I had to reconstruct my own reality

SHARE:

By Dr. Marlene Winell ~

Leaving my faith was a very slow process.

I was raised by missionary parents and was devoutly religious for my entire childhood. Journal entries from my college years reveal swings between anguished frustration and renewed faith. I heaped blame for the problems on myself, looked to God for help, and thanked him for any improvements in my life.

In my everyday life, I lived with enormous guilt and frustration over not being the person I thought I should be. Good things were always due to God, and failures were always mine.

Looking back, I can see that self-respect was a near impossibility.

Like a lost child, when I left I had to reconstruct reality. I had to examine and recreate so many assumptions: about the meaning of life, the world, myself, others, the past, present, and future.

I eventually became a therapist, and it has been my great joy to help others to recover from the harm they experienced as a result of religious upbringing.

After years of my own private therapy practice, I created the Religious Recovery Retreats to give others a more immediate way to experience healing and recovery, and to help you move through this often painful, difficult process.




The loss of an all-encompassing belief system has profound consequences, including ambiguity and responsibility. In my own recovery, I had to deal with all of the same the issues I address in my book, counseling sessions, and retreats. 

I’ve found the retreats in particular to be a truly incredible time of connection, discovery, and profound healing.


I talk more about what you can expect from the Retreat in this video.

Our next Retreat is June 8-11th in Cape Cod at a beautiful, ocean-front retreat center. I can’t wait to share this time with others seeking to unravel their experiences and reclaim their self-worth, self-respect, and connection to themselves and others. We only have a few spots left. I hope you’ll join us.



(This Retreat is an inclusive, welcoming and mindful space for people of ALL identities and backgrounds.)

As always, if you can’t make it this time, I encourage you to check out our additional resources, including 1:1 counseling + support group meetings.

If you’re looking for some free resources, here are a few recent interviews I did:

It’s been so exciting to see Religious Trauma Syndrome become more frequently discussed by psychologists! Check out this article at Psychology Today, and another one at Therapist.com for further reading on the subject.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! We’re here to support you.
Warmly,
Marlene & the Journey Free team
Journey Free:  Recovery from harmful religion
www.journeyfree.org
510-292-0509

COMMENTS

Agnosticator,5,Al Wm Johnson,3,Alegria,3,Alen Basic,1,American Apostate,3,Andrew Jasko,3,Anne R Keye,6,AnonAgno94,4,Apetivist,2,Apostate Paul,3,Articles,708,Aspieguy,12,Astreja,9,atheistnurse,10,AtheistToothFairy,1,austinrohm,3,Avangelism Project,2,Barrett Evans,2,Ben Love,69,billybee,2,BlackFreethought,12,Bob Keye,3,Bob R,4,boomSlang,1,Bore Venal Charlatan,2,Brad N,1,Brian Kellogg,8,Brisancian,3,Bruce Gerencser,1,Bruno Corey,1,C. T. Ogden,4,Carl S,377,Carol Putnam,2,Carolyn Hyppolite,10,Cecelia,4,Cheryl Ensom Dack,6,Chris Highland,2,Chris W.,1,Christian Agnostic,2,Christmas,31,ChuckyJesus,1,ConversationsWithA,1,Daniel out of the Lion's Den,15,Daniel Payne,1,Dano,17,darklady,7,Dave8,1,DealDoctor,24,Dethblight,6,dharma,4,Discordia,5,Doubting Thomas,2,Dr. Marlene Winell,25,Dr. Valerie Tarico,150,DRC,2,dswrites,2,Easter,28,EChamberlainMD,6,Ed (Teapot),2,Edward T. Babinski,1,Eric Jeffries,2,eveningmeadows,11,Evid3nc3,3,ex-Pastor Dan,19,exfundy,2,exPenty,8,Faithfool,2,Fernando Alcántar,6,freddieb42,2,freeatlast,6,G.M. Gates,2,Gary T. McDonald,2,God-O-Rama,6,Godlessgrrl,5,Greenworld,4,hellboundsoul,3,Herb,3,Houndies,3,illu minati,2,Incongruous Circumspection,11,J.W.,2,JadedAtheist,2,Jake Rhodes,3,James A. Haught,3,James C,2,James Wilhelm,9,Jazzybelle,3,Jennifer,3,Jody,3,John Draper,26,John Loftus,2,John Shores,26,Kalos,3,Karen Garst,31,Kim Anne Whittemore,1,Klym,24,Larry C,5,Larry Spencer,3,Letters,149,Libby Anne,3,Log1cd1ctat3s,2,Luke,1,lungfish,1,Merle Hertzler,1,Michael Runyan,36,Michael Sherlock,5,Mriana,17,MtlRedAtheist,1,Neal Stone,20,News,185,Nikki,1,NYdiva,2,ooglyman,2,Opinion,980,Patrice,2,Paul Hannah,1,Paul So,26,Philippe Orlando,3,Philonous,1,Politics,59,Positivist,5,psychman33,5,Rational Logic,3,Rational Okie,2,Renoliz,10,Rev Ex-Evangelist,7,RickO,3,Robert Conner,8,Ronna Russell,12,Rudy,4,Russ Hamel,2,Science,30,SeageVT,3,Shaolin,4,Simplex Munditiis,3,Son of a preacher,5,Steve Dustcircle,4,Stillunsure,4,Summerbreeze,25,Susan G. Bonella,3,Tania,22,tekHedd,2,Testimonials,1004,Thanksgiving,4,The STeWpId MoNkEy,4,TheThinkingAtheist,5,Thin-ice,4,ThinkTank,5,Tim Sledge,4,Tim Wolf,1,TinMan,1,True Anathema,4,TruthSurge,1,Ubi Dubium,4,undercover agnostic,25,unoder,7,Vadarama,2,Victor J Webster,2,Videos,102,Vyckie,10,Webmdave,9,WidePathGirl,2,WizenedSage,137,xrayman,2,xxkindofboredxx,2,Yak,9,
ltr
item
ExChristian.Net: I had to reconstruct my own reality
I had to reconstruct my own reality
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDgiq9sdu8tEpFlfuNINS-V-HpAPCxVjVieJy17_w9DjoRJddSYfwj0L10IBoQzEspzZlSKUzS8HlvZDOxk3Ic57X4jUA8obUW0GXO4VH3OO_2pcZFALmVv5T2FmGdsN6HXrHGjFj5FazV525YfLzz13P3o7fpYTuK-BB8H2QUKdhN2YUz9DVeMOX/s600/marlenetop.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDgiq9sdu8tEpFlfuNINS-V-HpAPCxVjVieJy17_w9DjoRJddSYfwj0L10IBoQzEspzZlSKUzS8HlvZDOxk3Ic57X4jUA8obUW0GXO4VH3OO_2pcZFALmVv5T2FmGdsN6HXrHGjFj5FazV525YfLzz13P3o7fpYTuK-BB8H2QUKdhN2YUz9DVeMOX/s72-c/marlenetop.jpg
ExChristian.Net
https://new.exchristian.net/2023/04/i-had-to-reconstruct-my-own-reality.html
https://new.exchristian.net/
https://new.exchristian.net/
https://new.exchristian.net/2023/04/i-had-to-reconstruct-my-own-reality.html
true
1266985040290242663
UTF-8
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Read more Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share to a social network STEP 2: Click the link on your social network Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy