I think I was brainwashed because even though I knew something wasn't right, I thought they had the truth & the monopoly on morality & Bible knowledge. I actually believed what they said about how "apostate" literature would screw me up. Even as an adult I wouldn't scrutinize them the way I woul everyone else. My mind was stuck in that 16-yr old confused mindset where jw's were concerned. I fought all my thoughts telling me it wasn't right, thinking they were from Satan. I shut off my intellectual, perceptive powers where they were concerned. That's why I say I was brainwashed. I was scared to tell my mom all the stuff they told me like how birds would be eating dead people & shitting out. I knew mom wouldn't like that & I'd never get her into the truth if I told her that. It was a secret & secrets make you sick. It was mental abuse & sly because it came from these nice Christian people who dressed respectably, knew their Bible & called God by his name.