Posts by arecibo

33

I did it. I finally graduated from College at 40 years of age.

by booker-t in

well posters i did it.

i finally got my associate in science degree from college the other day.

i was so excited.

So I Finally Dissassociated Myself...

by arecibo in

hi guys, .

just want to say how great it is to be able to talk to people in the same situation.

sometimes it feels like there's no-one who can really understand what it's like being brought up in the jws.

here's the letter. i'm having to post at work as my broadband isn't set up at home yet, so my posts will probably be a bit sporadic.

'Dear Simon,
As the Presiding Overseer (as far as I remember), please take this letter as written confirmation of my wish to dissassociate myself from the Jehovah’s Witness organisation.
I could write you a 4 page letter stating all my reasons, but I do not need your understanding, only that you remove my name from any files/report cards etc that you may hold and add me to your ‘Do Not Call’ list.
My mother has now stated that the only contact she can have with me is on family business due to your rules on dissassociation. Although this saddens me somewhat, I realise that this is the price I will have to pay for freedom from the cult dynamics, false teachings and bigotry of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Your’s sincerely'

Short and to the point I think. I've seen other DA letters running into pages, but didn't want to waste any more time justifying myself to these people...

29

So I Finally Dissassociated Myself...

by arecibo in

hi guys, .

just want to say how great it is to be able to talk to people in the same situation.

sometimes it feels like there's no-one who can really understand what it's like being brought up in the jws.

arecibo

Hi Guys,
Just want to say how great it is to be able to talk to people in the same situation. Sometimes it feels like there's no-one who can really understand what it's like being brought up in the JWs. It seems to exacerbate the isolation when you finally do get out.
Here's the story (i'll try to just give a general overview):
I'm 29 now. My mother joined the Witnesses when I was quite young, but I never wanted to be in it. Unfortunately, when you're young you don't have a choice of going to the meetings or not. As I got older the 'separation from the world' kinda happened by itself, as schoolkids love humiliating (and beating the crap) out of JW kids. This meant that all my friends(!) ended up being in the JWs. The teachings also seeped in through the monotonous repetition at the constant meetings.
My mother also told me from a young age that if I ever left the Witnesses, she would throw me out of the house. For a kid who has been brought up in the witnesses this was a terrifying thought, as the outside world is supposedly full of demons and run by Satan.
When I started working (it was a fight to be allowed to go to uni!), I used working late as an excuse not to go to the meetings, which continued for some years until I finally I stopped going.
I've finally moved out into a flat of my own last month and it feels fantastic. It's bittersweet though as my mother wants nothing more to do with me, unless on family business. She doesn't take kindly to my newly found athiesm and application of the skeptical method, proclaiming fire and brimstone on me at every opportunity she gets. But it means I can finally get into contact with my other aunts who my mother has alienated through her bigotry.
It's been hard getting out, although from a young age I knew i needed to do it. But leaving the witnesses is like being covered in tar; you can't just wipe it off and you're free of it. It takes a lot of deprogramming and knowledge of how cults work to get rid of the conditioning (i'm been in therapy for 2 years). I still get anxiety attacks, agoraphobia as well as other things, but it's worth more than anything being free.
Today I wrote my letter of dissassociation. 13 June 2006. That last outpost on the road to freedom.
Here's to the people still trying to break free.
Tim