Posts by LisaRose

34

Witnesses and anxiety disorder

by mana11 in

i saw this on a public user group for jw's .

the librarian [email protected].

the caption reads:.

LisaRose

A high number of them have all manner of illnesses--both physical and mental----that i had never heard of before. coincidence =-or what ?

I will assume you meant that in a sympathetic way, not that all ex JW women are crazy or sick.

I will say that being a JW did take a toll on me both physically and mentally.The constant stress did cause some problems, things that I will probably deal with the rest of my life. I have been out for fifteen years and mentally I am fine, physically not so much.

I think men are affected just as much, but maybe in express it in different ways. Some have anger issues, some have substance abuse issues.

82

Do you remember the 15 minute break at the Sun. meeting?

by 3rdgen in

a poster on another thread reminded me of when there was a 15 min.

break between the talk and the wt study on sundays.

the break was supposed to be to allow jw's time to drive their bible studys home from the talk.

LisaRose

That sounds about right, possibly sooner. I think thry got rid of it to stop people from escaping at the break. It was a mixed bag, as it was a break from the monotony of the meetings, but then you were forced to talk to people whether you wanted to or not. Did they then shorten the meeting by fifteen minutes or just fill it up with more meeting? I can't remember.

28

JW ended a relationship with me

by V1922 in

my jw boyfriend just ended a year and a half relationship with me.

it came out the blue and i'm deeply hurt by this because we were so compatible.

he did it right before the big annual gathering he is presently attending.

LisaRose

I am sorry this idiot treated you like that. It's a cult. Your boyfriend is being manipulated by a cult. They believe they are the only true religion and that the world is ending soon and anyone that is not a JW will die. They practice shunning and anyone who engages in sex outside of marriage can be disfellowshipped and shunned. This creates havoc in the life of anyone that gets involved with a JW. They may have fun outside of their rules, but inevitably they feel guilty and go back or get caught.

As hurtful as this is, you are probably better off without him. Unless you were to convert he will probably not want to marry you and you do not want to convert, trust us on that. Your boyfriend does not know it's a cult and will probably deny that it could be, so chances of him leaving are not good. The Watchtower would always be the third wheel in the relationship.

Anyway, if he dumped one girlfriend for you he would probably have eventually dumped you for someone else, so he was probably not the one for you anyway. You would probably be better off with someone that does not have all this baggage.

35

DOES BELIEF IN THE BIBLE DESTROY ONE'S INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY?

by TerryWalstrom in

based on information to be found at: http://www.csicop.org/si/show/when_dont_the_highly_educated_believe_in_evolution_the_bible_believers_effe/.

the bible-believers effect.

those who believe the bible is the word of god (bible believers) and those who dont believe the bible is the word of god (bible nonbelievers) differ in their beliefs that humans evolved from earlier species of animals.

LisaRose

I think people like the black and white answers that are part of a religious belief system. It means they don't have to think or worry about things, they just accept what they are told, then they don't have to think about it. Anything that challenges their belief system is dismissed out of hand because that's the easier thing to do. It's mental laziness.

34

Witnesses and anxiety disorder

by mana11 in

i saw this on a public user group for jw's .

the librarian [email protected].

the caption reads:.

LisaRose

Thank you Sail Away. My daughter had some serious mental health problems as a teen that included two suicide attempts. I was still marginally in the religion at the time but I never had her talk to the elders and she got therapy for five years. We all made it through and she is doing great now, happily married, a mom and she has a really great job. It could easily have ended otherwise so I feel very fortunate.

I meditate also, it's been very helpful. I have pain issues and it helps me manage that as well as my ADHD. I am like a broken record here urging people to give it a try, especially if they are still struggling with JW issues, but it really does work. It takes very little time, costs nothing and has been proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and help with anxiety and depression. I am 60 and have a family history of high blood pressure, it used to be 140 or more, but since I began meditating daily it went down to 110 to 120.

