Corvin, don't you know that the "intellects" on this board hate those types of simple questions?...lol....My suggestion is don't even suggest that again, or else you might get some disgruntled know it all to rip into you.
Since You've Been "Out"----Do You Feel Better About Yourself???
by minimus 20 Replies latest jw friends
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ApagaLaLuz
"intellects"
Ahhhh Min..... You're too kind to me :)
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El blanko
Corvin:
Please put your old avatar back - I miss the stern expression, it was superb and I felt chastised when gazing upon it. Not ever having had a strong father figure in my life meant that it was a kind of therapy
.. ahem
Nope, still feel the same low self-esteem issues that I had when I was a serving JW. Same old me, same old "feeling like crap" most days.
BUT - the freedom to read what I like and form my own opinions is a liberation that allows me space to breath mentally.
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lovinlife
I think the way I was raised left me with a weakness to having low self esteem. But, as time goes by, I feel better and better about myself. The best part is that I don't have anyone beating me over the head with everything that I "should" be doing! Living life, being a good person, and not being made to feel guilty all the time is truly a great feeling!
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Sassy
I definately feel better about myself.. no question. Before no matter what you did, they set you up for that fact you had to do more.. give more. How could you ever feel good enough? You couln't.. now I have that burden off my shoulders and can feel good about the person I am.
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minimus
You feel better about yourself and that's why you're Sassy!
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dh
the way i feel about life and myself both when i was a jw and after i left hasn't really changed. the only difference is that now i have only myself to blame for my screw ups, which i prefer.
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minimus
Yeah----Taking responsibility is a good thing.
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eyegirl
i would definitely have to say YES!! i feel so much better about myself since i've been out. others notice it too. it's funny how when you have self-confidence and a dash of self esteem it oozes out of you. recently i saw a girl at the bank that i'd graduated with. haven't seen her in almost 8 years. she was going on and on about how great i looked and how happy i seemed now. she coudn't believe it. it seems like i've really grown into feeling comfortable in my own skin. perhaps that's part of getting a little older, but i attribute it mainly to be out of the org. for the first time in my life i have friends that are truly my friends. people who i know i can count on for us to be there for each other. life is definitely good
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Markfromcali
I don't really feel better or worse about myself in any Stuart Smalley kind of way, but I would say I am able to feel things better. If you think about it, when you're a JW you're constantly fighting certain feelings based on your beliefs so that all the constant struggle would create such confusion that you are not able to feel things very well, being clear about what you feel is a big step toward a real, deep liberation. Sometimes people are understandably dealing with more traumatic issues and may have intense feelings come up, but I would point out it just means you are getting clearer about your feelings.