I deleted all JW contact info and blocked them all from my Facebook account. I just didn't want to see their names anymore. I've never regretted it for a second.
Sail Away
JoinedPosts by Sail Away
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9
Just deleted all elders phone numbers
by Chook inflying blind on the incoming calls but i am not fearfully looking around and will approach any religious zealots like a warrior.
there nothing like the unpredictable, because these men it's all about the prediction..
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Lying In Wait At a Bed & Breakfast
by Cold Steel ina few years ago while traveling in the northeast, my wife and i stopped in new haven, connecticut, at a b&b we'd reserved for the night.
no sooner had we unpacked and moved into the living room for tea and treats, our hosts began to talk about religion, and we learned they were jehovah's witnesses.
i didn't mind so much, but my wife was outraged that our hosts would use their place of business as a launching point to do missionary work.
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Sail Away
Cold Steel, I think I may know this couple-- sent you a PM!
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Saw a great therapist and was diagnosed with post traumatic stress. Any one else?
by Beachlover ini took your advise and found someone who could help and was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.
has anyone else been this route and have some positive feedback or been thru this?.
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Sail Away
Beachlover, a sailor and beach lover here too!
I have been diagnosed with and treated for generalized anxiety disorder, severe recurrent clinical depression and PTSD since the early '90s. The tipping point was a bad car accident in which I was driving and my kids were in the car. I clearly had all of these conditions before the accident, but as a believing JW, they went untreated. I guess I was supposed to wait until the "New System" to recover from child sexual abuse and the fallout from the abuse from a psychotic Mom and an alcoholic father. The nightmares about torture in concentration camps, rape and torture in Malawi and the fiery execution at Armageddon of all of my non-believing family members were just icing on the cake.
I was in and out of therapy and on psych meds for two decades with little to no improvement. I now know that there is no way a therapist can help you without full disclosure. The elders had instructed me to not speak to my therapist about "spiritual matters". I should only speak to them about such things. I would say that I was a JW, but that religion was not up for discussion. I tied their hands behind their backs.
The organization, its policies, procedures, practices and teachings pushed me to the brink in early 2011. I walked away on July 3, 2011. I walked away a believer expecting to be destroyed by God.
A few months later I found jwfacts.com and read Crisis of Conscience and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. That is when my healing began. I have been off of all psych meds for over a year now. I still see my Buddhist Psychologist weekly. His approach is different than many traditional therapists, but it resonates with me.
This is what helped:
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy to help me learn communication and life skills I never learned in my 42 years as a JW. Health insurances in the U.S. usually pay for this evidence-based therapy.
Studying, practicing and now teaching evidence-based tai chi and qigong including sitting, standing and lying down meditation.
Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction
I am now training to be a (secular) Mindfulness Meditation teacher based on techniques of Minfulness-based Cognitive Therapy. You can read about the program here:
Free online meditations for the program are here:
http://franticworld.com/free-meditations-from-mindfulness/
I meet weekly with my Insight Meditation Society meditation group. The teacher has a Zen Buddhism background which I find interesting and helpful. It's a great place to meet people who offer kind support.
I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I wanted to take the time to give a well thought-out answer. For me working with the mind-body connection was key. Even when triggered, I haven't dissociated in years.
Wishing you peace and wellness,
Diane
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My Lawyers Letter To The Elders
by pale.emperor infor those of you that asked, below is a copy of my solicitors letter to the elders in my old congregation.
he sent a similar one directly to bethel and a medical directive to my daughters gp to go on her medical records that i have already given permission for her to have a blood transfusion should she need one:.
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Sail Away
Gayle
The couple cases I know from long ago, that the individuals then were never announced 'on the platform' as "disfellowshipped, disassociated." Though, they were 'off the record' df'd, at least some family members and a few friends felt they could be free to talk with ex-member yet because of no announcementI sent in a letter of resignation nearly a year ago now and threatened a lawsuit if they announced anything from the platform. They didn’t make an announcement because the local JWs still greet me in public. I walked away just over 5 years ago, and the elders know why.
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My Lawyers Letter To The Elders
by pale.emperor infor those of you that asked, below is a copy of my solicitors letter to the elders in my old congregation.
he sent a similar one directly to bethel and a medical directive to my daughters gp to go on her medical records that i have already given permission for her to have a blood transfusion should she need one:.
