by Dansk 61 Replies latest members private
they have love for each other like no other religion.
That's well put! OTHER religions have pastoral counseling. OTHER religions have programs and nursing homes for the elderly. OTHER religions have programs and activities for the young people. Yep, Witness love is like no other religion -- it's nonexistent!
Nina
There are more and more studies being done and statistics have started to appear on Mental Health among JWs -- their depression rates are very high as are schizophrenia , bipolr/manic depression etc -- I am sure statistics on suicide will also start to appear - -and once there have been one or two documentaries world wide (like the child abuse) it wil lbe another nail in the coffin of the WTBTS
Suicide has always been an area of intrest for me as I work in the prevention field with my military job. I wish there were accurate statistics for suicide in the Borg. My gut feeling is that the numbers are elevated as compared to society at large...the question is, does the Society's drive for more more more, bring it about, or is it that those predisposed toward suicide, (Schizophrinics, Bi-Polars, etc are more attracted to the Society....or is it a combination...or am I way off on both?
I left my JW wife last month and she made a suicide attempt the day I moved out. She later said it was partly because of the lack of support she received from the congregation. She's on meds now, and receiving counselling. She said the congregation has been more supportive since this happened.
I wonder how long that will last.
Walter
The last year and a half I was in, I was seeing a therapist because I overwhelmingly felt like suicide was a valid option for me. That was back in 97/98...................shortly after that, I stopped going to meetings.............the first sane thing I did. Then, I told my husband that I probably was going to divorce him.................it took another year plus for that to happen................from there on my life took a decided upward swing................I know for a fact there were many in the congregation who were deeply depressed, some on medication, some not. As an elder's wife, when we would travel out of town to give talks, I always was meeting others with severe depression.............one brother I remember in particular was a wonderful older elder. He was a dynamic speaker and conducted the WT. We went out to lunch with him and he and I got on to the "depression/therapy" subject, as kindred spirits! : - ) He mentioned that his stemmed from a stern, perfectionistic father, who was an old, staunch, JW, old school, stick your foot in the door, tell them they're all gonna be manure on the ground at Armaggeddon, type, whom he could never please. So, in just this instance alone, we see the correlation with the religious teachings..............I very much like the idea of trying to trace how many have committed suicide, but it seems like a monumental task............but, I'll help where I can! Let me know!
Terri
To hear of suicide like this is so very sad. I know what the depths of depression can do as I have experienced it first-hand. When they df'd me the first time, I nearly crashed my car head-on into a tree. I remember just pushing down further and further on the accelerator, until I heard horns blowing and then I swerved--nearly crashing anyway. Some other driver saw my irratic behavior and laid on their horn, and I was shocked back to the pain of reality. I really didn't want to die, but I was in so much emotional pain, I wasn't thinking straight. I was only twenty-two at the time.
We had lots of depression in our KH---wives, and young adults mostly. Many were taking anti-depressants and giving them to their kids. A couple of the brothers too. The "truth" as taught, leaves so little love and compassion, that people feel there is no hope, and they are full of guilt and unhappiness due to many of the teachings that affect them or their family. They can't see that they do have choices, and even if they do, they are not stable or strong enough to put them into action.
Suicide is a way of just "stopping" the pain. One just doesn't want to "feel" what they are feeling anymore and they can't seem to get past that. They just want out. They are tired of living their life the way it is, and are in too much pain to cope. So they opt out....like my first husband did, although not a JW.
Of all things to cause someone to feel this type of "pain", it should not be religion. However, in all fairness, there are many people who are already emotionally weak, and when too many things go wrong in their life at one time, they don't know how to get better. So many times, others don't even know the secret that these people carry around, until it's too late.
Life is so precious.
/<
It is most sad to hear this news ....really sad
I know of quite a few.
Makes me mad how they try to cover-up/pretend it's not happened
"The happiest people in the world"
......Yeah Right!!
Dansk,
I believe that the shunning issue is what will eventually attract government attention where the WTS is concerned and will force change by law. They will not attempt to overturn the protection that religion has under Law for these types of matters, no government at least in the Western world seems to be willing to set a precedent in this matter, but if sucides can be directly associated with the shunning procedure, this protection falls away. Certainly criminal action could be taken against the elders involved in their committe if it could be proved that their actions directly led to a persons death.
However, what is needed here is a paper trail, a suicide note that directly mentions shunning as the reason for the person taking their lives. Without this it would be a legal non-starter. I have asked readers of this Board to write to me in the past with such information so that we could begin to collect such evidence. Though many wrote knowing of JW's who had killed themselves, none knew of anything but hearsay that involved the shunning process in their tragic deaths.
It would do no harm to make a periodic announcement seeking such information.
Best regards - HS
I know of one in particular who attempted. He's on meds. Him and his wife are very nice people, but they've both had problems with depression. My mother has been warned about association with them. I used to hear "They can go out and eat on a thursday, but they can't make it to a meeting". Sadly, I used to have this very mindset. Not any more, I don't blame them.
There may have been more in my congregation that I wasn't aware of.
My wife attempted suicide in the summer of 2002. After a visit from her parents. Her father (an elder at the time) sexually abused her for years when she was a child/teen. When she finally told at age 15, he repented for all his sins, was removed from his position as an elder, but nothing more happened. She had to live in the same house, with her molester/father for years after that. Her parents stayed toghether and to this day act as if nothing happened, and even had another child (a girl). Anyway, her mom comes to visit us (they live in another country), stays for about a month, and her dad then gets the bright idea of coming (uninvited) to get his wife and "see our new house". He stayed only 30 minutes on his way back to the airport, but simply seeing him again was enough to throw her over the edge. She's doing much better now, though, and we soon plan to somehow tell our families that we have cut all ties with the organization. I just wish I could do something to get my family out of the cult.
