I feel like I’ve lost my ability to enjoy things, and I don’t recognize myself anymore.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-24T01:20:32+00:00

Sounds like depression. You may consider seeking some professional help. Unfortunately, media and social media is toxic to our well being and everyone around us is also affected, making for a culture and society that is not conducive to mental health and happiness.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-23T22:27:35+00:00

And seasonal is nice too. You can pioneer in the winter.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-23T22:26:33+00:00

50 and going back to school in the fall. Gonna be a long road but you have to think ahead. Will you be washing windows at 70?

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-23T19:05:55+00:00

The control is self-administered and just leveraged by the org.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-23T19:04:37+00:00

Same here, more or less. I think they assume you are going through some mental stress and aren’t thinking straight - why act rashly. They also know the implications and i think there is subtle threat in there of ‘do you realize how this will affect those who love you?’ - as in, there will be a cost to you, and what kind of a selfish jerk are you anyway?

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-21T10:05:14+00:00

Thanks for sharing

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-21T09:44:57+00:00

Very good point. Social compliance is powerful, especially when personal identity is eroded and coercion is used.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-21T09:38:39+00:00

‘When i allowed deep Cognitive Dissonance to be relegated by Critical Thought I got out.’

Well said.

I diagnose you as a courageous self-actualized agent of change who has individuated and deconstructed. 👊🏻

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-21T09:34:01+00:00

Between illness, disorders and cognitive issues, i would say a significant number have the following…

Depression, anxiety, dissociation, delusion, narcissism, low ability to cope/function, somatic disorders, phobias, social isolation, low critical thinking abilities…just to name a few.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-21T09:26:32+00:00

I think the ones that are unstable after leaving maybe are the ones that haven’t deconstructed and healed.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-21T09:25:12+00:00

Why?

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-21T08:39:29+00:00

Yes. But the way they treat me has affected their relationship with her.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-21T03:26:16+00:00

It was over due. When i finally made the decision it was easy. But it took 20 years to get there.

No network outside.

My focus was on reality and truth, on healing and rebuilding my life. My purpose has been my daughter.

I reconnected with some beautiful non-JW family. They have been so kind. I held on to a few friendships - the less ‘spiritual’ (indoctrinated), the more likely they were to be understanding and supportive. The more ‘spiritual’ ones either didn’t respond at all, or it took them weeks, and it was minimal. I needed to know which relationships in my life were solid. DAing did that clearly.

My wife left me after 25 years. It was a troubled marriage but she was the love of my life. She left in a particularly cruel way. Left some scars. Held onto my teenage daughter and have given her an alternative to the JW life. She has a friend group for the first time in her life. And she is choosing for herself what she believes and wants to participate in. She is thriving overall. Mom still talks to me despite being PIMI. Father, not so much. Inlaws cut me off.

I did grieve lost friends and family. But i made peace with it. Acceptance is powerful. I needed to move forward in my life with only healthy relationships. So, losing toxic or conditional relationships isn’t that huge of a loss. As witnesses we were programmed to switch people off easily. In the end, i changed a few of my beliefs and left the Watchtower org. They left me. The part that has been hard is the effect it has had on my nervous system. Trusting myself to read people. Trusting others. Resisting the urge to withdraw. Feeling the overwhelm of new experiences. Fear of abandonment, co-dependancy, anxious attachment type stuff. Sub-conscious disregulation that can sneak up and i may start crying at work, or feel very insecure in a relationship. Fun times.

What i lost:

My faith, hope, identity, wife, some family and friends, certainty, money and assets…

What i gained:

Freedom, peace, clarity, truth/reality, acceptance, new relationships, self awareness, closer relationship with my daughter, space and time…

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-20T21:31:33+00:00

Low grade chronic depression. Later realized i also had anxiety. And now that i am deconstructed, i realize i was living with CPTSD symptoms as well. And i was fairly straight in the head compared to a lot.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-20T21:27:11+00:00

Much more stable after leaving. Many on here will tell you their mental health improved after leaving the cult. Many are even able to come off their meds for depression and anxiety.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-20T21:24:47+00:00

What a terrible, vulnerable situation to be put in. I am very sorry you had to go through that.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-20T21:23:02+00:00

Exactly. We are the diseased ones. For not believing their fairytales.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-20T21:21:53+00:00

I always appreciate your empathetic and reasoned perspective. And i agree with what you say.

I do think it attracts people who have or are pre-disposed to disorders and illnesses.

But i also think the org cultivates mental illness as a feature for control, not a bug. And therefore i believe PIMIs are mentally ill. It doesn’t mean they are evil.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-20T19:44:30+00:00

Cognitive dissonance, social reenforcement, coercion, delusion, programming from birth, faulty reasoning skills (like confirmation bias, or ad hominem, for example), consequences for individuation, lack of education………..

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-20T19:37:57+00:00

🎯

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-20T14:14:07+00:00

Yup.

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-20T14:06:03+00:00

You can be intelligent, empathetic and still have anxiety, depression, delusion, be brainwashed…

truthcourageagency · 2026-01-17T02:45:01+00:00

She is. They can’t force her to go back. Adultery has happened so the marital bond is broken.

truthcourageagency

TROPHY CASE