There is a lot of exjws who have been out 10-20-30-50 years, but for some reason, when they see a group of Jehovah's witnesses, sitting by their Carts, drinking coffee, scrolling through phones, laughing, something inside happens.
Most can't explain it. Some say it makes their blood boil. Others say hatred swells up and they just want to yell at them. Some say it elicits flashbacks, intrusive memories, nightmares, severe anxiety, and avoidance of reminders related to the traumatic event.
Sometimes other symptoms appear. It may involve negative changes in mood and cognition, as well as heightened arousal responses like irritability and difficulty sleeping, that can last for weeks.
So here is one way an Ex jw explains it;
constant_trouble
You saw the cart like a trapdoor in the sidewalk, it opens and the past rushes out—guilt, fear, that old Watchtower voice whispering that Jehovah is watching you, even as you measure a window.
You didn’t flinch. You smiled. You answered. You left. But now your hands shake and your chest is tight, and you’re wondering why two bored sisters in polyester skirts can ruin your afternoon.
Here’s why: it wasn’t just a cart. It was a landmine. A trauma totem dressed up as spiritual literature. An altar—not to God, but to control. Judgment. Shame.
That wasn’t a normal interaction. That was religious trauma, plain and simple. Like brushing past Scientology recruiters and realizing they still know your real name. Like running into Moonies and remembering the chants. But worse—because this one raised you. This one taught you how to hate your own thoughts.
You didn’t leave a church. You escaped a psychological warzone. And your nervous system still hasn’t gotten the memo.
So you ask, “Do we all have complex PTSD?”
Let’s turn it around: when a group tells you your friends are bad, your questions are rebellion, your thoughts are dangerous, and your beard might stumble angels—what do you think happens to the human mind?
You’ve been rewired to see them not as strangers, but as gatekeepers to your worth, your family, your salvation. That’s the trick. It hijacks your brain and calls it spiritual sensitivity.
Of course we carry scars. Of course the ghosts show up when the cart does.
And here’s the mental shift that saves your sanity: stop thinking of them as holy people. Start seeing them for what they are—street recruiters for a spiritual pyramid scheme. Like Scientologists with clipboards, just with longer skirts and less charisma.
You’re not crazy. You’re recovering.
And recovery feels weird.
Like window-cleaning while ducking ghosts.
And you’re still here. Still building. Still free.
And they’re still handing out magazines for a kingdom that never came.
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1ko0r36/good_luck_with_that_whole_exexjw_thing/