Jehovah's Witnesses and mental illness

by seattleniceguy 35 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  seattleniceguy

  Bas,

  Also I wonder what percentage of new recruits already experience psychological problems before becoming jw. I think this number probably is much higher than in the general population.

  The studies suggested that both happens. People with psychological problems are attracted to the Witnesses, but the religion also causes exacerbates psychological illness in its members.

  jgnat,

  Indeed. It's hard to get more precise data because the Witnesses won't let anyone study them. While this itself is certainly evidence of organizational paranoia, it unfortunately limits our ability to have more scientific numbers.

  ((Dansk))

  SNG
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  garybuss

  I'm convinced the Witness group has little real appeal to well, happy people. Certainly not to the level of joining. The Witnesses appeal to the ignorant, the mildly retarded, the defectives. Our job as Witness recruiters was to identify the mark's vulnerability and build our presentation's on those. Fears and resentments were sure bets to build on.
  
  The problem I had as a child of Witness parents was I was raised to fit into the Witness mold and that they wanted me to be ignorant on most subjects, socially and economically retarded, and emotionally dependant (defective).
  
  The Witnesses take a resentment and build it into a hatred, they take a fear and build it into an anxiety disorder, then they block members from seeking rational treatment. Anti anxiety and anti depressant drugs seem to be allowed if they are prescribed by a general medical doctor rather than a psychiatrist. That just makes for more dependant sick people rather than well independent people.
  
  Lots of Witnesses I know are not well just below the surface and an irrational, delusional world view fits with their psyche very well. The Witness world view validates their delusions and makes them feel less crazy, less out of control. Leo Booth deals with this in his book, When God Becomes A Drug.
  
  
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  garybuss

  I'd just like to add that Jerry Bergman wrote a book on the problems of mental illness and Jehovah's Witnesses as well as a book on the Blood doctrine. The last book I have by Jerry is Jehovah's Witnesses A Comprehensive and Selectively Annotated Bibliography.
  
  I highly recommend Jerry Bergman's books. The book, Jehovah's Witnesses A Comprehensive and Selectively Annotated Bibliography is absolutely a mush read for any serious student of the movement.
  
  Jerry was one of the first ex Witnesses I contacted in 1995. He's been very kind and has spent time with my wife and I and has given me some very useful information. I will be eternally grateful to him. Thanks Jerry! A great author and a great man.
  
  
  
  
  
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  cyber-sista

  Our job as Witness recruiters was to identify the mark's vulnerability and build our presentation's on those. Fears and resentments were sure bets to build on.

  Exactly Gary,

  Yes, we were trained to seek out those who were "moaning and groaning over the system of things" In fact that was a criteria for becoming a witness--dissatisfaction and unhappiness with life in general are symtoms related to people in mental distress.

  I was one of these people caught in the midst of major post partum depression (You want you baby to live a healthy and happy life don't you? You don't want your baby to die do you was the line that hooked me as and fed upon my paranoia and insecurity at the time--along with my other dysfunctional thinking.

  Guilt, paranoia, social phobias, low self esteem and insecurties are all symtoms played upon in WT indoctrination program.

  It is easy to manipulate people who are already down and continue to do so by keeping them down (as good for nothing slaves)

  The only aspect of a witnesses life that he is allowed to feel proud about and to find strength in is his one minded association with the WT Organization. This is how they build up the strong loyalty and fierce protectiveness shown for the organization by some of its members For many if you take their WT away they have no strength to make it on their own--they have been trained (brainwashed) in that way and that is why is is so hard to make the break--yet some do manage it.

  Your fellow escapee,

  cybs
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  tijkmo

  Proverbs 13 :12 says-'expectation delayed is making the heart sick'.....when you consider that there nust be a couple of million witnesses that have been expecting armageddon for a lomg time now then no wonder so many are sick...mentally physically spiritually....the bible does not say it MAY make some hearts a wee bit down...it says IS making the heart SICK....
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  AlanF

  Bergman is a good guy overall, and has written much insightful material on the JWs. However, his study on JWs and mental illness needs to be take with a large grain of salt, because criticisms have been raised that his sample was not necessarily representative of the JW population as a whole. Bergman will argue with that, but I no longer remember details about this.

  AlanF
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  stillajwexelder

  I have some dynamite information straight from a CO outline on Depression and mental illness -will share shortly probably on a new thread
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  Euphemism

  AlanF beat me to the punch. I would urge a little bit of caution in relying on Bergman's work, seattleniceguy. Bergman has pretty much made a career of exposing and criticizing the WTS in whatever way he can. I think that's a very laudable endeavor, but he's not exactly an unbiased scholar.
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  seattleniceguy

  I agree. In the article, Bergman states clearly that it is difficult to get actual numbers, and he acknowledges the fact that many of the studies are of subsets of the Witness population that are not necessarily representative.

  We all have personal knowledge of this problem of JWs and mental illness, and Bergman's work is at least a step toward getting some scientific data on it. As you point out, though, the actual numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. On the other hand, the reasons he gives for mental illness among Witnesses are quite compelling.

  SNG
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  garybuss

  Bergman's book doesn't defend the studies, on the contrary. In the book Jerry acknowledges the limits of the studies without apology. His position and my observations just happen to agree . . . in that the Witnesses are over represented and under reported relating to mental illness.
  
  I don't want to quote Jerry's whole book here. I recommend it to students of the subject. Jerry is a Doctor of Psychology, has been a Witness, has practiced as a clinical psychologist and has counseled many Witnesses. If anything I think Jerry has minimized the problem of mental illness in the Jehovah's Witnesses and I think he did that on purpose to be objective.
  
  I'm not a doctor or a scientist but I was a Witness and I have interviewed hundreds of Witnesses, former Witnesses, and friends of Witnesses, and I report that mental illness is rampant in the Witness group. More than a few of the mentally ill people are elders, ministerial servants, and pioneers. It's not unusual for these people to break down, become psychotic, commit crimes, or commit suicide. I have the files to prove it.