text: Banned by HWA! Books, News and Observations About Armstrongism and the Churches of God: PTSD In The Churches of God?
  This is also covered in PTSD
  There are those, however, who don't believe that those in Armstrongism really have had PTSD -- but that is an opinion of a known narcissist.
  Current adherents to Armstrongism may tend to doubt and deny this, but PTSD is real, and relates directly to the Armstrong experience. The intensity of the symptoms can vary widely, with some not experiencing any symptoms at all.
  When I first heard about it while reading accounts of the experiences of returning Viet Nam veterans, I recognized some of the symptoms in myself but resulting from being a different kind of veteran. I did seek out therapy, and obtained relief from some of the worse symptoms, but the symptoms described in the categories of action or adrenaline junkie, and relationship or love junkie continued to play a major role in my life up to about five or six years ago.
  I'd recommend that anyone suffering from the lingering effects of Armstrongism, if needed or appropriate, find a therapy and or therapist who is a good fit with your personality type, and whom you can trust, and most definitely watch the film "A Beautiful Mind". The damage doesn't need to be catastrophically permanent, and we can utilize our own intelligence to a certain degree to overcome much of it. I've personally found God to be effective as well as that final ingredient, and this is often overlooked, but as the commercial says, your own mileage may vary.
  Speaking personally about COG-related PTSD, yes, it does exist.
  Post Theological Stress Disorder
  One more thing. ACOG people could be tempted to succumb to a very simplistic and dismissive answer to this very real problem. You may here something like: "PTSD???? Why no!!! That's actually Satan, and the problem will not go away or get better until you repent and return to God's True Church!!!" (bellowed in an authoritarian and booming voice).
  That, of course, is suggesting that you place yourself back in the midst of the factors which caused the PTSD. I would recommend that one journal all of the causative stress factors, and carefully examine them to determine whether those factors existed for Christians in the Bible. Also, get to know some people who do not have PTSD, and you will probably need to look outside of your church group, amongst your family, colleagues, or neighbors to find such people.
  When you put your heart and soul and your whole life into the church--like we were always told--and then find out it was a pack of lies you are probably going to have PTSD.
  The people who didn't experience PTSD were perhaps not in it very long, or perhaps they didn't put their whole heart into it.
  Maybe it's why some insensitive people can just say "get over it". Maybe they were just there to save their own back-ends from the tribulation.
  Poppy Le Touzel said...
  I was a member of WWCG from 1968 - 1999 and raised four children in it -- poor things. My husband and I interpreted literally the teachings of HWA which was very hard for the children as they had to attend public schools where the traditional holidays and birthdays were celebrated and pork and shellfish were allowed and one was not threatened with disfellowshipment if one worked on Saturday, etc. My oldest child ran away from home alot in her teens and subsequently descended into mental illness; her younger sister, descended into mental illness as well. Their two younger brothers got into crime. I'm not saying this is all the fault of the teachings of WWCG, but I am sure it had a lot to do with it. I wish I had never gotten involved with WWCG!
  I was a member of WWCG from 1968 to 1999 and my husband and I raised four children in WWCG. It affected the children worst of all. Two are mentally ill and cannot work and two have gotten into crime. I believe this to be in large measure due to the teachings of HWA and also to my husband's and my intrepation and application to our children. I wish I had never heard GTA on the World Tomorrow radio program out of Corpus Christi in January 1963.