Prevalence of JW Suicides - Real or Imagined? (page 7)

AMOS

larc,
Strangely enough, at the time of the deaths, I think you are so programmed to think along certain lines, the resurrection etc that it's almost not real. And one is so judgemental! I recall reading in one journal recently that it's because of the WTs projection of better things to come, puts the NOW in an almost altered sense of consciousness and almost makes it "easy" for them to die. Strangely we feel the pain more now at the senseless loss of lives and the pain that our brothers and sisters must have gone through, than at the time. When my brother in law shot himself, my poor husband only a teenager who was cradling him as he died, kept saying to his JW parents, over and over, "don't let them give him blood". (not that would have made any difference) No funeral, no grieving, just a hard line on the wicked thing he had done to himself and the local congregations banned from attending anything. My husband occasionally weeps over it now. Thanks for your comments.

Francois

A study of this and related topics was undertaken several years ago by the sociolgy department at one of the larger Canadian universities. The study revealed that the suicide rate among JWs was indeed higher, as was the rate of: alcoholism, spousal abuse, child abuse (sexual, emotional, psychological), clinical depression, petty criminality, and a number of related phenomena.

This topic came up a couple of months ago, and I've been wracking my brain (and my search engine) ever since in an attempt to I.D. where I originally read that information, or at which university the research was conducted. If and when the cloud lifts, I'll certainly post the source information.

Francois

Where it is a duty to worship the Sun you can be sure that a study of the laws of heat is a crime.

Lady Lee

Try Dr Penton at the University of Alberta. I know he has done some work in this area

Lady Lee

http://watchtower.observer.org/; has a few articles on JWs and Mental health - look under JWs and Health and then under Mental Health

Some references

Joseph Zymunt. Prophetic Failure and Chiliastic Identity: The Case
of Jehovah's Witnesses," American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 75 1970, 926-948.

Raymond Franz. Crisis of Conscience. (Atlanta, GA: Commentary
Press, 1983) Jonsson, Carl Olaf. The Gentile Times Reconsidered. (Atlanta : Commentary Press, 1986) Penton, M. James. Apocalypse Delayed. (Toronto, Canada: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1985).

Richard Hickman. The Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses;
Reflections of Twenty-Five Years. (Love/Agape Ministries Press, Worthville, KY 1984).

Jerry Bergman. The Problem of Mental Health and Jehovah's Witnesses. (Clayton, CA. Witnesses Inc., 1992).

Gosta Rylander. "Jehovah's Vittnan-En Psykologisk- Sociologisk
Studie," ( A Psychological and Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses). Nordisk Medicin (Scandinavian Medicine), Vol. 29, 1946,526-533.

John Spencer. "Mental Health Among Jehovah's Witnesses," British
Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 126, 1975, 556.

Laura Lage. "The Watchtower: The Truth That Hurts,"
Free Inquiry, Winter 1984, Vol. 5, No.1, 1984, 25-31.

Havor Montague. "The Pessimistic Sect's Influence on the
Mental Health of Its Members: The Case of Jehovah's Witnesses," Social Compass, Vol. 24, 1977, 135-147.

Ursula Sack. Case Studies of Voluntary Defectors from Intensive
Religious Groups (Ph.D. Diss. University of California, 1985).

Kjell Totland "The Mental Health of Jehovah's'
Witnesses." Journal of the Norwegian Psychological Association, In Press.

Barbara Grizzuti Harrison. Visions of Glory. A History and a
Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses. (N Y: Simon and Schuster, 1978).

Heather and Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's
Witnesses. (Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press 1984).

Donald Salzman. A Study of Isolation and Immunization of
Individuals from the Larger Society in Which They Live. (Chicago, IL: Univ. of Chicago Masters Thesis, 1951).

David Reed. Worse than Waco Jehovah's Witnesses hide a tragedy.
(Soughton, MA Comments from the friends, 1993).

Lady Lee

http://www.carm.org/jw/mental.htm -->Jehovah's Witnesses and Mental Health

http://www.rickross.com/reference/Art57.html --> The Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses By John Spencer

http://www.freeminds.org/psych/phobias.htm --> Understanding Watchtower Phobias - How and Why the Watchtower Uses Fear to Control Its Members by Randall Watters

http://www.premier1.net/~raines/mental.html --> Why Jehovah's Witnesses Have Mental Problems by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D

http://www.jwfiles.com/recovery.htm --> THE RECOVERY PROCESS OF LEAVING THE WATCHTOWER by Victor Escalante

http://www.equip.org/free/DJ601.htm --> PARADISE POSTPONED...AND POSTPONED: Why Jehovah’s Witnesses Have a High Mental Illness Level
by Jerry Bergman

Maximus

Thanks for sharing the resources and incisive comments, Lady Lee.

IMNSHO there are too many Unhealed Wounders around, both professional and non-professional!

I've recently seen some really bad examples of professional abuse, fully condoned by the Watchtower Society.

A comment or two. Jim Penton is no longer at the University, but busily engaged in doing what he does best, including authoring.

Joe Zygmunt is in retirement in Arizona, but his work 30 years ago still echoes in my mind; I'd love to revisit that article.

Best,
Max

Lady Lee

Thanks for that info Max. I have to agree with you about unhealed Wounded. The borg has an unbelievable record of sending their victims to borg "healers" who then report back to the borg - unethical and unconscienable. How any healer could agree to this only proves how sick they all are. And how sad for those who are trully in need of help and searching for it - to get re-abused by the same system that caused the hurt to begin with

alamb

I have known 5 suicides/murders:
1. Woman in her 50's returns from field service, cooks lunch and sets the table, and hangs herself in the garage.
2. Young man studying shot himself.
3. South American woman married elder from U.S. Found he was a tyrant and shot herself.
4. Dear friend has attempted many times and has finally left the Borg. Glad to say he is happily engaged to a worldly woman who truly cares about him.
5. This was in the local news. I went with the sister on this study. A woman was studying and came to the part regarding life in the new order. She stabbed to death her 5 year old son and attempted but failed to kill herself. Claimed to want to get in the new order faster. Went to prison and is now a baptized publisher. How sweet.

A side note: I have questioned a local psychologist regarding this and she said an overwhelmingly large percent of her clientelle are JW.

Faraon

What really amazes me is the large number of JWs who think: You're Ok, I'm not OK. Most JW commit suicide and leave their tormentors alive and happy to keep on providing slaves for the Borg. This only goes to prove that they make a good job of choosing their sheep followers. They choose people who will not retaliate against them.
The thought of suicide crossed my mind a couple of years ago when they separated my daughters from me, then I realized that to kill myself would not solve anything. They would just coldly would say that my suicide was Satan's fault and that it was the result of my leaving the Borg. I decided then to use my spare time and money to publish the truth about the WT. I learned from them how to switch the conversation to promote their doctrines. Now I use this technique to bring the JWs into normal conversation and tell people about their false doctrines and destructive laws. I go on the streets where they are distributing their materials and confront them. They leave when they cannot answer preprinted questions.
They will not come to my block because my neighbors will call me when they knock on their doors.

JRP
If I wanted your opinion, I would beat it out of you (seen in a bumper sticker)

Maximus

There are some insightful gems in this thread --

For those who may have missed it.

Maximus

Prevalence of JW Suicides - Real or Imagined?

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