by prophecor 18 Replies latest jw friends
When I left in 1974 I still believed it to be the truth, but I felt I had rather have one year of freedom than to stay. It was a good choice, 1975 came and went, I've now had 31 years of freedom and don't have any regrets. I have a family that loves me, regardless of my religious choice.
Ken P.
I have found many believing walkaways and believing castaways to be extremely fragile. They have an almost psychotic approach to reality and life.That's whats so sad about this situation. She is a functional loon, to see her yesterday after nearly 20 years, she's shellshocked, almost as if suffering from a case of PTSD. I almost hope one day she can return because she is a lost cause in this world.
For all intent and purposes, she appears normal, and as soon as she brings Jehovah out of the box, it's like the opening for the Looney Toons cartoons, Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck come to reside in the shell of a person that once was my aunt, who I dearly loved. She was the first person I took a study with as a delicate teenager. She at this time however exhibits traits of someone who's done time in an insane assylum. How do I know?, because I've spent many a day in them myself.
she's shellshocked, almost as if suffering from a case of PTSD
Not even "almost as if", perhaps. Shellshock is PTSD. It seems to me that you have hit the nail on the head.
Reliving the trauma of the Armageddon prophecy over and over, existing in that paralysis of fear, being 'stuck', are identifying marks of someone with post traumatic stress. This illness is real and serious. I wish she could get some professional help, but I understand the power of the delusion.
t
Well put, Gary. You have this whole thing figured out on a higher level than many folks, no doubt a result of your age, wisdom and perspective. You add a lot to the ongoing dialog here in this little support group we've got going. It's always enlightening to hear your steady voice.
Thanks Willy, I appreciate the kind words. I like your posts too.
I did have the misfortune to have been a child of Witness parents, to marry a Witness woman who I watched die from untreated leukemia due to the Witness blood medical treatment guidelines, and to watch two of my sons become Witnesses and shun me.
I made a point of researching it all well in order for me to accept it. I initially wanted to change it. Now I just want to accept it and move on. Once I accepted it, I became interested in the social, political, and economic elements. I'm still learning.
Well put, Gary. You have this whole thing figured out on a higher level than many folks, no doubt a result of your age, wisdom and perspective. You add a lot to the ongoing dialog here in this little support group we've got going. It's always enlightening to hear your steady voice.
Ditto! Gary's one who always makes you glad you know him.
Same as such there Gary B. The insight, energy and knowledge you put to your post is truly fascinating.
seeitallclearlynow, I'm glad to know you too. You have to be one of the friendliest people I have ever met.
prophecor, On the topic of the believing Witness or ex Witness, I've just made a point of only approaching them on a human level and if they bring up a delusion (religion) I just deflect it with a conversation stopper. Then I take control again and I lead. There are books written about this. The best for me was Instant Rapport. The series, The Verbal Art of Self Defense was helpful too.
The NLP books show how to keep a conversation directed and focused. The untrained amateur is defenseless with a trained conversationalist. I studied trained communication to learn the psychology of influence and how to achieve voluntary compliance and how it all works in sales and business.
The Witness's publishing business and their sponsored meetings use voluntary compliance techniques not unfamiliar to many big business sales managers. Most of the Witness people have never gotten to that level in secular business to recognize Witnessism as a business by nature. For those of us in business it's hard to recognize it an anything else BUT a business.
My goal in every meeting is to retain rapport so I have the set up in place for the next friendly meeting. My goal is not making a sale, or making some point. My goal is getting the appointment for the next meeting.
I find it impossible for me to treat an unrespectable person with respect. A respectable person treats me and people important to me with respect. If they don't do that, they don't get a meeting with me.
Just my rambling thoughts. Hope you can put something useful together from it. Thanks for starting the thread. I am enjoying it.
I've just made a point of only approaching them on a human level and if they bring up a delusion (religion) I just deflect it with a conversation stopper.I went there out of curiosity to see how she was doing, she was absolutely instrumental in my coming to know about Jehovah's Witnesses. Knowing the destructive bend that she was on nearly 20 years ago, my hope was that she was possibly in a position to gain some life saving information from the things I've experienced at JWD.
The stranglehold, however, continues to exist. What amazed me was the way she could defend those in the Kingdom Hall, her statements regarding all the different types of problematic people Jehovah is bringing out of the world, drug users, murderers, rapist, child molesters, and the like.
" If you see something or hear of someone in the hall who may be having a problem in this area, don't be shocked or surprised as this is only Jehovah's way of working out theses peoples situations, Jehovah takes all these different kind of people out of the world, and we need to wait on him to work out the problem "
When she said that, I was floored. I didn't display any outward emotion, but inside I was reeling from the shock that anyone could in anyway excuse such behavior under any circumstances.
The mentality that can come to be so destroyed is truly frightening. I've suffered, although be it from a drug induced, psychotic nervous breakdown back in the 70's, going thru the motions of being in and out of the organisation during those days, the minds ability to wreak havvoc on a once normal person is a hellish situation that I believe one never truly recovers from, you just get better about where you are in your life.
Mental illness runs rampant in my family, making the Jehovah's Witness experience an even more volatile situation. To see her now, I wonder if she too may have suffered a nervous breakdown somewhere within the near 20 years that I've not seen her.
