Hello,
I faced this same problem. I became a JW at the age of 15. I did not go to college even though I LOVE learning and books and every teacher I ever had told my parents to take me out of high school and put me in college. With no education and no skills due to "putting Jehovah first" making a living is hard. Supporting a family is hard. You have to work a lot of hours to make up for the lack of a trade. So, you end up not being able to "put Jehovah first" (whatever that means).

Here is what I did. One problem I had was low self esteem, and bad self image. So, I went to libraries and read every book I could find on self help. Here are a few titles that helped me. "As a Man Thinketh", "Soar with your strengths", "What color is my parachute?". Stay away from the psycho babble self help books and the "motivation" books.

I love to read and as a JW we were 'encouraged' to only read WTBTS literature, which is the most intellectually empty writings I have ever come across. The tone of that literature is also very nasty. Once you start reading uplifting, enlightening things, go back and pick a watchtower magazine at random and you will see what I mean. The tone of the WTBTS literature is smug, condescending, and mean spirited.

If you like to read get library cards for all the libraries within a reasonable driving distance to you. Find used book stores. Get club memberships at all the retail bookstores, they have good deals. I joined a used book network on line and could order used books from any book store in the country.

If you like music get an ipod or an mp3 player and join a subscription service like Rhapsody or iTunes and enjoy all the wonderful music that is out there.

There are many wonderful things in the world that as JWs we are discouraged from exploring because they are "selfish". I found aromatherapy. I don't know much about it, but I know the right scents can really help your well being. You can buy inexpensive diffusers.

Spend time in nature. I love water, so I take walks next to rivers and creeks and lakes and the ocean.

If you have family who are not JWs reach out to them, they will be happy to hear from you.

If you still don't have your high school diploma, get one as soon as you can. If you like learning then learn a skill or a trade as soon as you can. There are many programs to help adult learners. You don't have to go to an expensive university, local community colleges or junior colleges are just as good and not too expensive. Or maybe you want to learn a trade that requires a certification instead of a degree, those programs can be as short as one year. I did that, I took a two year certification program that I finished in one year (I worked my assets off). If you are struggling financially and are not working, get a job, any job as soon as possible. Then look for something you can do yourself, a mini business. If you are willing to work hard and do things that people need done you can always find work. I supported my family for years doing small construction jobs. Now I do free lance software work. It isn't hard to start a mini-business. Just takes getting out and talking to people. Getting your name out there. Lots of things you can do. House keeping, office cleaning, painting, lawn maintenance...well the only limit is your imagination.

I have a rule now. I have to do one thing nice to myself every day. Doesn't have to be anything big. Going to the farmer's market and buying fresh cut flowers and putting them on my table. Listening to nice music. Walking next to a lake.

Make sure you smile every day.

Don't worry about how far away you are from where you would like to be. Every day do things that are good for yourself. The book "what color is your parachute" changed my life (in terms of how I make a living) radically. It teaches you how to package yourself, and has exercises for you to do that prove to you that you have skills.

Try to make new friends. The best way to make friends is to do things that interest you, then you will meet other people who share your interest. It isn't always easy.

Don't worry about your spiritual path. If you are a spiritual person that will take care of itself. You will find a lot of the answers in nature. If you are not really a spiritual person it will matter less and less to you as time goes on.

If you insist on "understanding" the Bible, then get a good Hebrew scriptures interlinear and a good Greek scriptures interlinear. You will be very surprised what the original languages actually say. Here is one example. The word which is mistranslated as "Lucifer" in the Bible, actually means "Light Bringer" or "Light Bearer". Jesus was also called "Light Bringer" or "Light Bearer". Hmmmmmm. In the garden of Eden 'Satan' offers enlightenment, and Lucifer is the Light Bringer. Hmmmmm. Another interesting thing if you use an interrlinear or a Concordance. The English word Satan does not exist in the Bible. This word is not a translation of any Hebrew word. Instead it is simply transliterating the Hebrew word satan and capitalizing it and calling it a proper name in English. The Hebrew word satan means adversary. The translators of most Bibles are not consistent in translating the Hebrew satan. In many places they use adversary or accuser. In a few places they use the English Satan. The Greek took the Hebrew word satan and used the exact meaning. So, the New Testament also should use adversary or accuser or resister as the correct translation of the Greek word satan, not the transliteration Satan. The Greek word 'diablos' is likewise not translated correctly in many cases, but is instead transliterated into the English word Devil. The Greek word diabolos literally means "to throw across" or "strike through". It has the ideas of being a slanderer and a false accuser. It has been translated as false accusers and slanderers in the KJV and is most often transliterated by the word devil.

That is just one example, there are many.

The thing that helped me most to understand the Bible was to study it the same way I would study a work of literature. For a moment putting aside "this is God talking (I no longer believe that)" and putting aside "God is mysterious you cannot understand the Bible (I don't believe that either)" and putting aside "God has a complex plan known only to Himself, but he alludes to it in the Bible and the WTBTS are the only ones who can explain God's plan (I definately don't believe that)". I learned a good technique for studying when I went to trade school. A teacher told us to write down all the key ideas without any details around them. Then reviewing your notes is quick because you read the ideas. Your mind will extemporaneously fill in the details. I did the same thing while reading the Bible. I could then turn the ideas into a narrative in my own words in very simple terms to relate what I had just read. This was a real eye opener if you compare this to what the WTBTS teaches. I have to warn you though, if you do this be prepared to have your faith shaken. I will give you one example.
The Bible's account of God's children Adam and Eve and the serpent, and some follow up accounts of what happens to the descendents of God's first children written out using very simple language that any parent would use.
1. A parent (God) creates a nice home for the children he knows he will soon have.
2. The parent fathers two children.
3. The parent gives the female child as a mate to her brother. Huh?
4. The parent allows a creature which is millions of years old and is an expert in philosophy and supposedly evil to go live in His children's home. Huh?
5. The parent allows the same creature to attempt to corrupt his immature, totally innocent children. Huh?
6. The vastly older and wiser creature succeeds in 'corrupting' the immature, innocent children by explaining to them that they can learn more than their parent has chosen to teach them and this learning will open their consciousness to the true nature of God and themselves and they will learn the morals of good and evil for themselves. This, in God's eyes is a terrible sin. Huh?
7. God punishes His children by condemning them to death for being corrupted by the evil, master philosopher who is far older and wiser than they. Huh?
8. God then punishes all of His children's descendents with a death sentence for the 'crime' committed by his children. Huh?
9. God then says that the earth belongs to men.
10. God then says that the ruler of the earth is the wicked one. Huh?
11. God then says that the wicked one has blinded the eyes of all of His children because God allowed it and for this they will be murdered. Huh?

Now, if we were talking about human parents here, they would be charged with very serious felonies for allowing a much more mature, knowingly evil master manipulator into their home to corrupt their children. They would then get the death penalty for murdering their children and their grand children through use a curse, if it could be proven that the curse did in fact cause their deaths. But this is exactly what God supposedly did. He cursed his children and all of their descendants with sin and death.

do this for any passages in the Bible and you will see some really serious problems with what the Bible supposedly says and the morals that it actually teaches.

Getting the veil of false teaching about the Bible lifted off your eyes and knowing what it says for yourself will help a lot.