Can JW beliefs contribute to suicide? (page 2)

twinflame

Before I was hard core, anti-JW....I figured if my kids were not going to survive Armageddon, I didn't want to survive either and started pulling away. Of course this showed my weakened sense of spirituality as my husband pointed out. I should have stayed in to show them the way. NOT!

Plummet

Can JW beliefs contribute to suicide?

Yes, I belive they do. I remember almost always feeling dissapointed with myself and not being able to live up to standards, never feeling like I was accepted by Jehovah. This is what led to my suicide attempts starting as early as 11 years old. It was always my easy one-way ticket to paradise. Then last year at a JC, after my lastest and nearly sucessful attempt, I was told that Suicide does not mean instant paradise. Right now I don't care if there is or isn't a paradise.

metatron

If being a Witness contributes to depression ( and it does!), then contributing to suicide is a no-brainer.

There are lots of older Witnesses quietly killing themselves - un-noticed. You ignore your diet, skip your pills,

and generally become fatalistic. Don't think it doesn't happen! It's just a bit less dramatic than a bullet or handful of

sleeping pills.

metatron

undercover

Can they contribute? Sure, with all the guilt the WTS lays on their followers, someone who already has a tendancy toward helplessness or depression could be pushed too far.

But, JWs aren't the only religion or group to push people with guilt and fear. In the end, the decision to commit suicide is that person's decision. At that point, so much has already gone wrong that you can't blame no one person, thing or group on why someone chose this route.

I've had family members commit suicide. One of my best friends committed suicide. I think the guilt of the lifestyle of being a JW helped push my friend to his terrible decision, but at the same time, many others in the same situation didn't resort to that way out. There's a sickness there that wasn't being treated, maybe not even known about until it was too late. While the WTS and it's teachings may have been a factor, they alone weren't the reason and I would be reluctant to make an issue out of it.

garybuss

I personally knew three Witnesses who killed themselves. I'm positive two of them suffered a mental illness that I believe was not treated. The third, I'm told had an untreated depression. I guess I'm not sure what if any part the Witness group played in those deaths.
The Witness people did take my son out of a mental hospital against medical advise and advised him not to see a psychiatrist after he was hospitalized for leaving a suicide letter. That was unforgivable in my opinion. That was 10 years ago. So far he has not committed suicide.
From my own experiences and after reading Jerry Bergman's book, I believe the Jehovah's Witnesses is a very poor group for a person with a mental illness to try to belong to and satisfy.

BrendaCloutier

In my own experience, Yes, JW beliefs and the brainwashing that goes with it, can contribute to suicide.

In my case, even after I quit going to meetings, and my "good JW husband" quit going to meetings (before I did) we were still married "until death do us part" or one proves the other to be unfaithful. I was 18 when we married. Our marriage was horrible. Physically, emotionally, and sexually violent. On my 25th birthday, after serious consideration of killing him, and realizing he wasn't worth spending my life in prison, I decided to take my own life. Russian roulette, I missed. 9 months later I left him.

Cordelia

i dont know about their beliefs causing it i guess it could,

but i would definately say their horriable dfing and shunning rule could, if i didnt have my little girl i sometimes think it would be better not to be here, of course i would never do that but im just saying that the evil manmade rules definately push you to it coz theres no way out of them theres no way to win when you are dfed theres just pain and heartache everywhere!

ps, i always thought you didnt get a ressurection if you commited sucide unless you was mentally unbalanced because its not showing respect for life, tho wasnt there a soldier who killed himself and then it was hinted he might get a ressurection, so basically have the society decided on that one yet? probably not!

flower

I agree..in my own personal experience I know that I wouldnt have attempted suicide had I not been brainwashed by the jw beliefs...specifically the belief that there is this 'unforgivable sin' which can cause God to completely turn his back on you forever. I had no idea what the sin was but I figured I must have inadvertently done it and therefore had no reason to wait for Armageddon to die.

Lady Lee

Hi (((Flower))) Nice to see you

flower

Hey! Nice to see you too! ((((((((lee))))))))) drop me an email some time eh? :x

Can JW beliefs contribute to suicide?

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