200 – Hey ExJWs We Need To Talk … About Relationships, Moving Forward, & What Gets In The Way

It’s been almost 8 years, a whole lot of work, and here we are sitting at episode 200 of the Shunned Podcast. Episode 100 featured 100 things you need to know to heal from Jehovah’s Witnesses, and this episode will feature a lot of ways that the cult may have impacted you that you never thought about. If you watch or listen to this episode, I’ll be surprised if you don’t walk away with something to think about, if not many things, for your own life. We’re going to talk about how we relate to others as we navigate a post JW world but we’ll also discuss how we relate to Jehovah’s Witnesses. Then we’re going to talk about our relationship with self, and drop a lot of points for consideration. After that we’ll talk about the teachings and culture of Jehovah’s Witnesses and some of the more directly related impacts of their beliefs. And some might enjoy a bonus episode of my views that are often a bit unconventional on things like Norway, the ExJW community as a whole, violence and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and maybe a little interview of myself as well if they want.

I’m a cult recovery coach with my own lived experience as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and I’ve worked with hundreds and hundreds of individuals since 2019, often working with roughly 6 individuals daily in hour long sessions, diving into people’s lives, helping them to heal and move forward into a life that is reflective of who they are and who they want to be.

I also have three podcasts, This JW Life which is my story told in such a way as to help others process their own. We translated that into Spanish to help in that community where it’s known as Esta Vida Como Testigo De Jehovah. And This JW Life was also turned into a book called Becoming Jehovah, which is available to read for free online, links to everything mentioned here will be in the podcast or YouTube description. Today I’m the host of the Shunned Podcast where I help other people to tell their stories their way, which I’ve been doing since 2017 as one of the OG podcasters still out here doing their thing. My channels have been viewed, listened to, downloaded over 1.5 million times at this recording.

I have also developed an ExJW cart to take out to do street activism, and last year I went out to do a one man audio protest at a regional convention. I’ve also been privileged to speak at the University of Louisville in a psychology class, at the inaugural When Rights and Religions Collide conference, and I’ve done online and in person speaking for the International Cultic Studies Association. Oh, and I created fun trivia quiz website that I’ve been able to get active Jehovah’s Witnesses to interact with at JWTrivia.com that is in three languages and that introduces active Jws to new concepts if they take the simple quiz. I even ran a private Facebook group of ExJWs with a couple thousand members that was aimed at positivity and moving forward for a few years, and I’ve always been active in various Facebook groups and subreddits to try to offer a word of support or encouragement since I left Jehovah’s Witneses in 2015. In fact, we’re coming up on my 10th Shunniversary this September.

So when you listen to what I’m about to break down, these are my observations and lessons that you can take away from my experience in this community.

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Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let’s talk. I have affordable programs to help as a certified life coach with a