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 …
What is the value of life?
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 …
MAking Changes with Journaling
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 Unforgivable sin
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 …
TO feel Like I belong
It's funny how when you look back in time it seems as though all that has happened has happened in the blink of an eye. It was just 5 or 6 years ago when I officially escaped the high control religion that I was born into. My life was totally different then. I thought I …
Pink-eyed dilution gene
Young mice exhibiting the pink-eyed dilution gene (MisterMiceGuy 2019). The first documented version of the pink-eyed dilution mutation is believed to come from Asia and today there are over 100 documented varieties. Some of them occurred due to spontaneous natural mutations while others were induced mutations by means of x-ray or chemical mutagens. The genes …
Attention Processing Theories and PTSD
The following is a literature review I wrote in 2017 on the subject of Top-Down and Bottom-up cognitive processing and PTSD. Our perception of the world around us is affected by our attention processing styles. Attention processing styles can be divided into top-down and bottom-up styles. (Avery, Dutt & Krichmar 2014) Bottom-up processing refers to …