As JW's, we were held captive to many senseless fears. Fear of demons, fear of apostates, fear of spiritual weakness in others, fear of our own imperfections, fear of the elders/organization.
It takes awhile, maybe a lifetime, to untangle from all that and begin to approach normalcy.
I don't know that we can do a complete U-turn in a short time. I believe our progress is made in taking small risks, even when a voice on the inside (our old JW-training) tells us maybe we shouldn't take that risk....By risk, I mean risking doing things that are normal behavior that we would not have done as JW's, whether it be small things like a simple birthday celebration, to larger things such as showing unconditional love or giving someone the benefit of the doubt rather than being on guard against a possible weakness on their part.
Some of the stains of the JW ideology will probably remain in us for life, but we don't have to be totally captive to the fears that had been instilled in us.
Just think of Bill Murray's "Bob" in the movie "What about Bob?"... where his learned technique was "baby step, baby step".
J.R.Why shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)