Did the JW religion add stress to your life?

by JH 30 Replies latest jw friends

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  Doubtfully Yours

  It's very stressful for JWs that follow the rules as the WBTS would like them too. Just think....

  • Must work to support self/family (most likely full-time; since the WBTS frowns on higher education, most have these really hard/physical jobs).
  • 5 meetings per week (Get there at least 15 mins early and stay 15 mins later so you can be friendly to all).
  • Must prepare/study privately for those 5 meetings per week.
  • Must have private Bible study with chil(ren) in order to indoctrinate in the WBTS' ways.
  • If male, extra time devoted to congregational privileges.
  • Must participate in field preaching at least 2x per week, in order to maintain the national hours average.
  • Memorial
  • 3 yearly assemblies.
  • Throughout all these, maintain a joyful facade or else you're not serving Jehovah as one should.

  This religion is very taxing financially, emotionally, physically and time wise.

  DY
• 

  tall penguin

  Let me put it this way...my latest msn handle is: "Now with 33% less cognitive dissonance!"
  
  :) tall penguin
• 

  xjwms

  Oh Gawd

  YES

  I would suck on Rolaids all during the meetings
• 

  GoingGoingGone

  I was one of those who did everything I was 'supposed' to do and more, and still felt like I wasn't going to live through Armageddon. No matter what I did, it never seemed to be good enough.

  When I stopped going to meetings, the physical stress of leaving the frantic lifestyle was a relief, but honestly, the biggest surprise for me came when I finally realized that what I had believed my entire life, was a lie. It was such an amazing feeling when I finally KNEW that Armageddon wasn't coming 'any day now'... when I finally BELIEVED it. I never realized how much stress I was under, until that stress was suddenly gone.

  "The truth will set you free....."

  GGG
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  I quit!

  Yes, that is why I left. Fortunately I was able to leave before I started drawing parallel between sticking animals and those in the KH.
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  delilah

  YES......sitting in on meeting after meeting, hearing the same bulls@#t, not enough hours, we're not doing enough for Jehovah, not enough of this and not enough of that!!!!! GAWD! It was terrible, and I got sick of them making me feel less than human, and I left. I've never felt more human, and alive, and WORTHY.....

  Delilah (of the, no more JW stress, class)
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  Stress Free

  You bet it did, hence my alias "Stress Free".
• 

  vitty

  It was complete madness. I used to think it was like a test, how much I loved Jehovah or how much I was sacrificing. I just couldnt reconcile the scripture that said "Take up my yoke for my load is light"

  Now I understand ............yipee
• 

  zagor

  Is that a question or a statement?
• 

  luna2

  I'm with all those who thought that they could never do enough or be spiritual enough to qualify for the "free" gift of everlasting life. It finally dawned on me that I either had to become more balanced and take a lot of the direction we received less seriously, leave the whole discordant mess behind, or have a break down. I didn't know how to pick and choose which pearls of wisdom from the WTS I'd pick up and which I'd leave on the beach, and I was awfully close to that breakdown, so I left.

  I agree, vitty. That whole line about Jesus' yoke being light really frosted my cookies. It was the complete opposite of what I was experiencing as a JW. That yoke was driving me into the ground with its weight.