In my opinion all religions ameliorate the existential anxiety and offer a means to transcend one’s humaness
Victor
JoinedPosts by Victor
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28
Mental Illness among JW's
by Victor indisclaimer: this article has some broad generalizations that will have exceptions to what is stated.
this is the only way i can even attempt to address the topic.
i've looked for scholarly articles published on peer reviewed journals for years.
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Anatomy of a former JW
by Victor inone of the respondents on my post on mental illness stated that it was the same of ex jw's.
i thought about this for a couple of days and drawing from my personal experience, i can say that this is mostly true.
if one is disfellowshipped, the act of forcibly cutting off all ties to a jw's way of life is painful and in some cases inducing cognitive dissonance.
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Victor
Sea Breeze everyone is at a different place at a different time post their ex JW experience. -
28
Mental Illness among JW's
by Victor indisclaimer: this article has some broad generalizations that will have exceptions to what is stated.
this is the only way i can even attempt to address the topic.
i've looked for scholarly articles published on peer reviewed journals for years.
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Victor
All religion is an antidote for existential anxiety
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7
Anatomy of a former JW
by Victor inone of the respondents on my post on mental illness stated that it was the same of ex jw's.
i thought about this for a couple of days and drawing from my personal experience, i can say that this is mostly true.
if one is disfellowshipped, the act of forcibly cutting off all ties to a jw's way of life is painful and in some cases inducing cognitive dissonance.
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Victor
One of the respondents on my post on Mental Illness stated that it was the same of ex JW's. I thought about this for a couple of days and drawing from my personal experience, I can say that this is mostly true.
If one is disfellowshipped, the act of forcibly cutting off all ties to a JW's way of life is painful and in some cases inducing cognitive dissonance. In short, incoherent thinking that is at times schizophrenic. Platforms such as this, can be an aid to work through this trauma to help one understand the cultish actions and flawed theology of the WT.
At the very least, it's a shared community of common experiences and at best, a database of useful information to get a complete education on every aspect of JW's and the journey afterwards.
In search of meaning.
Auschwitz survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankel was able to discover within himself a greater inner freedom and peace than his captors and find meaning to his existence. This is critical to start a journey of self discovery of persona l truths.
Forums will never fill the need of professional help and they can even contribute to being stifled in one's healing or evolutionary growth.
VE
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Ex JW Doctors/Lawyers/Etc.....?
by Iamallcool innobody responded so far on my previous thread.
no problem.
the last sentence i asked if you know of any doctors or lawyers, etc..that left the borg too?
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Victor
JW's have never had any professional rational free thinking demographic that exists in other "main stream" religions. One they cannot be easily converted as rational thinkers, and two they can never become one if they are born into the religion. The organization is made up of working class blue collar workers who generally have no education beyond what is mandated by the government.
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Ex JW 12 Steps Continued
by Victor instep 4 make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself.
to err is human.
the bible (if you are a believer) has a written moral code.
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Victor
Step 4 Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself.
To err is human. The Bible (if you are a believer) has a written moral code. JW's add to this canon many more rules and dictates that are man and created by men who never raised a family in the real world. Exiting JW's must discard the guilt and shame to find their own goodness and moral compass or they are destined to suffer needlessly for decades.
Step Admit to yourself, others, and to God or your higher power the exact nature of your wrongs.
Get psychotherapy and you will find the root cause of your wrongs. Most issues are created in childhood. Heal the issue change the behavior
Step 6. Be entirely ready to grow up and take ownership these defects of character to discover your true divine nature.
Some issues are generational sins of your fathers. Whatever you inherited or created from a flawed environment can be changed.
Step 7. Make amends with those you harmed (if this is possible).
Some ex JW's are pained from never saying I'm sorry to deceased loved ones.
Step 8. Develop awareness to recognize when you are wrong and own it. Correct course as part of the journey.
Step 9-12 Enjoy a new found freedom and follow your path
VE
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'Phone call from Ex JW,
by Phizzy ina guy i was great friend with in my teens 'phoned me out of the blue today, and brought back a lot of fond memories, he was df'd, because he was a very naughty boy lol, but as he said, as is common with a lot of us exes, he took a long time to grow up.
he spoke of my parents, who despite being jw's, were lovely people, they took him in to our home when his mum was in hospital for some weeks, he also spoke of the good times we had as kids, and how his parents were good to him, and made him what he is today despite being jw's.. we sometimes do not give credit where it is due, my parents made me a lover of truth, but it is real truth i espouse now of course.. perhaps this kind of view of our upbringing is more positive than concentrating on all the downsides of what is basically an evil cult ?
looking at the (very few) positives can perhaps help us heal ?.
