse though. I'm still learning to think for myself, I'm having a really hard time with that. It's like my brain won't kick into that gear. I really like this forum for that reason, it forces me to think. I read your posts and I think "well how to I feel about that, or what is my opinion, or what would I do." Even though I didn't post, it gets me thinking. And it's great that I'm not alone on this journey.

Hapgood

How have you changed since finding this forum?

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