Do you suffer from WELTSCHMERZ?

by yadda yadda 2 12 Replies latest jw friends

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  yadda yadda 2

  Definition of WELTSCHMERZ

  1: mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state 2: a mood of sentimental sadness

  As a JW, horrific news and reports of terrible suffering and tragedy never especially shocked or disturbed me because of the conviction I had that it was all temporary suffering caused by Satan and the demons and it was soon to end and be replaced by a wonderful new system where all those who suffered and died would be resurrected. It took the edge off life's harshness.

  These fantastical beliefs innoculated me against really feeling and empathisizing with the reality of the horror and suffering experienced by so many in this world. It's like the ultimate escapism or lullaby. The JW religion acted as a powerful of 'opium' for me, to borrow from Karl Marx's famous expression about religion. (The full quote from Karl Marx translates as: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people".)

  Since leaving behind silly ideas about a God or divine saviour intervening in human affairs and saving us all from all this terrible suffering, the reality of what the world is and life in general tends to sink in. Somehow the drug-like opiate of religious belief is removed and you can feel the full pain of reality for what it is. It's basically existentialism.

  Is Weltschmerz a kind of non-Christian (agnostic/atheist) equivalent of "signing and groaning over all the detestable things" (Eze 9:4) going on in the world?

  I find it harder and harder to stomach reading the news because of the terrible suffering you read about, really horrible, heart-breaking stuff. It's especially awful reading about child victims of wars, abuse, famine, poverty, etc. I deliberately avoid the news because of it.

  Can anyone relate to what I'm saying and this particular feeling of Weltschmerz as a former JW?
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  prologos

  Feeling like that makes you an sympathetic observer. It is your Schmerz about the Welt.

  Those that are in the thick of it, the woman and childron in Kobane, in the targeted Typhoon areas, have their adrenaline protecting them form the luxury of agonizing over it.

  Lebensfreude triumphs over Lebensschmerz, hopefully.

  Perhaps a depression might not be linked to world conditions but be hormonal?
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  3rdgen

  I have never tried Heroin or opium so I don't know what they feel like, but addicts of opiates have reported that the high was so good and powerful that they were addicted after the first try. The JW religion seldom made me happy or high. While there were some good times and some good friends with JW's I was mostly numb. All I had was the addiction without the buzz. Weltschmerz is as good as any to describe it. Now that I am finally out and for the first time in 6 decades I have made a conscious choice to be a little selfish. Knowing I can't fix the world's problems, I avoid disturbing news programs. I do help individuals in need and that makes me feel better than any work I did as a JW.
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  exwhyzee

  I first heard this term about a year ago and thought it summed up why so many JW's are depressed.http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/members/private/244879/1/Weltschmerz

  Unlike you, I beleive that the constant harping on at meetings, assemblies and in the literature about how terrible everything is compared to an idealized version of how good it could be or will be one day, takes it's toll on a persons well being. I really think this is what's at the bottom of the anxiety and depression found among Jehovah's happy people even when there is nothing in particularly wrong going on in their lives to be depressed or anxious about. They are taught that everything should be better than it is and you should want to live for eternity in a perfect paradise. Once I walked away from the meetings and all that negativity, I felt so much better and stopped seeing the negative side of life. the decade of struggling with anxiety disappeared in a matter of weeks. Mind you, I don't turn a blind eye to the problems in the world, but to feel that the only solution was to wait ones whole lifetime or even longer for some cataclysmic event to arrive and wipe everything out began to not make sense anymore. I think most JW's know on some level that the God who supposedly created the universe, could probably come up with a better solution than that. The depression and anxiety lifts once you aren't bombarded with a false hope that doesn't make sense and stop kidding yourself with fairy tales and begin to see those who are working hard to make a difference that can be seen and experienced now.
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  yadda yadda 2

  Thanks exwhyzee, I'd forgotten about that thread you started.

  It's interesting that you feel your mental liberation from the JW world ended your feeling of Weltschmerz. Although in that other thread I said Weltschmerz is a feeling I think I've had most of my life, I think it's got a bit worse since leaving the JW's.

