G'day and welcome to the forum Dazed. Lovely to have you with us ... it's always fun to have new people to play with

You're still a spring chicken and can do whatever you like with your life! I'm really glad that you were able to break away and grab hold of the real world ... it's quite a fun and intoxicating place to live in isn't it! Scary sometimes too ... but at least you're not spending every breathing moment worrying about death and destruction. That can get quite tedious after the first few minutes can't it!

You may find that talking about your JW experiences in here may be that next step up the ladder of healing for you. Have a good old romp through the forum, read the stories and make as many comments as you wish. I firmly believe that every time we talk about things from the past and the feelings we're dealing with in the present ... we're one step closer to enjoying our personal freedom even more! Better out than in eh!

Don't think of the time with the JW lifestyle as being wasted ... think of it as being a springboard into a new and improved you. The REAL you who has been hidden for so long ... now has the opportunity to come out and to shine! It's hard to believe any of us could perpetuate the JW lifestyle with our own kids ... but you have to remember you were doing what you thought was right at the time. None of us were born with hindsight!

You've not said whether you're working or studying ... so on the off chance you're not doing either ... that would be a good start for you to rebuild your self-esteem. If you are working ... you could always volunteer at your local school or a community organisation of some kind ... you'll not only be helping other people but you'll have plenty of people to practice your conversation skills on! It could start out simply by a 'hello ... how are you?' then take it from there. BIG difference will be you don't have to talk about that tiresome boring religious crap ... unless you want to. I love talking religion myself but then I've been out for nearly 30 years and tend to make fun of it now ... naughty me!

Don't let that religion drag you down anymore Dazed. You have SO much to offer