tiki: Poor lost souls....looking for a magical release from human realities....and obviously poor coping skills...why they were attracted to a bizarre religion and quacky "health" pursuits......
The JWs live inside a fictionalized world. What they did in this situation made perfect sense to them - they embraced their fiction and acted it out.
We all have that ability - the ability to suspend our disbelief. We all do it - whenever we engage in watching a movie, reading a novel, etc. However, it isn't healthy to not know the difference between fantasy and fact.
This group of people engaged in unhealthy mental gymnastics. They suspended their disbelief to the extreme. By adding a physical deprivation to an already potent mix - religious belief and quack medical belief (both pseudo concepts) - it allowed them to enter wholly into the fantastical world.
They mixed their "drugs". Religion and quack medicine. A dangerous mix.
*to add - The judge should have put them all on three meals a day. Fasting alone can bring on a delusional state. Ask any good pagan about the need to "ground" with food and fluids after engaging in ritual!