SUICIDE

Dansk

Last week an elder's wife in my ex-congregation killed herself. She was only in her late 40s and is now the FOURTH person I know of who has committed suicide in the Manchester (England) area. Two of these were ministerial servants. I also know of another ex-ministerial servant who has attempted suicide twice and who is currently on medication.

This shameful state of affairs is testimony to the pressures put on individuals in the organisation and the sheer lack of love, care and understanding for depression. The elder's wife who committed suicide had not spoken to her mother and sister for many years due to their being disfellowshipped (I believe they also became Born Again Christians). It is my opinion that disfellowshippings and shunnings are driving more and more people to despair and, as we have seen, the consequences can be dreadful.

Somehow we have to get hold of statistics on the number of people in the organisation who kill themselves. My guess is that it is way above average for other religious organisations. These figures are necessary, also, to challenge the Watchtower's charity status. Watchtower gained its charity status in the UK on the premise of helping people. Clearly, far from helping it is actually destroying.

Do you know of anyone in the organisation who has committed or attempted to commit suicide?

Ian

JH

I knew a few who committed suicide in my congregation. I only found out through inactive or disfellowshipped ones that they committed suicide. Active witnesses must think that inactive or DF'd ones commit suicide as a result of losing Jehovah's approval.

The JW's are the most heartless people that exists.

Billygoat

I've attempted twice in my life. Both with me ending up in the hospital and a stomach pump. Despair is a horrible, horrible place to be. I am so grateful to be out of that evil cult. I can't explain how grateful I am!!!

cruzanheart

My dad. It will be a year next month. I think there was a thread about this a few months ago, and it was astounding to read how many people had tried or been successful. Very, very sad.

And I find your post interesting from another angle: we had a couple of Witness friends visit from England last week, and we brought them up-to-date on what happened to my dad, the elders' unloving attitude toward him and me -- all the reasons why I'm not going to meetings anymore. They were profoundly shocked and said that something like that would NEVER happen in England, not in THEIR congregations. They said it seemed like a different religion over here. Personally, after reading all the stories from England on this board, I think they're just in a nice little niche in their congregations. They are known and have friends and nothing has happened to disturb their comfortable little spiritual world.

I hope I gave them something to think about.

Nina

Dansk

JH, do you have numbers?

Billygoat, gee I'm terribly sorry! For what it's worth, I felt I was heading that way in 1996 or 97 - which is why my family moved back to Manchester. Trouble was, it still took me nine months to recover and in all that time not a sympathetic piece of understanding from any elder what-so-ever. Now, I'm as hard as old leather - and at the happiest time of my life (I'm FREE of the Borg!

Ian

cruzanheart

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/61698/937503/post.ashx#937503

Nina

blondie

Over the years, I have known of some. Many had medical illnesses that were not treated because of fear of psychiatrists, the medical field in general.

The acknowledgement of mental illness in the general population is a serious problem, which is made worse by the WTS unofficial stance towards treatment. People do not want to be labeled mentally ill and have everything they say and do filtered through that, JWs or not.

The issue with JWs is that instead of their "enlightened" scriptural background helping them rise above the labeling in the world at large, they make it worse, make people even more afraid to seek treatment.

Blondie

Shutterbug

Watchtower gained its charity status in the UK on the premise of helping people. Clearly, far from helping it is actually destroying

I sincerely hope you will be able to get some stats regarding suicide in the UK. Perhaps if their chairty status were challanged, they would be compelled to become a real chairtable organazation. Currently, they are merely a huge publishing company with millions of unpaid workers and anything that threatens their income from the sale of books and magazines gets their attention, in a heartbeat.

Having said all of that, it will be a real challange gathering the needed stats. One thing that could be done is to ask dubs, who will still talk with you, and ex dubs to come up with names of those they know have comitted suicide. This way you can, at least, get a list started.

This advice may be worth exactly what you paid for it, but hopefully it is a start. Bug

JH

JH, do you have numbers?

I knew 2 in my former congregation who committed suicide in the last 10 years. I haven't been there for many years now, so probably more have committed or attempted suicide. In each case, no word about their death. These numbers are only the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what goes through the minds of people and what they are planning when they become desperate.

Witnesses rather show the nice, hypocrite, side of things saying that they have love for each other like no other religion.

LittleToe

Aye, my old man's best friend (and fellow elder) torched himself (near black rock, I believe).
I had worked with him at a District Assembly, only a few months before, and he seemed a little down, but generally ok. Little did I know what he would later do.

I believe his last words to anyone, which were to his non-JW wife on leaving the house, were "Farewell, my love".

SUICIDE

Share this