  Perhaps I'm just too sensitive to the suffering and plight of others, or am too idealistic about what the world should be like, or simply read too much awful news and need to stop, as 3rdgen recommends (thank you 3rdgen)!
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  exwhyzee

  Perhaps I'm just too sensitive to the suffering and plight of others, or am too idealistic about what the world should be like, or simply read too much awful news and need to stop, as 3rdgen recommends (thank you 3rdgen)!

  One has to remember the news media is highly paid to draw an audience who will view their sponsors expensive advertizing . No one would tune in if there wasn't anything dramatic to report and they are highly trained experts at wringing every bit of drama out of any given situation. They have us programmed to beleive that no matter how upsetting it is to us, we will somehow be ignorant or uninformed if we don't listen to what they have to say every hour on the hour. The "reptillian" part of our brain wired for our own survival, finds that idea easy to believe and we are sucked in. I have been involved with events or happenings that ended up on the news and the way they presented it compared to what really happened is night and day. They overdramatize, distort and outright lie on a regular basis.

  If you are feeling down, or depressed you need to stop watching the news. For your own well being, go on a news fast. When you are depressed or in a low mood, the negativity they purvey is amplified and the brain is flooded with even more negative thought producing chemicals. The world will go on without you having to know about every single horrific thing that happens. Most things go reasonably well for most people most of the time. The news media purposely hunt down and dwell on the ones having difficulties. Basing ones outlook on life on what one sees in the media is like peeking into the window of a classroom and staring only at the one or two kids making trouble and at the peeling paint on the wall, ignoring the the kids who are listening and learning, then concluding that schools are places of utter chaos. Yes, there are reasons to be concerned but it isn't so far gone that one's only hope is to burn the whole school down.
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  berrygerry

  Constantly hearing that the best use of our time and money was preaching to people instead of actually helping them cannot but create a disturbed personality.

  Handing a starving unfortunate a tract is stupid.
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  Sam Whiskey

  My personal opinion only; I am no longer a Witness per se, however, I still believe in Bible prophecy. That being said, here's how I see it shaping up. Islam will actually attempt to take over the world. Or at the very least, threaten to. This will prompt world governments to attempt, and perhaps successfully, to shut down all of earths religions (Bible prophecy fulfilled). Religion, especially in today's world is the root cause for all of the skurmishes we see in the news.

  Long story short, it has to go. And by the destruction of all religions, another notch in Bible prophecy will have been completed.

  I do not believe Jehovah has abandoned mankind, and that he will right the wrongs of man on his own timetable. So while I see the egregious acts of horror brought upon men through the beliefs of Islam, there will come a time when it will stop.

  All men will come to know that Jehovah is the executor of justice, and, ISIS will cease to exist.
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  berrygerry

  I spoke with 3 Muslims this week.

  One was a female Ismaili Muslim, whom another sort of looked down upon because they accept a prophet subsequent to Muhammad. I told her my story and, like so many non-JW's, she was stiunned at the brutality of JW's.

  The 3rd was a young, attractive Caucasian convert wearing a hijab. Her absolute enthusiasm for Islam was infectious, more than that of 99% of JW's just punching the clock. She was indignant with the terrorists who bring dishonour to the religion.

  Any Muslim I have ever met is nothing short of a gracious gentleman/lady.

  IMO, Islam is not going down.
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  Pistoff

  @yadda:

  "I find it harder and harder to stomach reading the news because of the terrible suffering you read about, really horrible, heart-breaking stuff. It's especially awful reading about child victims of wars, abuse, famine, poverty, etc. I deliberately avoid the news because of it."

  Statstically, our world is safer, healthier and more free of war than any in history, but we live in the time of the 24 hour news cycle.

  Children have always been abused, diseases used to be more widespread and more deadly and brutal religious killings have gone on for eons, it's just that they are in our faces in high def every night, because fear sells, it's compelling.

  Mass shootings using freely available weapons, that is a new thing.