by minimus 36 Replies latest jw friends
Some persons need to feel they are validated because they don't have much going for them otherwise. Being a part of Jehovah's Organization makes them feel special.
Being different from other religions makes them feel recognized,
When you were a Witness, did you actually feel better about yourself?
No, I had very low self esteem and was a very unhappy person. Now that I'm out, I have a better view of myself and I am very happy.
It's amazing what living life for yourself does for a person.
No. I felt worse.
I guess when you're told how sinful, lowly, worthless, not-good-enough, you are nearly every day of your life (doubly so at the meetings) you tend to believe it.
I was brought up thinking I was scum.
I think most are either feeling "special" or totally depressed, knowing they can never measure up.
Being raised as a JW, I had a pretty good feel on how much I'd give of myself without turning into a wackjob. I guess I never was 100% gungho.
I was ashamed to be a witness. The small functional part left of my brain knew full well that I was doing and pretending to believe some very weird stuff that I knew was total nonsense.
I was always deathly afraid that my normal non-witness friends would find out about this part of my life - I tried to keep it walled off from them as much as possible.
In the years of being a witness, I never really considered myself, it wasn't until I completed my book, the ABC's of Golf did I fully realize that I never paid attention to myself. In my book, I help the reader to learn to be themselves, and not be copy cats.
When the elders gave me the ax based on their personal opinion did I see the light and so did my wife. I had such a feeling of relief when they executed me because I spoke the truth. This experience was a blessing in disguise for me. In the long run, being a witness did not make me feel good. Each of us need to learn not to be so hard on ourselves.
Oh yeah I did. I came off a divorce with a very physically, mentally and emotionally abusive man who left me feeling empty and down on myself and the JWs gave me a ton of friends, a social life, a "cause" and it was something I was "good at" in that I was a studier, a researcher, a great answerer at all meetings, I did great talks...every G was like a kudos from God to me. I went out is service a lot and was a logical organized preacher and used my tools well. Yeah...it made me feel superior to everybody else including my family. It wasnt until my sister told me that as long as I was a JW I was no longer welcome in her home and cut me off from her and her children, that I really started to analyze what a religious SNOB I had become.
I know being MSs and Elders gave those otherwise plumbers, window washers and landscapers a sense of superiority and an opportunity for respect and admiration they probably otherwise wouldnt have gotten in their lives. Some of em realllllly abused the position.
I'm with these other guys...it caused low self esteem and shamefulness. I was embarrassed to be known as a JW.
No. Being a JW, constantly being told I wasn't doing enough, watching others delight in the impending death of my non-JW family and friends, just about drove me crazy. I feel much better about myself now that I know it was all lies! The JWs tried to make me feel that the problem (depression issues) was ME. Now I know the problem was the WTS.
StAnn
absolutely not. I had a horrible sense of "not good enough". I never felt like I was living up to my potential. How could I? We were always belittled and told we were supposed to do more, be more, give more. I was constantly in a fear of dread, that God was about to exercise judgement against me for my sins in some sort of illness or injury. I was told once that my back injury was an attack by satan on me to keep me from the hall. It was fear, always fear.
burn
