fisherman wrote:Thank you Porcelain Doll, for being honest about your healing method....
I don;t think we or you Porcelain Doll can say you reject all religions
But thanks for your honesty, Porcelain Doll, and so let's see if the moderaters have the same method of healing.... So is rejection of Christianity the moderaters method of healing.
Hoping to hear from you Jack, and Monger, and all moderaters.
Oops, sorry, not a moderator here.
I am an ex First Generation and I experienced basically the same thing which was for me a need to throw out religion in general and spend a long period of time discovering even what my own preferences were for hair and clothing styles, music, political opinions, discovering talents I had that I never got to develop in the Family etc.
I tried religions for awhile and just didn't fit. I didn't believe in the constraints and literalism of the bible considering much of it's content but that is my personal choice, and if I ever were to pray again it would probably be "Lord protect me from your people".
I can't say what I do is what everyone should do. All I can say is that for real healing to occur people have to learn to start --steering their own ship--taking control of their own lives and determining their own futures. That would include what helps them to heal.
I was thirty with three children when i got out and i was recruited as a teen. I didn't willingly join a cult. I joined something that presented as a positive alternative to a person like me whose life was spinning out of control. I came from a very abusive family and was only out of that for less than two months before being recruited to the family. I was very naieve and did not have the tools to recognize a con when I saw one. Much fear and many other tactics were used to control and to mold people into "God's" supposed "elite".
Therapy has helped me a great deal. I have utilized a variety of therapists and each have helped me in different ways but most important were the ones that sought to help me discover my own self and to deal with the wreckage of my past.
I got out a long time ago and years of therapy later and much experimenting with many different things to decide who I wanted to be and what I like and deal with where I came from and the reality of how destructive it was and to become a real family with my kids that called me by a bible name for about a year after we got out..boy that was a fun one to try to explain!
I also overcame years of debilitating nightmares, anxiety, panic problems and debilitating depression. I got a lot of help. Some from people and some from professionals but for awhile from no one.
Bottom line, i am now 53, my children are grown and are productive and worldy "systemites" and I am very proud of them. Getting there was very tough. One of the hardest obstacles to getting help was getting out without resources or job experience or even a drivers license. I was a burn out when I left.
I took menial jobs as unemployment was very high and my self confidence was less than zero. I think when people are in an extremely controlled environment, it takes time to step out of the box. That box skit was more like The Family, imo. The world kept getting smaller and smaller until it was crushing the life out of me.
I don't think anyone can sum up in a few paragraphs how to heal, or tell anyone else how they should do it, but I think everyone deserves respect about the way that was or is necessary for them to go about their own healing. Regardless of how you meant this topic, I think it is a good one. 8)