I don't. It reminds me every day of what I was was and not what I can enjoy.
Do You Hide The Fact That You Were/Are A Jehovah's Witness?
by minimus 44 Replies latest jw friends
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kls
I will tell others if it will help them but other then that i have no reason and as far as me reminding myself i was once in a cult,i try to forget .
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Odrade
No, not at all. I talk about it if and when it comes up. It's amusing, in a sick and twisted sort of way. Last week it came up in conversation about garage sales. I told about my mom, field service, garage sale items and the deeemonz, and we laughed till our sides hurt. hehe.
A friend (non-JW) told me that my talking about my former religion might be erasing the years of bad "karma" from pounding on people's doors at 9:30 on Saturday morning. Haha.
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love2Bworldly
Funny I had totally forgotten about this--I used to never talk about it or tell people I used to be involved because I was so scared I would run into some JW, and then they would have to shun me. Now I could give a rat's behind if people know; in fact now I tell people about the research I'm doing on the JW cult and how destructive it is.
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Fe2O3Girl
I have changed jobs several times since I left 11 years ago. I like not being defined by that religion anymore. It is not relevant - why should I tell people.
Obviously, sometimes you have to let people know. I told my husband about my background pretty quickly. My in-laws know my parents, so it is not as if I could hide it. Inevitably, they found it hard to grasp the difference between "was a JW" and "is a JW". I had to get uncharacteristically bad-tempered before my mother-in-law stopped referring to JWs as "your lot". It takes a long time for it to sink in. For example:
MIL: Are you going to arrange a party for your dad's retirement?
Me: Well, none of their friends will speak to me, so I don't see the point......
So, if I don't have to give out that piece of information about my past, why make life awkward for myself with endless explanations?
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candidlynuts
i'm so damaged and socially backwards i never talk to people..so who would i tell?
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FlyingHighNow
Nope. If I feel someone could benefit, I tell them I was one.
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Purza
I do tell people. I have had lots of people tell me that it was a good thing I got out of it. I also think it helps my friends to understand who I am and why I might struggle with not singing happy birthday and my other hang ups.
Purza
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ithinkisee
I have told a few people that I am leaving that I can trust and that don't really know any JWs.
I am trying to increase my non-JW clients (computer/web programming and search engine marketing (Pay-Per-Click etc)) so that when I do make my stand I don't need to depend on any JW customers.
-ithinkisee
PS: I pay referrals if anyone would like to refer me. PM me for more info ...
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luna2
What I haven't talked much about yet is that I've left. Everyone that I know here knows me as a JW and while I didn't try to convert anybody or even preach to them outside of saying why I didn't participate in certain things, the fact that I didn't do birthdays, baptisms, weddings, holiday parties and thought I had the really true truth makes me feel like a Grade A dope now.
I've only mentioned briefly to my parents and to a couple of people at work that I'm not as involved with JW's any more. I'm finding that people don't really know what all the fuss is about anyhow. It's kind of like "so what?".