by cherjcd 41 Replies latest jw friends
Hi,
I have just added an audio tape on Mental Illness among Jehovah's Witnesses by Jerry Bergman. http://www.jwinfoline.com/Page/audio_tapes_of_month.htm
It is interesting to hear the reasons why Jehovah's Witnesses have a much higher rate of mental illness than the normal population. Could this be the reason that the Watchtower has to convince their followers that they are the happiest people on earth?
Cheryl
Because they drive you nuckin' futs!
Interesting, Jehovah's people tend to be more 'mentally unstable' than those under Satan's control..
Now there's a sure sign they are God's chosen people <NOT>!
"Come join us, we have a statisically higher than normal rate of Mental illness.. That is a sure sign we are God's chosen people... Once we find a scripture we can mutalate to state that Jehovah's people would have higher rates of mental illness than those of Satan's masses, we'll prove it to you.. But for now, take our word for it (From Jehovah subject to new light of course), that is to be expected in the time of the end!!!"
Could it be that to keep people in their mind controlling they have to reinforce repeated messages that the person is a lowly wretched sinner and it is only through God's kindness, which they do not deserve, and their meeting every ever-changing requirement of about a dozen old men in New York that they can ever hope to find any happiness in their pathetic miserable lives, and this low self-esteem perpetuates self-talk that reinforces depression, anguish, self-loathing, etc.?
Hmmmm. No, maybe not. Nevermind what I said. I'm just a nobody.
Tammy
I think maybe unstable people may be drawn to jw. people who really think God will make it all better. I wish he would, but sad to say-that is probably a pipe dream. Also when unstable people are counseled , they tend to overreact. Sort of mentally beat themselfs. now jw encourge that anyway, so it is perfect for an unstable person. It also helps if u catch them when they are young- screw up their brains then and u have got them. also, notice how many people come into he truth during a crisis in their lives? A lot of things contribute to mental illnesss among jw. They will fierclely tell u that is wrong however. I remember when that first came out back in either late 80's or early 90's and boy did al the jw hate that.
Another contributing factor could be that JWs promise something to the mentally ill that psychiatrists can't--recovery. I think that's why cults in general attract so many troubled people.
Although most mental illnesses are considered hereditary, it is definitely possible that the emotional strain of being a JW could cause some people to experience anxiety and/or depression.
I've suffered from mental illness my entire life, but being a JW exacerbated my condition.
Edited by - OrbitingTheSun on 14 September 2002 22:18:40
I don't know if the audio tape that you have is the same one that I have from Jerry Bergman, but he does explain it very well. The JWs are a religion of works, not faith. You must show your religiosity by making quotas. The real delema is that the quota keeps changing. You can never do enough. If you put in ten hours in field service, then you should move it up to eleven, then twelve, and on and on and on. You always feel unworthy. You always feel that you are not doing enough. Now, that kind of living is the perfect way to cause depression, anxiety, and feelings of low self esteem.
IMO the main cause is that you try to repress your conscience. Deep down inside you know it is all garbage, but then you are afraid to be shunned and losing your family. You are bombarded with conflicting thoughts. That, and all the phobias implanted in you.
I concur. I have bipolar disorder and my mood swings would lead me to believe that my "bad" thoughts were caused by demonic possession - and that I was chosen by the Devil Himself to destroy all religion! Ha! I just wound up destroying my own! Of course, the downswing would lead me to alcoholic despair and suicidal gestures.
Of course, I do have to thank the society for one thing. Their religion has provoked more intersting conversation than anything out of Hollywood. Could be because its more creative.
CZAR
I totally agree with all comments made so far on this subject. If your were born into the relgion you had no choice, and you have to wonder about the mental conditions of the parents that choose this religion. My mom was only 16 or 17 when the witnesses came knocking at her door, she was alone during the day, preg. with me and missed her family very much. To add to that her mother disapproved of everything she had done . She was a prime target for the witnesses to take her under their wing, wasnt long before Dad went for it to. The rest is history for me. Born and breed in the JW.
I had mental basket cases for parents and they passed the basket to me. I suffered from exactly what Faraon on said, ,,, I went agaist my own conscious being a JW, even thou it was all I knew. My parents were the biggest jw hypocrites ever and I saw that , didnt understand it all at the time,thou. It went against my conscious as a JW that God would destroy EVERYONE but JW's at armeggedon, it bothered me about d/f and shunning. It just didnt seem very Christ like at all. I saw too many cover ups and bullcrap to know something was not right, yet I couldnt walk away from it. I became emotionally addicted to my weekly "mind beatings" for my sinful thoughts and actions , at every meeting. After a person is put thru hearing what crap they are for not putting in more time in service etc. they begin to learn how to torment themselves.
We torment ourselves , with our own conscious, we are taught by the WT that everything should bother our conscious and if it doesnt then something is wrong. Then we try and make it happen.
Can you see how exhausting this is, no wonder so many JW go to their room and lock the door.
I guess that is why when you see the end of the rope , you grab it , the end of my rope was last year . I found the internet and hung on for dear life. It helped me to ease my conscious, by seeing how off balance I was a person. Talking to others helped me see that we all felt the same way, and we were not isolated cases. It was spooky about how much we had in common, the same story just different places and faces. It helped me to let the real me come out, my conscious stopped being my enemy and I gave it a good rest for awhile. LOL.
Like I said before , the mind games the WT uses, all the double talk , the changes , the coverups the lies, just take a toll on the mind of one who wants so desperatly to believe and to trust.
It is hard to learn to use you mind , all by yourself , alone without the WT telling you how to think. But doing so has been a rewarding thing for me. I don't fight my inner being as much anymore, I am accepting myself and even am beginning to like myself. I am still recovering , so bare with me. LOL
