Did the Watchtower screw up your life ?

by JH 32 Replies latest jw friends

  • bikerchic
    bikerchic

    For my life I would say about a 5 after all at some point when I became an adult I volunteered to stay. But the years before adulthood I would have to say for our family it was a good thing we had such a rigid structure in our lives. Our household was pretty chaotic being a JW may have been our saving grace.

    Now for my children......I'm glad they got out in the early part of their adult lives. My grandchildren have been able to take part in all the stuff we/they missed out on and it's so great to know that. All of my kids resent having been brought up JW's and we weren't hard liners, they all had worldly friends of which they still have. Their worldly friends don't shun them like the JW so called friends and relatives do.

  • SnakesInTheTower
    SnakesInTheTower

    damn...good thread..

    i guess it depends on how my day is going...if you need todays answer..it is 10 and climbing off the charts...

    but once I am out of this down cycle...I think...in the long term...i will not allow the WTBT$ to permanently screw up my life....

    I am having difficulty rebuilding my social structure..my entire social network and so-called friends were based on the flimsy foundation of the common belief in the Borg and the Flying Spaghettti Monster.... now that I dont believe that fantasy world anymore...my so called friends are closing the door to our friendship.....I dont blame them...I allowed it too when I was still in... I cant expect miracles in the short term......

    short term...10....

    long term... 0

    freedom from mind control priceless

    Snakes ()

  • R.F.
    R.F.

    I'd say a solid 2.

    I've had it pretty good so far since my exit, even though i'm technically "still in". That's not to say that things can suddenly go sour for me because of WT doctrines. There were some decisions also that i've made in life that I wish I hadn't simply because they were things the WTS strongly advocated, thus I did so as well. Thankfully, I only lost a few years while beingin the organization that I could've used for other goals I have now.

    R.F.

  • sweetface2233
    sweetface2233

    It has declined rapidly over the past 2 years. currently, 2-3...6 months, 1-2...a year, I was a JW?

  • wings
    wings

    Today....8

    I feel I did it to myself, but....8, maybe 10....serious consiquences for a stupid decision.

  • sass_my_frass
    sass_my_frass

    About a 5, and not irretrievably.

    Please remember that you can only blame the organisation for stuff that happened to you up until just after you left it. Everything you do since you have to take personal responsibility for. Don't waste too many years resenting the wasted years.

  • sass_my_frass
    sass_my_frass

    JH: get him to write down everything he says he's not going to do and why. Show him what he wrote one day.

  • nvrgnbk
    nvrgnbk
    Don't waste too many years resenting the wasted years.

  • Highlander
    Highlander

    I may have been born in this cult, but at the end of the day, I realize that I screwed up my own life. I chose to get baptized. I chose to marry a j-dub. I chose to be mentally lazy and follow their dogma and religious bullsh$t for most of my life.

    I am now mentally Awake! and I see the Watchtower for what it is. My life may no longer be screwed up, but if it is, it is my fault.

  • BizzyBee
    BizzyBee

    Wow! Some are awfully hard on themselves!

    With the perspective of many years out, I still say about 8. It is not so simple as being IN or OUT. When I left, I wasn't suddenly endowed with the clarity and resilience to make better choices.

    Being raised a third generation JW, it influenced my world view from birth. It affected my education (or lack thereof) and my choice of marriage partner. What other two choices in life have such far-reaching implications? They are not easily or quickly corrected. They impact career, children, dreams, ambitions, and other relationships and opportunities profoundly.

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