by free2beme 30 Replies latest jw friends
I drank when I was in the Jehovah's to combat my cognitive dissonance. You would never know it to look at me while I was in the cult, but there were a lot of really dark years of secretive drinking. I didn't even know why I felt so shitty until I got out of the dubs. I hardly drink at all now and I feel great. Go figure.
GBL
I drank excessively when I first left the JWs, and for a few months after the breakup of my marriage. I soon realized I was spending a lot of money on this self destructive behaviour, and alcohol only makes depression worse. Now I have an occasional drink, maybe every second week, and never more than 2 drinks in a day. Any more than that just gives me a headache.
W
I did go out with friends a few times when I first left, only a short time ago really, but I felt so ill the day after each night out I decided on moderation as far as alcohol is concerned. I have always enjoyed a glass of wine with a meal, and I tend just to stick to a couple of glasses when I go out to a pub now.
We were drinking tequila and to this day, the only way I can drink taquila now is in mixed drinks and not shots.
Not drink so much as drugs... oh boy....
I think many drink heavily because they're witnesses. About 99% of the witnesses I knew were not adverse to alcohol, and maybe 50-75% were heavy drinkers.
I didn't begin to drink more than I really knew I shouldn't, until I became a JW. Like Blondie, I came from alcoholic parents and I hated what they were like after the supper hour.
I happened to get in with a JW crowd that drank a lot, and it seemed cool with everyone, so there I was. Many years later I came in from a meeting and had a drink poured before I had changed my clothes. It got to be a every night "thing" (God---I can't believe I'm saying all this) and off-meeting nights were spent drinking too. I rarely got "drunk" but I definetely had a buzz on before bed.
Deep down I thought I might need help, but I never did anything about it. Right after I left the WTS, I drank at night to absorb all the pain of my devastation and my wasted life that *I* had chosen to ruin. Losing all friends and family just ate away at me.
Little by little, the desire to drink began to leave, and one small glass of wine will now put me to sleep! I am not against drinking......but surprisingly enough, I just plain don't really want it any more. (Go figure) I have no reason, nor do I understand any of this.....but there ya have it!
Annie.....of the "I never thought I'd see the day" class.
I quit drinking anything stronger than coffee after I escaped from the Jehovah's Witnesses because I didn't need to hide from any emotional pain atrtibuted to being spiritually abused by a satanic cult.
drink... no. smoke... yess....
Many of my old jw friends were/are heavy drinkers. I spent a few years drinking with them, although not "heavily" as they were, until my conscience finally caught up with me. I never liked it because it was just a way to put off your problems indefinetely and they were just throwing their lives away in the process.
Now that I am stepping out of the 'truth,' I am actually drinking less. Sometimes I have a nice micro-brew or a bit of scotch but all I need is one or two drinks to make me feel a nice buzz. This is about 2 times a week. I do have alcoholism in my family, and I have gotten drunk many times (while a serious jw of course) but not any more - it's just not rewarding in the least.
I agree about the above: it is a vice generally tolerated within the organization, although it often renders husbands life-wasters for their wives, and fosters a sense of hopelessness.
I've got to say, I was a big drinker when I was a witness. Booze was the only thing that would numb my senses while being in that f*cked up organization. I could not deal with my life as a witness and booze got me through. Funny thing is,,,,I saw a Psyc. and he helped me get off the booze. Once I stopped drinking, I got my mind back and became strong enough to leave. I never realized it at the time, but the booze was the thing that kepted me in there for as long as I did.
