I understand it is a long hard path. First, you need to leave the religion, and that involves losing family and friends. They are programmed to cut anyone off if they leave the cancer, and the witlesses are programmed to not seek involvement with the world. Sometimes this includes finding a new place to stay and a new job, particularly if the landlord or boss (or both) is a witless, and you get fired or evicted (or both) for leaving the cancer. Sometimes it means moving out of town (or out of the country) to avoid the hounders. And sometimes it means getting harassed by the hounders.
At the same time, you need to be 100% certain that your old religion is rubbish. You will need a new belief system to get you out of the cancer (or you will probably be scammed right back in--all too many relapse simply because they fail to get a new belief system that they can accept). You will probably be experimenting with several. Those who jump to the first church they find are inviting disaster--there is a chance that it could be even worse (like the Boston Movement), or they could find the message just as bad if not as blatantly enforced. You might research several churches, or visit a few, on a "testing the market" basis. Never commit to something you are not totally certain of, even if it means doing additional cross-research.
Sometimes you will find another belief system, and have to modify it. This is acceptable, and it helps you get on the right path for you. You might, for instance, go to several different churches only to ultimately ditch them all. Some people try Judaism or Islam--again, if you go that route, do your research and try several different denominations before committing. You will probably be confused for a time. Others try a left-hand path religion--again, I advise research before committing. If you must renounce something, you need to be as close to absolutely certain that what you are renouncing is rubbish. What is required or expected in that? Good, in-depth research will not only answer those questions, but help you get the most of your new belief system.
And still others will simply become practical atheists. You will believe that there is no God, or that God is not worth worshiping. Again, that is a valid belief system. For sure, that is the safest if you are undecided. No god means no commitment. That can buy you plenty of time to research, and you will be fine tuning your belief system until you are finally comfortable with one. Many ex-witlesses ultimately become atheists and stay that way for life, and that is also fine. Just beware that your belief system could change with a single well-timed mouse click, and especially if you cross-reference it (recommended) and find that it checks.
Which is better than being so lazy that you do no additional research, and are ultimately ensnared right back into the cancer like too many are.
