What is with the JW hate towards the depressed?

by 5go 37 Replies latest watchtower scandals

• 

  Scully

  Why do they treat them like they have sinned a great sin ( oh wait I might of answered it DOH!) when they are just down a bit.

  I don't think it's "hate" so much as it is resentment. Think of it this way: the non-depressed JW is out there doing all the stuff that's required of them, working for that ticket to You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth™; the depressed JW has a medically approved "free pass" to You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth™ - they can have all the reward and they don't have to do anything lest they tax their physical and emotional resources.

  Because depression has no overt physical markers - no crutches like you'd need for a fractured leg, no scarf on your head as a result of cancer/chemotherapy, no whithered limbs from arthritis - a lot of JWs don't like to regard depression as a "serious" illness or disability. They don't consider it "real". They think the "cure" is to spend more time at meetings and going door-to-door, so if you aren't doing those things, you're a slacker.

  Having been on the receiving end of that mentality, I have to say that I don't miss it in the least.
• 

  wha happened?

  Right before I "left" the congregation, I was going through a bout of depression. The first question to come out of every elder's mouth that I talked to was......"did you do anything of a judicial nature that you need to tell us about?" Ok that is just sick, make a person suffering depression feel guilty.
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  wha happened?

  how do I quote another's post?
• 

  Scully

  If you're using Firefox, you don't get the text editor box that you would see if you were using IE.

  You can try to use HTML tags for the text you want to quote, or just use the hyphens and a line space to indicate the quote.
• 

  snowbird

  All of the responses hit the nail squarely on the head.

  This is all I've got to contribute. Telling a depressed person to get in service more, attend more meetings, pray more, etc., is like telling a baby not to poop her diaper.

  Unrealistic and pointless.

  Sylvia
• 

  James Free

  It's not hate, but there is a lack of sympathy. In JW land, your worth as a Christian, as a person, is measured by how much you are out in field service and at the meetings. If you are depressed, this activity drops, and so does your standing in the congregation. Illness gets considered as spiritual illness. This is the reality in JW land - conditional love and fictitious standards of what makes a person a good Christian or not. This attitude breeds more depression, and the cycle continues.
• 

  mamochan13

  This attitude isn't limited to JWs - many people have difficulty around depression. They don't understand it, they think you can just snap out of it, and they fear the behaviour depression often causes. Even many health professionals don't get it, particularly suicide - I continue to be amazed at the attitudes I hear from nurses, even some counsellors, that suicide is "selfish" "easy way out for lazy people", etc. Ridiculous!

  I think with JWs, though, its worse because of all the factors others have already mentioned, plus the general fear JWs have towards seeking professional mental health help. Elders/prayer/more meeting attendance should fix everything, right? Don't go to see a wordly counsellor, you might commit the unforgiveable sin and bring reproach on the organization if you tell them your problems (I was actually told that by an active JW when I was seeing a psychiatrist)

  There is greater awareness around depression and mental illness in some circles, but there is still a huge stigma. One way to fight it is through education - and again, this is where JWs lose out.
• 

  5go

  Don't go to see a wordly counsellor, you might commit the unforgiveable sin and bring reproach on the organization if you tell them your problems (I was actually told that by an active JW when I was seeing a psychiatrist)

  Partly what I was alluding to. In the JW mindset they have some sin(s) they are hiding from the elders. That is what they think of when they see some one depressed.
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  Homerovah the Almighty

  In short depression brings reproach to the organization and does not show a good face to the society, or in another sense you are just spiritually weak

  and you have not indulged yourself with Jehovah's holly spirit.

  Some JWS even think depression is caused by Satan's evil spirits invading your mind and spirituality, in essence these types of people should be avoided.
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  Dorktacular

  How can a JW NOT be depressed? Geezus! I was depressed as hell and thought about slitting my wrists in the middle of a district convention because I didn't know how to sit through three days of that crap.