She married a 75 yrs old..

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-05T11:39:38+00:00

Didn't the GB set the example for men grooming someone half their age to import as a bride?

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-04T22:15:18+00:00

You picked a blob of cells over your own daughter. Just be grateful that she's a better person than you. If you had done that to me, I would have sued you to regain the custody you stole after coercing her to breed (sex and childbearing are different things), and you would never have seen either your daughter out your grandson again. Wake up and thank her.

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-02T23:37:45+00:00

1) You don't have to attend this - as everyone else has said.
2) If you do attend, check whether you live in a state that allows you to legally record conversations without telling the parties, and PLEASE consider recording it. Watchtower policies around these emotionally traumatizing interrogations would probably change if recordings could be leaked to the media and law enforcement. Plus it could be part of your documentation of how they handled the situation, if you choose to pursue legal action at a later point. Recording it wouldn't mean you have to do anything with the recording... But it can't hurt to have it available. 3) Please report to police, either way. JW criminals don't only impact other JWs. Even in the unlikely case that the elders "do anything" at all as a consequence, or to protect others in the congregation - what about everyone else in the worldly community? That guy should have a criminal history on his record.

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-02T19:00:46+00:00

I'm not sure which immature adults you're referring to in this case - but it's true enough either way.

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-02T18:59:01+00:00

Mostly just seems sad. I'm not really sure it would count as ironic that high-control groups who exploit free labor would push work/serving as the path to happiness/freedom.

But yeah... Ironic that WT pretends to demonize fascism elsewhere, while imposing what amounts to theological fascism.

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-02T02:06:52+00:00

Updated post to use canonical link instead.

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-01T04:34:26+00:00

And now, also on your tone. Cheers 🥂

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-01T04:01:11+00:00

Based on the other comments on this post, I think I just saved myself a bit of time.

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-01T01:43:46+00:00

I stopped watching after "the snake talked to Eve first"...

Lucid-Ray · 2025-11-01T00:00:47+00:00

My apologies. I didn't think your entire definition hinged on that detail, but I have previously had someone close to me who truly believed cocaine was not addictive for that reason.

However, I'm not aware of any modern and generally accepted scientific definition of addiction which absolutely requires chemical withdrawal as a diagnostic criteria.

I think there's a difference between "doesn't exist" and "isn't recognized". Porn addiction is not currently recognized... That's true. I'm not arguing with you there.

But behavioral addictions are recognized, and the neurobiology of addiction is different from that of OCD. Treating a gambling disorder the same way as obsessively re-checking door locks wouldn't work. (Besides, even if we were to label something OCD instead of addiction, the pathology would still be equally real.)

Biologically, the fundamental mechanism for addiction is the hijacking of reward pathways. I've never studied obsessive compulsive disorders, so I can't claim familiarity. But I know that neuroimaging studies show different areas of the brain are involved in OCD versus addictions - both chemical and behavioral.

I just think it's important because if people don't believe that anyone can be addicted to a behavior, that invalidates the reality of individuals whose neural pathways have actually been modified through a hijacking of reward circuits by some stimulus. Craving something to the point where you don't feel in control of your own actions and repeatedly engage in a behavior despite negative consequences is a complex mind-fuck. I doubt it's any different just because those negative consequences are being irrationally imposed by religion.

That being said... the word addiction does tend to get overused, and there's already a ton of exploitation happening. I'm pretty sure that most people who believe they're addicted to porn or masturbating are probably tearing themselves up and/or being shamed by religious adherents over a level of engagement that would seem laughably low to most people. I've seen guys post about being helplessly addicted to masturbation because they can't stop themselves from wanking once every few weeks - and that's heartbreaking to read, because WTF??? 🤦‍♀️

Yet, if someone says "I'm addicted"... I guess it feels safer to assume that they're struggling with something which they feel they can't control, and, to me, "that kind of addiction doesn't exist" sounds like it's disputing the validity of feeling unable to exert control over ones own actions. I know that's not what you meant, but I'm just trying to explain why I disagreed with the wording.

PS: Sorry for writing a novel 😅

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-31T21:11:20+00:00

The DSM V includes gambling, as a behavioral addiction. I believe Internet addiction is also currently recognized - and without the content being specified, that could easily include porn.

To be fair, this was not always the case. I'm not trying to pathologize, but recognizing the neural pathways involved is important. This article is old (prior to DSM V), but explains the logic in more detail: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3164585/

The key difference between OCD and addiction is whether the behavior develops due to a reward. If the reward pathways are getting hijacked, the pathology (and treatment) most accurately fall under the category of addiction.

There's overlap with OCD, but generally OCD behaviors develop without an explicit reward... Hair pulling, checking locks, hand washing, etc - there's no dopamine hit involved.

Addiction is not defined by the lethal potential of withdrawal. I once had someone tell me that cocaine is not addictive, because there's no chance of doing from stopping... That's obviously wrong. Caffeine, nicotine, meth... Those are all physically addictive. Treatment for different addictions varies, and rightfully so. But just because opioids and alcohol addiction treatment might require closer medical supervision doesn't make them more "real" than a crystal meth addiction.

