I was probably atheist or at the very least agnostic before I even realized that there were other non-believers. Discovering that was a relief, for sure! My mother always hoped I would "come back" some day. My father expressed no views about religion, although he went to church sometimes and enjoyed singing the bass part in hymns even though he wasn't in the choir. It wasn't until much later that I began to think he might be a closet non-believer. He couldn't sing in the choir because he wouldn't take communion. Why would he not? He expressed no opinion when I stopped supporting the church. It didn't matter to him? I didn't want to ask; religion was something he never discussed. Anyway, after few months of trying hard to believe, I gave up, and yes, that was a relief.

Absolutely! It was like a huge weight was lifted. One of the most freeing experiences of my life. It would be nice if all family and friends who believe could experience this.

When young, and first indoctrinated, I was happy to know that I was gonna live FOREVER, but as time went on, I realized that the heaven described in the bible was no paradise at all...in fact, it was confusing, boring, silly, and frightening. Who, in their right mind, would desire to live, eternally, in such a sick, twisted place? At about 14, I stopped believing....and...what a relief to know that I don't have to go to some place like that, to worship a childish, brutal, ignorant, Bronze Age tyrant.

I felt it cathartic. I was 13. My mom told me to stop being dramatic. There was no drama on my end. I just told her I did not believe

I wasn't told that there was a choice. I was told that god definately existed and that was it. Once I got to a stage in my childhood when I realised that there were people who did not believe in a god, I changed my mind almost straight away. For me (and this is just me) wanting to believe something is not part of the thinking process. When I was younger I may have been more open to things like ghosts or alien abductions, and those beliefs would have been based on what I wanted to believe. Now I don't like to believe in anything. Instead I will just say, 'Oh, I think this is most likely to be true based on the evidence I have seen'. This to me is a much more rational to think in my opinion

I believe in something I guess, but it's more a combination of pantheism and humanism. I really did believe, went to bible school and was in ministry. I was in it for like 14 years, so it took some fairly horrible shit for me to walk away. It wasn't a relief for me until I battled free of all the mental conditioning.

It was harder for me to make the leap away from religion. I was so indoctrinated. It took me years to give up on Catholicism, then more years to give up on Jesus, and then a few more years to give up on god. It happened so gradually, and with so much struggling, that when I realized I was an atheist, it felt like a birthday. Sure, you might have some cake and ice cream, but you don't really feel any different.

YES.
When I finally read the Sumerian texts, written 2000 years before the Bible, and saw that the Bible was just a derivative of those texts, I felt profound relief. No more trying to justify, or turn a blind eye to the bloodthirsty, revengeful ways of the Hebrew god of the Bible.

That God archetype was apparently based on the bloodthirsty Sumerian alien leader, "Anu," who required human sacrifice, since that race ate human flesh.

I also liked the thought of being genetically engineered by aliens rather than the Bible version of magical creation..far more cool and "sci-fi."
And more scientific, true or not.

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts [ancient-origins.net]?

That final letting go was good actually,
just to finally say, its all crap.

I was probably about 6 when I quit believing in Santa Clause, tooth fairy, easter bunny, and God. As my family went to church every Sunday, kept going until I was a teen. Didn't believe, but went along as didn't seem worth the fight. Not believing didn't leave a void for me, just drifted away.

As a recovering Christian and a somewhat new Agnostic/ Atheist, I am more comforted now than I was when “God” was in control. I just kept wondering, “If this is control, what would chaos look like?” I finally made the leap when I just couldn’t justify his existence to myself or my children anymore. I’m so glad I did. I feel free.