Posts by Hortensia

9

Do you have a newfound thirst for self-expression after leaving the religion?

by Apognophos in

jw
friends

i'm not even out yet and sometimes i feel like expressing my opinions loudly, wearing t-shirts with messages on them (gasp!

), and getting up in people's faces when they annoy me.

sometimes the thought of a fistfight sounds appealing.

Hortensia

I did lots of stuff "just because I could" when I first left the wtbts. Self-expression feels great, it was a wonderful experience to simply speak my mind whenever I wanted to. I toned it down after a while, but still said what I want to say whenever necessary.

18

I need some encouragement.. Well Mrs.ObjectiveTruth needs some encouragement.

by objectivetruth in

jw
friends

hey everyone.. i'm trying to convince mrs.objectivetruth to join the forum, but she's a bit nervous.

perhaps if you all can give her some words of encouragement, it will convince her to join the jwn family... btw she already knows ttatt.. she's just not convinced to join the forum..

Hortensia

Hi Mrs.,

Maybe just hang out and read posts until you are comfortable with the forum. There's no hurry, after all. Sooner or later you'll jump in and post your opinion on something and we'll get to know you then.

Welcome!

Hortensia

43

"Only if you get a court order." wink, wink

by rebel8 in

recently had a discussion with a surgeon who said jw parents "usually" (her word, not mine) privately say they will take blood if the provider gets a court order.. yet another person, with no connection to dubs and no motive to make this up, saying this same thing.

interesting.. i'm surprised the thought police have not come out with an article saying jehoopla reads the hearts and judges as bloodguilty those who are relieved when forced to take blood..

Hortensia

Many years ago my sister kidnapped her baby and went into hiding -- big big foofarah

Now my sister and her entire family are out of the org. What a risk she took back then, although it worked out well, I wonder what she was really thinking

21

Do you eat foods labeled "low-fat"?

by compound complex in

jw
friends

greetings, health-conscious friends:.

i had a wonderful cup of peet's coffee today at a friend's house, but had only low-fat half-and-half to add.. just isn't the same .

.. what do you eat and drink?.

Hortensia

Foods labeled low-fat tend to have a lot of sugar, unless you just eat things that are naturally low-fat, like veggies and fruit, grains, blah blah blah

I just go ahead and have the real stuff in my coffee. It's only a spoonful, and only three cups a day.

25

How to cope with depression?

by make yourself in

i know its very common for jws and ex jws to deal with depression.

maybe it's a side effect of cognitive dissonance or the whole outlook on life being a jw.

but what are some ways to cope with depression?

Hortensia

I've been there -- I agree that getting help is important. Talk to your doctor, maybe find a counselor or a support group. Medications can help, there's no point in suffering if you don't have to suffer!

Eat better, exercise outside as much as possible, find ways to give yourself treats.

Don't just try to tough it out, that's a miserable existence and pointless.

1

Have any of you had to endure a Friedman Sales seminar ?

by troubled mind in

jw
friends

one of my part time jobs is at a retail gift store .

i have worked there for over 20 yrs .

the owner has had this seminar a few times over the past few yrs ,and i am scheduled to once again attend this weekend .

Hortensia

Sudden illness? Ask the boss for a different seminar as you've heard this one before? Offer to teach the seminar yourself, make up a good sample outline and think of all the things you'd really like to tell trainee salespeople?

I feel for you -- I can barely stand anything resembling a meeting at the KH. Even after all these years I still can't stand anything like a meeting.

35

What do you do when your job makes you wanna puke your face off?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

i'm talking like makes you physically sick and emotionally frazzled just thinking about it.

i'm talking like you hate it to the point you'd rather go without than work at it just for the money.

you'd live on cheap korean packet noodles for the next year instead of exchanging your labor for this job's money.. well, this is how i feel about teaching and tutoring.

Hortensia

I agree about burnout -- maybe read up on burnout on the internet and start doing things to refresh yourself and build energy. Exercising outside every day is good for you and free.

I also agree about self-employment. I have been out of the wtbts for more than 30 years. I had no job skills when I got out, was cleaning houses for a living. I went to a trade school and learned a skill and made my living through self-employment. It has its ups and downs, but working for yourself is a darn sight better than working for someone else at a job you hate.

It took me some time to feel grounded and to know how to run my life after the wtbts, but it worked out eventually. I definitely recommend counseling -- I went to a psychologist and it made all the difference for me. It gave me boundaries, goals, ways to interact with other people and an understanding of how what I had been through affected my behavior.

Julia, maybe you can use your time off from the tourism job to explore some form of self-employment. Look around and see what the needs are -- maybe some of those tourists who own houses in your area need someone like you to look after their houses during the off-season when they aren't there? How to combine teaching and tourism? Maybe start taking burned-out teachers on retreats. I know a nurse who started that, she has been taking other nurses on retreats for 30 years now. Originally she did retreats in beautiful locations with lots of continuing-education classes so that nurses could combine continuing education with some relaxation and self-nourishment. Nowadays she still mostly draws customers from nursing, but they do lots of retreats to so-called "magical" places, things to do with King Arthur, for instance.

Kate, I'm sure you and your daughter would get some help from counseling to raise your confidence. Is it a possibility? I was amazed at how much it helped me. When I got out of the wtbts I was pretty beaten-down and depressed. I had pretty much given up on life, but that actually was a good thing. I got going again in a different direction with the help of my psychologist and some anti-depressant med, as well as some training in a new skill.

5

Ahh....the Kingdom Hall

by Pete Zahut in

jw
friends

i have a relative by marriage, who is gay.

she has been shunned since she was 19 when she "came-out" to the family just a few weeks before she and an older married sister in the hall ran off together.

this pretty 19 year old had been babysitting for a married sister since she was in jr. high school.