What Can You Do in the Midst of a Crisis?
When the Jewish people escaped Egypt they didn’t immediately enter Israel. Instead, they traversed the midbar (desert) for forty years. This served as a transitional period where they were given resources like the manna (Food provided by God) to help them persevere until reaching the Promised Land.
There is a similar transitional period in between recognizing you are in a crisis and actually getting the long-term solutions/help you need to overcome that crisis. That is your midbar. And, just like the original midbar, you need resources to persevere. To that end, we have collected a number of resources including emergency Call/Texting/Chat hotlines, exercises and quick meditative activities, and the No Shame On U Crisis Guide, to serve as immediate actions one can take to manage this period of transition.
Emergency Contacts
Crisis Text Line (CTL) is here for you. A live, trained volunteer Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from our secure online platform. The volunteer Crisis Counselor will help you move from a hot moment to a cool calm.
A national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States. We're committed to improving crisis services and advancing suicide prevention by empowering individuals, advancing professional best practices, and building awareness.
Childhelp exists to meet the physical, emotional, educational and spiritual needs of abused, neglected and at-risk children. We focus our efforts on advocacy, intervention, treatment, prevention, family resilience and community outreach.
Confidential, hotline for expecting and new moms experiencing mental health challenges. Call toll-free.
Every contact with The Hotline is personal. Some people who reach out to them identify as survivors of abuse, some as concerned friends or family members, and some as abusive partners seeking to change themselves.
Grounding and Breathing Exercises
There are strategies that can help contain our emotional reactions, stop unproductive cycles of thinking and bring us into the present moment, where we have more control over our mind and body, and where we feel safer. Examples include: breathing, utilizing our five senses, e.g., comforting touch or smell, and identifying unhelpful and untrue patterns of thinking. Read more about grounding here.
Being aware of and changing our breathing is the primary strategy we have to control anxiety and other emotional responses to stress. When we are anxious, the body’s natural stress response is to breathe shallowly and take in less oxygen. By breathing more slowly and deeply, we can reverse this process and calm our agitation. Check out this resource adapted from the Foundation for Jewish Camp.
Immediate Response Resources
We have a variety of strategies and skills available to manage and/or “regulate” ourselves when we feel overwhelmed. Their effectiveness depends on the person as well as the type and intensity of the distress they are experiencing in that particular moment.
Jewish prayers and rituals can help to strengthen our mental well-being and resilience. For those who connect with prayer, it can be a meaningful way toward healing. Prayer can help us channel our thoughts into concrete action, projecting our care, love and hope out into the world. If you do not have a regular prayer practice and are unsure of how to start, we offer some suggestions for prayers to recite and/or steps you can take.
Lashon Hara is gossip and hurtful speech that damages communities and relationships. The language we use makes a difference. As you navigate your mental health crisis, it is important to think about which words and phrases are helpful to say and which should be avoided.
Think about one or two people you can reach out to in your circle when you’re feeling stress and anxiety. Identifying an “emotions chavruta” with which you can share what’s going through your mind allows you to be raised up by those who care about you.
No Shame On You Child Crisis Guide
No Shame On U is dedicated to eliminating the stigma associated with mental health conditions so the people who need the help will seek it, family members and friends will know how to provide proper support, and to save lives.