In Reply to: Question to me from Jo.....& to anyone else too posted by Donny on July 07, 2003 at 22:30:03:
I think it is great that you are able to do that. It is a very vulnerable time, transitioning from the family life to life outside. I can only imagine how huge that would be for people that have grown up in that group. It does definitely help to have people who know you personally, or are willing to sponsor you personally vs. dealing with a more impersonal institution or facility.
Or trying to make it on your own.
So then it seems you never struggled with your faith, but more with coming out of the family into a more mainstream view and identifying the family as a cult.
I know that when I left, I felt wrong, but was burnt out. One of the first things I had to overcome was feeling guilty for everything that happened to others around me. You know, that family doctrine of: if something happens to your child even if you are not with them there is something wrong with you as the parent, or if you leave god's will (not) then God might harm you, your kids or whoever you are staying with.
We had a hurricane here shortly after I got out of the family, and I was pretty sure it was happening as a punishment from God and maybe he would send a tornado ripping right thru the house I was in because I had left the family. That is pretty screwed up. But that kind of thinking is not a result of being "insane" but, rather, the belief system that we were fed thru the family IV tubes...
Phew. Detoxing can take a toll on ya, and take some time, too.