fbpx

Resource Category: Mental Wellness

Five Ways to Foster a Young Person’s Mental Health

Written in Partnership with In the City Camps: Despite increased awareness of mental illness among their caregivers, many children and teens are still struggling with untreated or undertreated mental health issues, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Approximately 14 percent of 10- to 19-year-olds currently are experiencing a mental health condition such as depression and/or anxiety.
Read more

Sukkot: The Gift of Vulnerability

Imagine how the Jewish people may have felt following their departure from Egypt. Exhausted but hopeful, carrying the heavy burden of generations of physical and emotional pain, having experienced unbelievable miracles, it is likely that they were in some state of shock. The transition from the agony of slavery and oppression to a state of freedom and possibility was almost certainly too hard to process immediately. Instead, as they journeyed through the desert, the fledgling Jewish nation may have struggled with the overpowering feelings and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 
Read more

Relationships in Treatment

Finding the right team is crucial in mental health treatment! But what does this even mean? It is essential to have support from positive relationships with therapists, psychiatrists, school, work and family members. 
Read more

Learning How to See Invisible Illness

By Rabbi Sandra Cohen: I can’t recall when I first started feeling depressed or when the waves of self-loathing began. But by the time I was a teen, my inner life was a mess. The more competent I seemed on the outside, the more I was hurting inside. Low self-esteem gave way to clinical depression, anxiety and on-going, intense suicidal ideation. How, I wondered, couldn’t people see it?  
Read more

Making An Emotions “Chavruta”

Psychotherapy, or “talk therapy,” is a primary treatment method for anxiety (National Institute of Mental Health). It involves discussing one’s worries in a directed manner with an expert to relieve anxiety. While “talk therapy” is practiced currently, Jewish tradition has long recommended a similar approach to alleviate mental distress.
Read more