For you to get rid of that 'New Personality' and get back to normal when you left the JW's?
How long did it take...
by Honesty 23 Replies latest jw friends
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Honesty
Ok, I'll go first.
I don't think the 'New Personality' ever took.
I still talked the same and looked the same as before I became a Jay Dub Ya.
The only thing that changed when I left the JW's is that I got a bunch on 'New Friends' who don't have that 'New Personality' and who actually like people no matter what they believe.
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llbh
For me this was a gradual process and i am glad to be back to being me and how i want to be. To put a time on it would be difficult , suffice to say that JWD did help a lot to., mainly to fill gaps, share with others and understand myself better.
Regards David
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momzcrazy
It started while I was still in. You know, I was one of those that you could tell was on the way out. I don't think I'll ever be "normal", whatever that is!! lol
momz
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milligal
It's been ten years since the first inkling of 'this isn't me' through being df'd lots of drama with a JW ex and getting a higher education. I finally wake up each day and feel like I'm facing the day as I want to, not out of guilt, coersion or some other mind game. There are still moments of wondering if I'm a good person, but I won't base that concept on what I was programmed with as a JW.
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Finally-Free
I don't think the "new personality" ever took with me. I converted in my mid twenties and my personality was already ingrained. By that time I'd already learned more about life than most of the JWs who had led sheltered lives, so I found it difficult to view elders as anything more than equals - and at that I felt I was being generous. That's probably why they never made me a MS.
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WTWizard
I never totally put on the "new personality". That is, I didn't give up all my normal desires and go by the ones that were in the washtowels and asleeps. And, once I was told to just meet men, it didn't take long before I developed a bad attitude toward the religion.
What's left of the "new" personality is all gone now. I even have Christmas songs in my computer, and play them randomly all year long.
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wha happened?
For me the new personality was just a struggle against acting like my true self. After a while I stopped trying. As I continue the fade I try less & less to be someone I'm not. For some reason I still occasionally feel guilted enough to try, especially when I run into witnesses
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TheSilence
For you to get rid of that 'New Personality' and get back to normal when you left the JW's?
How do you get back to normal when you were raised a witness? I'm not sure I know what "normal" is. Not that I'm doing badly... I know who I am, I'm content with who I am, there's little I would change about myself. I am in charge of my own life and my own actions and I don't worry too much about what others think of me. But I don't socialize well. Maybe that's just my personality, I don't know, but I do think people who grew up witnesses have a more difficult time learning to socialize as others do. So... I don't know how to answer your question. Aren't you glad I wasted your time? ;) Jackie
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Carlos_Helms
To be honest, Honest...the "new personality" has to do with "rebirth"...being born again (so to speak) of the spirit. Few JWs are permitted the honor - as it is apparently reserved for a chosen few. Needless to say, a new personality is difficult to measure (much to the chagrin of the watchtower society)...but it is manifested in and observable by the "fruits of the spirit." Just words to most folks, I understand; but for those who have experienced it, it is quite real and life-altering. Much more than hanging out a new shingle, it has the effect of changing the person, inside-out - and a person so changed could care less whether or not he or she is recognized as "born again." Based upon personal observation, very few spontaneously display the fruitage of the spirit. While many are able to harness the "beast within" for a time for self-serving benefits, those in possession of the "new personality" have had their "beast" conquered by the holy spirit. You're unlikely to get an answer here "on track" with the Bible's description of the "new personality."
Peace,
Carlos