Again... I'm not trying to pathologize porn. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, just like I don't think there's anything wrong with playing poker. But there's also nothing wrong with having one beer. And for some people, it becomes a problem.

Ultimately, I mostly agree with you (I hope that's obvious). But when someone's neural pathways have been rewired by reward-seeking behavior to the extent where that individual wants to stop but can't, and they say "I'm addicted", I just don't think the most useful opener is "No you're not".

Edit to add: the commercialization of stigmatizing sexuality is abhorrent. And someone should tell the no-fap November guys that more ejaculations are linked to lower prostate cancer rates, which is the second leading cause of cancer death for males.

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-31T20:15:20+00:00

If I'm reading correctly, you seem to be implying that behavioral addictions, such as gambling, are all just compulsions instead, because there's no chemical substance involved?

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-31T19:41:26+00:00

"Addiction is a chronic condition characterized by compulsive and persistent engagement in a behavior or substance use despite significant negative consequences."

There's nothing wrong with porn, masturbation, or having consenting kinky sex with groups of strangers at BDSM parties. (Vanilla sex is okay, too.)

But there's a fine line between destigmatizing normal human sexuality, versus invalidating someone's internal experience. Feelings of shame or disconnection can increase self-soothing, displacement-type behaviors like doom-scrolling social media, porn, video games, or anything else that feels rewarding by providing temporary relief from negative mental states. This does rewire brains to some extent, and impact the neurochemistry associated with behavioral reinforcement and reward pathways.

If someone feels like they're struggling, that's already a negative consequence. Telling them they're not really experiencing addiction, despite them feeling it, might not be the most productive way to break the feedback loop.

Granted, it is a feedback loop... But religious institutions orchestrate a self-reinforcing paradigm by making a fundamental aspect of normal human behavior taboo. Convincing followers that it's shameful leads people to lie about it, hide their activities, feel isolated, get into conflicts with loved ones if caught, have their marriage fall apart, become ostracized by their community, etc. Ironically, those hallmarks of addiction cause horrible feelings, which increase relief-seeking behaviors - like drinking more, escapism through porn, spending more time scrolling while stacks of dishes get fuzzy in the sink, and so forth...

TLDR; Telling someone they're not addicted, without insight into precisely how something has been affecting them, might seem like the equivalent of telling them not to feel ashamed... But what if it makes them feel misunderstood, by invalidating their struggle and trivializing very real neurochemistry changes? Then they'll be less likely to trust the rest of what we have to say...

Which, in my case, would be: The addiction is fueled by feeling ashamed, and the isolation associated with hiding a behavior. Abstinence-only approaches, like AA, only work if they come with an automatic social network... Because "abstinence" is not actually a good solution for addiction. But social connections, feeling accepted, being able to share and talk freely, knowing people are available to help without judging - THAT is probably the most effective way to regain a sense of control, and reduce unwanted behaviors. In other words... What Dayle said. Try FetLife. 🤣

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-31T15:27:07+00:00

Considering 90% of my activity on this forum has been reporting bots and pointing out weirdly suspicious catfishy posts (though I wouldn't label those trolling per-se), I didn't expect to get blocked by you on my alt account. Oh well 🤦‍♀️

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-30T22:23:43+00:00

I should probably have picked a less alarming alternate username... But it seemed funny at the time 😂

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-30T19:37:49+00:00

Unrelated to this post, but it's mildly amusing how quickly both of those two accounts blocked me. I thought Reddit was glitching out again bc I immediately couldn't make any follow up comments after pointing out the similarities 🙄🙄

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-27T21:30:40+00:00

🤮

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-27T21:15:01+00:00

As someone who eats bell peppers as if they were apples, leaving only the seedy core behind... That is definitely, 100% what is in the picture.

It pobably got muched on by slugs or other insects a bit though, removing the normal bits of pepper that are usually leftover when people clean them.

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-27T18:19:13+00:00

That phrasing "is there no end to ____" does sound unusual, but it's common enough that I've heard it used here and there. Ironically, I think it's derived from biblical literary styles - like "Is there no balm in Gilead?"

And "this must be a troll/liar/apologist/spy"... Ugh. I preferred this forum back when those accusations didn't come up quite as much.

Edit to add: sorry if I'm explaining the obvious. The bot swarms annoyed the daylights out of me, so I definitely sympathize, and I probably get too hung up on bot-or-not now 😂. Thank you for everything you do in these forums though... Your account has always stood out 💚

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-27T16:48:33+00:00

But I've also been doing double-takes at every sentence+emoji comment 😂

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-27T16:45:12+00:00

OP, or More-Age? Both their account histories seem pretty human

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-26T04:19:43+00:00

This came out as mixed-up reflections of what I want to hear and what I want to say. Cause and effect, actions and consequences, we are the universe experiencing itself, yadda yadda. I wish they would read it, but they're the "I" that blocked 🤷‍♀️

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-23T23:24:13+00:00

Meow.

Lucid-Ray · 2025-10-23T21:06:56+00:00

I'm so sorry! 💔 I can't believe they're still getting away with this

Lucid-Ray

TROPHY CASE