51

Why hasn’t someone gotten real pissed off yet?

by John Aquila in

i keep reading of some guy who is so upset at someone that he goes into a theater and shoots 20 people..

or a kid that is so mad that the other kids made fun of him that he goes to school and shoots a bunch of kids..

or some guy that was fired from his job and he goes back and shoots of bunch of his workers.

LisaRose

Sorry Sparrow dow, I meant to hit the like button, love the picture.

I think it hasn't happened for a few reasons. Many JWs that are disfellowshipped or treated unfairly are still believers and have some fear of Jehovah, so that probably keeps them for doing anything like that. Also, the governing body mostly stays in New York, and it's not that easy to get there for most people, and if you did how would you get to them? I doubt they let anybody off the streets into see them. Another reason could be that the JWs are not that big of a group, so the chances of having someone that deranged is probably not that great. There are just not that many truly deranged people, like the Aurora Colorao shooter, in the whole country. That one still creeps me out, I lived in Aurora and went to that same theater many times.

Still, it could happen, it just takes one. I hope not though, as much as I hate the GB

34

Witnesses and anxiety disorder

by mana11 in

i saw this on a public user group for jw's .

the librarian [email protected].

the caption reads:.

LisaRose

Sail away, I'm sorry you suffered for so long. I hope you find peace and healing now that you are out.

My daughter was about eight years old when the yearbook with all the concentration camp stories came out. she was obsessed with fears about being put in one, it was a rough year.

Field service, the solution to all your problems!

Anxious? Go out in service.

Depressed? Go out in service.

Mentally ill? Go out in service.

Broke? Go out in service.

Sick? Go out in service.

35

Im ready to leave

by SpunkedTeen in

jw
friends

i just found this website and im so glad because for the first time in a long time i dont feel alone...i am a born in and in the last two years have been struggling because i thought that i was the problem and i was the reason for not feeling any love from and for the other pubs .i want to leave the org but have no idea how to tell my mother(who is a faithful jw).

LisaRose

Welcome! It depends on how old you at and if you are financially dependent on your mother. If you are an adult and on your own you can be a bit more direct obviously.

If it were me I would say that although you appreciate all that she has done to raise you right, you simply do not share her belief in this religion. Tell her that she raised you to be honest and you cannot live a lie. You have prayed about it and looked for answers in the publications, but there is just no way you can close your eyes to the facts anymore. You should assure her that you still love her and do not want to live a life of sin, but that you will not ever be a Jehovah's Witness.

I am sure this will be very difficult, but it's much better to be open and honest about your beliefs and not try to hide it from her. She will be disappointed, but she will just have to adjust and accept that you are an individual and have to make your own way inlige, just as all parents have to accept the decision made by their adult children.

23

Facing up to the reality of the world

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

since becoming atheist i have been paying more attention to world events and issues.

this is giving me some worry's when i see what's going on.

as a jw i could just dismiss stuff saying "armageddon is coming, jehovah will look after us" etc etc now of course i can't do that.

LisaRose

The Watchtower belief system was like a security blanket, it protected you from fears of all the badness in the world, but it was a false security, it actually protected you from nothing.

Yes, reality is a cold, hard witch ( with a capital B), but it does get easier with time. The mind adjusts and eventually you get that while there is no panda hugging paradise coming, the world isn't going to be destroyed anytime soon either.

This is the new normal.

24

Resistance is NOT futile!

by Bonsai in

all i want from this life is to be able to wash windows at bethel.. my story.. when i was fresh out of high school and pioneering, i said those exact words to my friends and family.

all i wanted to do was be at the core of the organization where it was the safest.

i gleefully told people that i'd gladly spend the rest of my life washing windows, waiting tables, doing laundry or cleaning bathrooms.

LisaRose

Welcome, thanks for sharing your very interesting story. I think most people reach a point where they either (consciously or unconsciously) choose to ignore the gaping holes in the Watchtower narrative or choose start looking at things objectively. It's like the picture that looks like an old woman or a young girl depending on how you look at it, once you start seeing the ugly you can't go back to seeing the pretty.

It's seems it's often the more zealous and idealistic that eventually become disillusioned and loose faith.