PhD Student, Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience
Jehovah's Witnesses are often judgmental and have a black and white view of the world. XJWs might carry on with these traits without knowing even it. This will hamper their personal growth as well as their capacity to help others. So let me introduce you to a concept in psychology called Unconditional Positive Regard. The …
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that if we obey their rules we will live forever. Either by means of resurrection to heaven or to an earthly paradise. They teach that when people we love die they aren't really dead. Instead, they are merely sleeping and we will see them again. This belief helps soothe the existential dread …
Do you ruminate? What is ruminating? Let's take a look at what it is, why we do it, and what XJWs are doing to stop the cycle of rumination. Many of us XJW find ourselves constantly reliving and thinking about the bad experiences we have had in the past. They may be about experiences we …
Ex Jehovah's Witnesses overcome all sort of unhealthy social ideas and habits. One of those unhealthy things is Codependency. It's something that was ingrained in us from an early age. Let's explore what it is and what kind of impact it might be having in your life today. Google defines Codependency as an "excessive emotional …
"Locus of control" refers to where an individuals control over their life comes from. It relates to their ability to make changes in life. Is control over your life internally generated? Or is it reliant upon external forces? As Witnesses, we were encouraged to have an external locus of control. What were you taught to …
It may seem a bit cliche but laughing is powerful. By nature, I'm a very serious person.  I've been criticized for not smiling enough. Not laughing enough. I only discovered the power true power of laughter after I left Jehovah's Witnesses. I was devastated by my experience with Jehovah's Witnesses. I was devastated being …
Jehovah's Witnesses are opposed to Yoga considering it a Demonic practice. Because of this, I've always view Yoga and similar practices with skepticism. In early 2018 I watched the entire course on Yoga from "The great courses" which can also be purchased on DVD and found on Amazon. After watching I had an entirely new …
When I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses I felt stuck. I wanted to achieve things in my life and I wasn't able to. This led me to be very depressed. Now, this was partly because of the limiting rules of the Witnesses and the harsh consequences for not following them. However even after leaving the …
The subject of my honors research is Learned Helplessness. This is a subject that is of interest to Jehovah's Witnesses, active and former, because they too may experience Learned Helplessness. Let's discuss what helplessness is and why it might be affecting you. Learned Helplessness was discovered by Martin Seligman. In addition to publishing various research …
So let me tell you a story about learning about myself post fundamentalism. This story involves a former coworker I will call Kathy. Let me say that Kathy was a competent worker and generally, I did not have a problem working with Kathy. However... there were a few, shall we say, incidents involving Kathy that …
Many former members of the Jehovah's Witness faith report having nightmares after leaving. I've had a few nightmares myself. One of those nightmares involved me being in a Kingdom Hall. The Kingdom hall we attended when I was a child was what I would describe as split level. If you entered the main door you …
I did it. I did the unthinkable. I had become an apostate. I had written a letter to the church I had dedicated my life to and requested they never contact me again. I told them I was leaving their faith and going on to become a psychologist. To write this letter meant I had …