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Sail Away
No Apologies
I think some of you are way overreacting to that picture. Apparently you never read comic books as a kid or watched any action or sci-fi movies. I can assure you I was exposed to the Paradise book, the Live Forever book, etc. and somehow I survived. Just saying
I was exposed to the same, had nightmares for decades and was later diagnosed with PTSD. A child who is taught that their unbelieving family members will be destroyed by God at Armageddon is being abused. End of discussion.
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A conversation with my ultra dub relative
by joe134cd inhere's a conversation i just had with my relative a few minutes ago i'll let you decide.. relative : would you like to read your grandfather the days txt (she passes joe the phone).
joe : sure.
(then proceed to read it to my grandfather and explain it).. after discussing the points joe says to relative.. hey what's the story arnt they printing books any more.. relative : no they arnt necessary any more.. joe : really why is that.. relative : it's all on line.
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Sail Away
I was called out from the platform during the WT study for reading from and commenting based on a printout of scriptural references. I did this from the WT Library CD ROM just over 5 years ago. What does a lowly "sister" know anyway.Grrrr!
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What's your passion???
by Faith after Deception inyesterday, i was feeling very blue.
this is quite unusual for me, as i tend to be quite an upbeat, positive person, so spells of sadness or depression take me by surprise and are a real shock to the system.
you know, i don’t believe in “putting on a face” or pretending to be ok; this “fake it ’til you make it” malarkey has never been something i’ve liked.
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Sail Away
Faith after Deception, I'm so happy that you have singing to pull you out of the doldrums! It's fantastic you can share your passion with your husband. And yes, The WTB$ does suck the joy out of life!
My passions, not necessarily in order of highest interest, are hanging with my little dog, sailing/teaching couples sailing with Mr. Sail Away, world travel and family visits, practicing and teaching evidenced-based tai chi and qigong and studying secular Buddhism and mindfulness meditation. I am starting a year-long Mindfulness Teacher Training program in September.
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As a Matter of Conscience, I Am Resigning from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses
by Sail Away inafter listening to the hearings of the australian royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, i am no longer content to have simply walked away from the organization.
as a matter of conscience, i do not want my name linked with the organization in any way.
i know this letter has been posted previously, and i thank the author.
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Sail Away
DarkKnight, please let us know how that conversation goes.
Wishing you freedom,
Diane
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As a Matter of Conscience, I Am Resigning from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses
by Sail Away inafter listening to the hearings of the australian royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, i am no longer content to have simply walked away from the organization.
as a matter of conscience, i do not want my name linked with the organization in any way.
i know this letter has been posted previously, and i thank the author.
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Sail Away
Jookbeard and Worldling, thank you for your kind words of support. I'm five years out now, and life is so much better than I ever imagined it could be without the Fear, Obligation and Guilt imposed by the GB and those under their destructive mind control. Walking away from the organization was truly a life and death matter for me.
Worldlilng, I do hope others will find my letter and experience of help and would absolutely feel honored if someone chose to use my letter as a starting place for their journey toward freedom. I relied on those who went before me, their research and the good advice of the posters on this forum in planning my exit strategy and composing this letter. Sharing it is my way of paying it forward.
Of course, every situation is different, so we all have to make our own way. Hard decisions have to be made. When I was ready to write this letter, I had already lost all the the WTB$ had to take from me, and I wanted a clean break. We all have to weigh the potential losses and gains before severing ties in such a final way.
Sadly, for as long as my in-laws are alive and still shunning my husband, our children and their grandson, the reminders and ties will still be there. They still don't know that I am out as they live over 500 miles away, and Mr. Flipper helped FOG them regarding my "spirituality". For now, they still think I am in good standing in the congregation.
My husband was raised in since he was five years old. He was never supposed to grow old. He is 65 now and is dealing with the health problems that come with age. His parents converted when they were in their late twenties, and they are now in their nineties. It seems they are willing to continue shunning and die alone without family, loyal to this organization and its morally bankrupt leaders.
At least our children and grandson are now free, and they are all loved fully for who they are without condition or judgement. The WTB$ did not win out in the end.
Diane
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As a Matter of Conscience, I Am Resigning from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses
by Sail Away inafter listening to the hearings of the australian royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, i am no longer content to have simply walked away from the organization.
as a matter of conscience, i do not want my name linked with the organization in any way.
i know this letter has been posted previously, and i thank the author.
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Sail Away
Nathan Natas, feel free to misunderstand the penguin story as much as you wish, and congrats on successfully derailing my thread.