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Victor
In my experience when I was recruited into a Spanish speaking congregation, those were more gentle people and kinder times. I got to see and experience the abuse and petty tyranny in the 90's after things were going south inside the organization. It is healing and evolving when we are honest with ourselves and we can put context to our experience during and post being a JW.
VE
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Mental Illness among JW's
by Victor indisclaimer: this article has some broad generalizations that will have exceptions to what is stated.
this is the only way i can even attempt to address the topic.
i've looked for scholarly articles published on peer reviewed journals for years.
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Victor
@magnum I can totally empathize and understand what you saw. Since I traveled throughout the country, I saw the same pattern repeated all over the nation.
ADD glad to know your story has a happy ending
@road cults need simple filters good or bad holy or satanic
@truth I had clients who were personal friends of the Polish GV member (I forget his name )I think he's dead now who knew the extent of the mental illness and abuse of power by local elders. He was sympathetic to victims of abuse since his wife was an abuse survivor but he was caught up in the political double bind. After the series of articles came out in the Awake on abuse Bethel was deluged with letters of appreciation and help for aid. They had to kill that series for fear of opening Pandora's box this was pre-silent lambs etc.
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28
Mental Illness among JW's
by Victor indisclaimer: this article has some broad generalizations that will have exceptions to what is stated.
this is the only way i can even attempt to address the topic.
i've looked for scholarly articles published on peer reviewed journals for years.
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Victor
@ Atlantis thanks I will read these very carefully. If memory serves me Jerry Bergman is an ex circuit overseer who was affiliated with why-1914.
@ fadeaway in my last meeting of elders and ministerial servants we were strictly prohibited from doing any online research, reading self help books, or talking to mental health professionals.
@stilladd so sorry to hear of your condition, it's never too late to get professional help
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28
Mental Illness among JW's
by Victor indisclaimer: this article has some broad generalizations that will have exceptions to what is stated.
this is the only way i can even attempt to address the topic.
i've looked for scholarly articles published on peer reviewed journals for years.
-
-
Victor
Disclaimer: This article has some broad generalizations that will have exceptions to what is stated. This is the only way I can even attempt to address the topic. I've looked for scholarly articles published on peer reviewed journals for years. I don't know of any. Years ago, a JW and an apologist for the WTS named Carr wrote a slanted article on mental health in favor of JW's.
Since JW's are a closed group, there is no way of accurately knowing the degree of mental illness among its members. However, we can look at the symptoms among its members to come up with some educated guesses. I will draw on my experience and admit in advance this is a subjective viewpoint from an experiencer.
In my last congregation I attended, I witnesses forms of depression from families living in poverty with no prospects of a better future. Continuing education or specialized training for a technical job was forbidden if it interfered with making meetings or field service. This double bind (damn if you do damn if you don't) filled the lives of many members. When husbands (many elders) were emotionally or mentally abusive with their family members, there was no relief. Wives were advised to be submissive pray and leave it in God's hands.
Since JW's are such a sexually repressive group, issues of infidelity and prohibited sexual acts were rampant. When elders or ministerial servants were the predators, the victims were told to leave it in God's hands.
Some portion of the demographic were members with existing mental illness pre-conversion. These people clung to the faith as an antidote for their illness fantasizing an idyllic future in the paradise. In my opinion these people's illness was exacerbated from the binds the religion created for them. In our congregation, I head of one lady who was disfellowshipped for sex out of marriage and in her meeting with the elders, she broke down and went into a fetal position crying uncontrollably. She was having an emotional psychotic breakdown.
One lady I knew in another congregation suffered from bipolar depression. In one of her manic episodes, she sold her house and went to serve where the need was greater. This could have been avoided if she had been encouraged to seek medical and psychological help. When she cycled back to normal, she was broke with no one to turn to for help.
In my experience, a very large percentage of personal problems among JW members had a psychological explanation that psychotherapy could have solved. This option was strictly forbidden and anyone who turned to professional help was viewed with suspicion.
Do JW's cause mental illness? Yes, from the hypnotic alternate reality they construct with hypnotic language. When reality clashes with this unrealistic magical thinking mindset, the witness is told he has double down on having more faith and being submissive to the elders.
VE