There is a lot of overlap necessary in recovery. I found that examining my beliefs were important. But even these changed more once l left and l was safer not to get involved with another church - something one might do for a number of reasons including the isolation factor.
I agree that the # ONE goal is to find the Authentic Self. But we can impede our progress if we go too fast and don’t let grief and a certain amount of solitude and reflection on our JW indoctrination settle out. But l know that a sort of quiet social life fill a void but one must be careful about that in the tender beginnings.
While counseling was a powerful tool in my recover I remember that l was unaware how much religious shame and training had knit into my thinking . so initially my sessions didn’t address this. Most counselors don’t know what the WT does to people. Counselors tend to look at the family relationships not knowing how the WT governs and often supersedes family culture. Counseling benefits more as we become aware of the true impact of the cult in our lives.
Extricating our real self from this must be done with care. I have been out for 10 years.
- allow for grief
- examine the parts of you religious thoughts that you know had been intolerable and be open to further discovery.
- educate yourself as to the specific psychological impacts of cult thinking
- To counteract the shunning and isolation impacts, get some regular exposure to other people in volunteer programs, small clubs or other activities ( l had work that allowed for good human interaction)that do not require deep commitment (until you have “found”yourself )
- Find a good counselor.
- Be your authentic self. This is not the least important by any means. It is primary but doesn’t blossom fully unless and until other steps are taken. Your authentic self is a discovery that will be emerging as you go along. That said it Indeed was what caused you to take that first step out of JW land to start with. “Do not quench the spirit!” Lol