Here is a video some may have seen and some not....its long but interesting. It is an older video.
Mental Illness with Jehovah's Witnesses
by Hope4Others 67 Replies latest watchtower medical
-
-
-
-
blondie
http://www.examiner.com/x-8276-Methodist-Examiner~y2009m6d29-Depression-and-Christian-faith#_ednref1
An interesting article.
Personally, I would like to see more studies on any correlation between depression and jws.
-
verystupid77
btt
-
BluesBrother
I enjoyed reading the link that was up by Purplesofa..thanks.
I did a little basic psychology and was made aware of the shortcomings of some studies. My thought was that if the studies focused on young men in Prison as conscientious objectors, perhaps they would have a an expected higher incidence of anxiety and neurosis due to the circumstance?
Also the latter part of the report contains a lot of stuff that, for us, is good reading - about the group's false beliefs and shortcomings. That information though renders the study useless to show to or quote to a Witness because they can say "Aha" the doctor is just opposed to us !"
I wish he had stuck to the one subject of his mental health findings
-
Norcal_Sun
If you have read my intro post you know my husband suffered from severe depression the last few years. His was more caused by the witnesses and his abusive childhood, but I also think he has a mild bipolar disorder as well.
I don't really know if there is a direct correlation between Witnesses and depression, but I can think of a few reasons why more depressive people would be drawn to such an organization. I will use an example of my MIL. She was raised in the organization but over the years she has had 2 marriages and 3 children. She was a stay at home mom and never has really worked outside the home. So now she is 55, divorced, poor, and has an alcohol problem, and she refuses to take any responsibility for herself. Why would she need to when paradise is "just around the corner?" Her whole outlook is that of a victim of this wicked world, and that any and all efforts to improve her life would be futile. It sure is a convenient way to think, and effectively takes you out of the equation. Everything is either controlled by God or Satan, so if you have a depressed attitude, it seems to mesh nicely. And you can wallow in your sorrow all the while feeling completely justified. Now most witnesses don't take this approach. I more often see people constantly denying themselves of what they want to do because they want to "put the kingdom first." This usually ends up in them being very dissatisfied and discouraged.
Also people who are dissatisfied with life and the world can rest easy knowing that everything will ultimately be taken care of. Even though this doesn't cure their depression, people can sometimes push it to the back for a long time.
-
justme7
Talk about rediculous! This is very old garbage, and wrong at that.
Look, I'm not saying mental illness isn't an important problem. As for someone developing true mental illness because of an organization, that's bunk!! I am a Jehovah's Witness, and I have Bipolar 1 disorder. I am the ONLY JW in my family. I have four brothers that have nothing to do with the JW doctrin. They ALL have Bipolar 1 disorder and we live far apart, so that our contact is infrequent. I have not met a single Psychiatrist <-- (Real Doctor) not Psychologists, that believe that Bipolar Disorder is ANYTHING but GENETIC!! My Grandfather was bipolar, as was my father and two of his 3 brothers.
I have done a TON of research on Schizophrenia and, as others, KNOW it is NOT from environmental factors. PTSD is one of the very few psychiatric conditions that is the result (as the name implies) of TRAUMA. ANYONE, JW or not have about an even chance of developing this mental illness. In world war 1 and 2, the term was "Shell Shock". The trauma experienced in the development of PTSD can come from ANYWHERE, and affects FAR more ordinary people than JWs. My wife is a Nurse at the local VA hospitals and deals with a great many PTSD cases every day, not one of which is a JW.
Get some NEW UNBIASED NEUTRAL double blind studies, and get some real results.
-
villabolo
justme: "I have done a TON of research on Schizophrenia and, as others, KNOW it is NOT from environmental factors."
justme: From what I've heard schizophrenia is both genetic and environmental. Undue stress in a person's adolescence can trigger genetically predisposed schizophrenia. One thing about the JWs is certain; if you have a psychological problem before you join they'll make it worse; and if you don't have a problem they will give you one.
Your bipolar disorder on the other hand is most probably purely genetic but don't underestimate the iron fist of the Watchtower and it's ability to destroy lives.
villabolo
PS Welcome to the board.
-
BabaYaga
Thank you for posting the written link, Purps, I was about to go looking for it myself when I saw you had it posted.
Welcome to the forum, JustMe! Surely you know there will be an exception to every rule, and you are fully aware that certain environments and conditions can exacerbate existing tendencies and conditions.