Did you ever feel as if you were socially handicapped as a Witness?

Hiddenwindow

Some of my friends claim that growing up as Witnesses was a normal experience, in the sense that they did not miss celebrating hollidays or associating with wordly people. These friends are Witnesses in good standing, therefore, I doubt their sincerity and feel that they just do not want to go agaist the party line. In my case, since I always had the desire to participate in extracurricular activities in school (and did when I could), always felt actracted to politics and art, it was very hard. I went through periods of deep sadness. Yes, I had Witness friends, but I felt embarrased for not being able to fully integrate to my non-Witness social environment. What was or is your experience in that regard?

StAnn

Totally screwed up socially by being raised a Dub. Felt guilty for wanting to be normal.

Because I spent the first 25 years of my life as a Dub, I am permanently scarred. People just accept me as kind of eccentric now. My best friend said (affectionately) that I was strange and I told her, "You try growing up with a zealous JW mother and an atheist father! Of course I'm strange!"

My JW raising has damaged relationships and emotions all of my life.

StAnn

jakmarx

Totally, You have this built in aversion to anything "worldly", your practically trained to exclude and judge people. Along with years of fear building, of course theres being isolated from the majority of the population. Making ones self to be an outcast and proud of it. Lets not forget the whole moral ambiguaty and being two faced, that all JW's seem to have maintaining their perfect facades.

Mickey mouse

Absolutley.

no more kool aid

Yes. I too always wanted to get involved in activities at school, go to college when I was right out of high school or volunteer ( no not knocking on doors). A lot of us are forever ruined for holidays or birthdays not knowing what to even do and heavy guilt that goes with it. Yep a well rounded social cripple.

yknot

I can be a complete social retard outside of the JW world.

I usually pretend to be a character in a play who knows what to say and do......so far I haven't been outed yet for a bad perfomance.

If I know I am going to be in an intensely vexing situation I take Klonopin.

I don't think many of us ever stop being in the world but not of the world.

shopaholic

Yes. Sometimes I would realize how odd my behavior was and I felt like a real idiot. One time a co-worker asked me in all seriousness, "So what's wrong with New Years?". He just didn't get it and told me that he thought I had been brainwashed. When it came time for birthdays at work, I typically signed the cards and but never actually wrote 'happy birthday".

Even now, its difficult in social settings because there's still that dub mentality that will creep up on me. Have any of you ever noticed that most dubs cannot have normal conversations with non-dubs? They typically get very quite even when its basic, cordial conversation.

DoomVoyager

I'm completely socially retarded.

lilyflor

I never felt good enough to be friends with other witness kids and was to different and afraid to be with friends with "worldly" kids. I spent a great part of my childhood alone. I am inept socially. When I take my 8 year old to hockey and am with the other parents I feel like I am in high school all over again. Even though my whole belief system has changed, my emotional being is forever scarred and my social life would be a disaster, if I weren't married, my hubby is my support.

25 years as a witness really screws you up.

on a happy note, i can remember my first birthday cake, because I ate it this past weekend, it only took 38 years and my loving hubby to get one.

Tuesday

There are certain things that I feel a bit off on. Though there are other things I think that being a Witness helped me with. Like reading through large materials very quickly and being able to answer questions on it.

Did you ever feel as if you were socially handicapped as a Witness?

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