Why are people so determined to be miserable?

by Sunchild 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  flower

  andi, I'm interested!! :)

  wow, your experience really hits home and gives me a little hope. i think i am really screwed up mentally somehow. i just let negative thoughts totally take over some days and i try but i just force all the positives out and turn them into negatives too.

  i have an appt with a counselor later this month for the first time since getting free and i keep telling myself i'm ok i dont need to go. i guess i'm just scared. i've been to therapists and shrinks before but never with the intention of actually opening up and letting them into my head. i also keep having that 'well they cant help me i'm too screwed up' or 'they can never really understand cause they werent dubs' type thinking.

  thanks for sharing your experience, i'm gonna go for sure and give it my best!

  flower :)
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  patio34

  Andi,
  I'm interested also. Please let me know. I enjoyed your post and will renew my personal blessing journal. An expression i have on my desk is 'a thousand "miracles" happen on any given day. Do we appreciate them?'

  Pat
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  Billygoat

  Hi flower and Patio!

  If you don't mind, I'll forward you the email I just sent o BQE. Flower, don't give up on your counseling sessions! Please! I've discovered that most counselors that don't have experience with JW's are hungry to learn about the experience and actually have a great viewpoint as an outsider. So try not to hold that against them. If they don't understand the experience/mindset of JW's, educate them. They'll appreciate it more than you'd think! My favorite counselor so far was Jewish. I visited with him just several years ago after I became a Christian. Can't get much different than that right? Heehee! I just realized our differences made me stronger, more open-minded, and healthier. I still adore and respect the man greatly!

  Patio, there is a book somewhere called, 10,000 Things to be Happy about Everyday or something like that. It really helped me take notice of little things in every day life that do enrich my life. I'm a big advocate of utilizing your Five Senses. Pay close attention to how things taste, smell, sound, feel, and look. Relish in those sensations for just 5 additional seconds while you're in the middle of it. It'll bring a smile to your face, I promise!

  Andi
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  Billygoat

  Flower - send me your email addy!
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  Xander

  It's called asceticism, and is very common in fundy religions.

  Basically, the thought process that the more extreme your self-denial, the holier you are.

  My family was like this - even outside of being JWs, they always found something to be miserable about, whatever was happening. (Gee, wonder why my parents marriage didn't work out.....hmmmmm......no, huge fights and pouting matches on a continuous basis can't possibly be it - must be Satan! Look, how holy are we that Satan himself is testing us!)

  A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
  --George Santayana