My brother inquired of my mother as to whether or not she thought I might be an "apostate". She said, "Of course not...." He said, "I don't know how to take him sometimes. I don't know if he's kidding or serious." The last time I talked to my brother about the "truth" was about 3 months ago.
How Does It Feel Knowing That You Were Once A Member Of A Cult???
by minimus 45 Replies latest jw friends
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Triple A
For those of you that post your experiences here, do not think that your time under the thumb of the WTBTS was for not. Reading about the experiances of ex-Jehovah's Witnesses has been interesting and helpful. It has also been intriging, since no two experiences seem to be exactly the same. It is helpful to me, an outsider, in gaining insight and some understanding what it is like on the inside.
I sometimes wonder if I am so weak that the Lord kept me from joining. 24 years ago I attended a Kingdom Hall for a short time. I knew something was not right, but I could not tell you why at that time.
Since a high school friend contacted me two years after 24 years of silence and the reason I was attending the Kingdom Hall, I have been burdened with starting an out reach or joining an existing out reach to Jehovah's Witnesses.
Your words and experiences will be helpful to me. Thank you for your willingness to share, no matter the hurt that you feel.
Triple A
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minimus
Someone mentioned to me that their niece was studying with JWs for over a year now. When the aunt saw the Watchtowers on the girl's table she became alarmed and asked me for help. I told her that they have already probably told her that all true Christians should expect opposition and persecution and that they would "love bomb" her. I told her that she should say this is what to expect if they have not already expressed this to show that this is how the "cult" works. I also suggested she look at QUOTES which only quote directly from the publications and have a field day seeing how obvious the errors are in the publications.......Knowing that I WAS a cult member makes it easier to help others either get out or never get near the JWs.
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FlyingHighNow
Well, even though I was a teen when I was suckered in, I still feel I am partly responsible for being suckered. Unless you were a child when you were brought in then aren't you responsible to some degree for being involved in this organization?
We have to take some credit for being suckered. No one twisted our arms unless we were helpless children or teenagers to become JWs.
Flyin'
PS: I guess maybe some wives might have been forced "physically" to be involved.
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M.J.
Another quote from Combatting Mind Control:[paraphrased]
It is essential that former members acknowledge and work through their pain, and go through the necessary grieving period. What seems to help the most is to enable people to realize that positive things did come out of their involvement, and to show them how they can now be much stronger because of the experience, putting it in a manageable and hopeful perspective...
Floating may be described as an experience in which the member floats back in time to the days of his group involvement, and starts to think from within his former identity. Is often triggered when a former member sees, hears, or feels some external or internal stimulus which was part of the conditioning process, briefly jolting them into the cult mindset. Floating can cause a former member who is depressed, lonely, and confused to go back into the cult. Suddenly you can pop back into the cult mindset, and be hit with a tremendous rush of fear and guilt that you have betrayed the group and its leader. You can lose rational control and begin to think magically. By this I mean that one can interpret recent world and personal events from the cult perspective. For example, you didn?t get that job "because God wants you to go back to the group,"...If an ex-member starts to float, he should simply but firmly remind himself that the experience was just triggered by some stimulus, that it will pass, and find someone who understands cult mind control with whom he can talk it out rationally. The most powerful technique is to identify the trigger. Once you find it, you can mentally associate it with something else.
(not that I know anything about this personally, but like Triple A I'm really grateful to hear your stories and perspectives. They are really helpful for me in identifying with loved ones)
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minimus
M.J.....that's why bthis board is so helpful. And btw, WELCOME!