Mental Disorders among JW's

by Blackfalcon98 87 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  blondie

  There are many religions, Christian and otherwise, who believe that God will destroy all unbelievers....are they all "mentally ill" not just jws.

  Mental illness is that a physical illness, not a flaw in one's character. They are treated with medications like other illnesses, such as cancer. Cancer is not caused by religious teachings. Let's not tar every truly mentally ill person with being a doing or wisher of bad things.

  Statistically, truly mentally ill people are more likely to hurt themselves not others or to be hurt by others.

  What is mental illness?

  A mental illness is a medical condition that disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.

  Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder. The good news about mental illness is that recovery is possible.

  Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion or income. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing. Mental illnesses are treatable. Most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan.

  http://www.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf
• 

  cofty

  Blondie - You make a good point but to be fair the OP mentions mental "issues" and the title has "disorders".

  Depression and symptoms of stress can be caused by environment.
• 

  3rdgen

  Welcome to the board, Blackfalcon. In my nearly 6 decades as a JW I was a member of 13 different congregations in almost as many cities and towns in California. I noticed that there are congrations with unusually high numbers of very odd people for whatever reason. I do not think it is unfair to say a lot of the odd ones have mental issues as that term is very broad. The GB have had a history of discouraging pscotheraphy and the results speak for themselves.
• 

  rebel8

  There was an article about the prevalence among jws, maybe Pew--don't recall. It's online somewhere.

  A confounding factor is they are less likely to be diagnosed because of the historical fear of psychiatry. Another--in that particular cult, people are much more up in people's bidness, so it's more likely you'd know about someone's illness than you would in a normal social group. Another--with their underemployment, one wonders if they would seek treatment at a rate equal to the general population.

  Mental illness is quite common in the general population, you know.

  PS-Antipsychotics can be used for reasons other than psychoses. Just sayin.
• 

  galaxie

  How realistically can a persons mental state not be affected by the brainwashing drivel fed to them.

  How does a person who cannot think for themselves, question beliefs , be in fear of demons, shun loved ones , accept noooo light even though their previous hopes are shattered.

  Women be in subjection to overbearing ass ho.....ls and Not be mentally affected.

  I have witnessed the deterioration and currently in a situation family wise because of it.

  I am not qualified to diagnose, but that's my take on it through experience.
• 

  blondie

  rebel8, I'd like to see a link to that report. We don't want to be like the WTS with vague references to support material.
• 

  flipper

  BLACKFALCON- Welcome to the board ! Indeed you make an astute observation- yes- Jehovah's Witnesses and others in different high control groups suffer from a cult mind control disorder called " dissociative disorder " which was actually described as a psychological disorder in the american medical journal. If you research Steve Hassan's books dealing with mind control he mentions this disorder in one of his books and gives the pertinent information where you can find it. Steve Hassan's books can be found at his website : www.freedomofmind.com.

  Dissociative disorder causes cult members to dissociate from their true born with authentic personalities they had or were born with - into a cult personality in which they GO ALONG with ANYTHING cult leaders say - even if this goes against true human inborn compassion because they have been trained and programmed to be unsymapathetic towards ANYTHING that disagrees with cult leaders, i.e. WT Society leaders, Mormons, Scientologist leaders - the needs and interests of these cults take SOLE priority over showing any human compassion towards outsiders who are NOT in the accepted cults or groups. Even to the point of ostracizing friends or relatives . It's like a person with dissociative disorder suffers from a split personality of sorts in which they can be as cold as ice without blinking an eye or feeling the least bit of remorse about the callousness towards others. Almost sociopathic really if not actually sociopathic
• 

  frankiespeakin

  Well I guess being neck deep in Black and White Thinking, and delusional wishful thinking will make one more desposed to mental disorders. Hey going to 4 or 5 meetings a week listening to all that bullshit about the end of the world comming soon got wreck havoc with your brain.
• 

  DATA-DOG

  Political correctness aside, once you know TTATT and begin to free yourself mentally and emotionally, you can spot the wackos in any congregation. ALL JWs are "off" just a bit. Some have more obvious issues. As COFTY brought out, the dissonance takes a toll

  I'm no Doctor, but I did play one during an audition. That makes my diagnosis pretty reliable, IMO. LOL!!

  I have been crazy and exhibited many symptoms of a disorder, Blondi mentioned a few. I would never say I'm better than by JW peers, but I can look back and see the madness. It is getting worse because THE END is so close now! Sure it's always been "soon", but instead of being hinted at, the GB are purposely whipping the dubs into a frenzy.

  DD
• 

  freddo

  Loadsa whackjobs in the congs and circuits I've been in ... just sayin'