I was raised JW. Never DFed, because I was never baptized, but I left...about a year ago, I guess. I was "inactive" for a while (probably around a year) first. It was a huge number of things that made me leave- my mom died when I was a teenager and I was told constantly that unless I was perfect I wouldn't see her again...that didn't sit well with me, obviously.
Once I started thinking about the little things, it was everything. I hated the control, the encouragement to NOT think critically about anything. I hated the guilt- no one can EVER be good enough, so you're always trying to be good enough, but know you can't be. I hated the hypocrisy (I won't touch on this part much on the spirituality forum, but if anyone wants to PM me to talk about it more, feel free!), about everything, but especially donations. I hated feeling like everyone in the world was bad because they were gay, atheist, played sports, etc...unless you were JW, and a good JW, you were to be hated.
Once I got through all of that, I started to research doctrine, and that's where it all fell apart for me. Too many inconsistencies, too many changes over the years, too little factual evidence and too much "Because we said so", basically.
I love being out. My friends/family that I didn't talk to or hang around much for years because they were DFed, have turned out to be the best friends/family I could ask for- so supportive, so loving, so helpful and understanding. It's also wonderful to pick friends based on qualities and not just whether they attend the meetings or not.
Forgot to mention my current beliefs: I identify as an atheist/humanist. I am fascinated with religion and spend a large amount of time researching it, reading about it, learning about it, and I may even start attending various churches someday soon, but I have no belief in an involved, responsible deity.
