Depression in the Org.

by ssn587 35 Replies latest jw friends

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  Mad Sweeney

  BTW I think Jerry Bergman has a PHD not a MD. He is not a medical doctor and clinical depression is a medical illness.

  Only partly, Blondie.

  It may be classified as such but it is just as much psychological as it is physical. As Shamus said, the drugs without counseling aren't going to do the trick for long.

  There are some people for whom the depression is purely medical/chemical and without an underlying psychological/social cause, but I would suggest that that doesn't go for most.

  As for doctor Bergman, if I recall, his PhD is in psychology, so his research is probably reliable, especially since if he got published he also was peer reviewed.
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  LongHairGal

  SSN587,

  Your observation is correct and there are many medicated people in the religion. When I was new in the religion, a man I worked for told me that there was a high incidence of emotional problems with JWs and mentioned somebody he knew 'with problems' who became one, etc. I was highly insulted, of course, and tried to defend the religion. You might have said I had 'problems' too. I was young, my family was dysfunctional and I was trying to find myself. But, I was only interested in JWs because of end-time prophecy and had no idea it was a high-control group.

  Anyway, fast forward to many years later....Yes, I wholeheartedly agree that the religion is filled with depressed people. Did these people come into the religion depressed OR did they get depressed later? I think the answer is a little of both with more leaning towards 'getting depressed later'. Quite simply, I feel the religion promotes an unhealthy way of thinking and ridiculous rules and regulations. I don't know what their stand is now but, in the past the religion has been against going to 'worldly' therapists and psychiatrists because they supposedly promote unbiblical ways of thinking. This is only partly true.

  What the religion is really afraid of is that the doctor will tell the witness patient that the RELIGION is the cause of his/her problems and they should stop going. I know this for a fact because a JW friend's non-JW family told me this.
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  carpediem

  You are absolutely right. I was depressed all the time I was a witness. I didn't realise it until I left and since I left 16 months ago my depression has lifted and I feel so much better. No surprise though - what a depressing existence it is - I felt like a hamster in a wheel - on the go constantly but going nowhere.
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  Soldier77

  Well, when you are living in constant fear and guilt, constant urgency of the 'last days' it's no wonder why there are so many depressed. It's like driving a car to its redline in a race, you're pushing that car to it's limit for as long as it can. After a while, that engine is going to blow and when that does, you're out of the race.
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  Gayle

  I think there are studies on the Amish having high rate of depression and suicide. Certainly, it is a 'no fun' group that isolates.

  Then, Mormons also have studies of high rate depression. That religion has high pressure of 'excellence,' never good enough.

  JWs, have the combination of both of those and then some more.
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  Markfromcali

  At some point you'd just want to get past describing the problem though, and when it comes to solutions meds and therapy are of course just general answers. Few of us will have the background to look at the medical aspect in detail (although general lifestyle considerations are not a bad idea to cover all bases) but when it comes to the therapy side we can all look at how we think, and even if we have limited psychological knowledge it always helps to have another perspective when we're too embedded in the current mind state, not to mention support.

  When it comes to depression it does seem to have to do with a sense of loss. It's certainly a loss of interest in life, and what does an organization like WTS say about life? Even though there's this "hope" of living forever on earth so it's a little bit easier to relate to than heaven or some other form of afterlife, it is still something in the future - and there is no guarantee that one will attain it. Added to that lots of normal life activities are restricted, it's no wonder that it becomes an internal state when you have those influences. Peoples identities are formed around the work or function in the organization, whether it's a position of oversight for men or putting in lots of hours as a pioneer for women. This is not a natural identity for people.