Suggested Readings

Taking Care of Our Kids by Taking Care of Ourselves: Mental Health for New Parents

One of the most difficult things for us as we worked through our struggles was the glorification of the sacrifices that caregivers (especially those who identify as women) are expected to make. For instance, loss of interest in activities we previously enjoyed was a difficult benchmark to wrap our heads around. We'd been told that once we gave birth, we wouldn't have time for anything other than the baby. Therefore, losing interest in our hobbies was something we both figured was to be expected. In a way, if we lost interest in our hobbies, wasn't that an indication that we were adjusting to centering our lives around our children? Wasn't that what was supposed to happen?

Audio + Video, Suggested Readings

The Shameless Shebrew – A Song About Body Acceptance

Guest Post: Last week I released a song called “Rocky Mountains” about body acceptance, and I wanted to share some of the backstory. I survived an eating disorder in my early 20s. I’d been to outpatient treatment, and I got better, but something was keeping me from fully recovering. My relationship with food and my body was still fraught for many years.

Suggested Readings

Death and Sorting

By Rabbi Sandra Cohen | After the death of her father-in-law, Rabbi Sandra reflects on grief is funny. "Just when you think you have a handle on your feelings and on the physical energy around mourning, it creeps up on you from behind and nails you to the wall."

Jewish Support, Suggested Readings

Guide for the Grieving: A Toolkit for Navigating Loss

Death is a natural occurrence, and it is a normal reaction to feel overwhelmed and confused when a loved one dies. This Guide for the Grieving is a resource for: reviewing descriptions of traditional Jewish ritual and mourning practices, navigating practical decisions and understanding the range of physical, mental, behavioral, and emotional responses one may experience following the death of a loved one.

Suggested Readings

From Chaos to Seder: Pesach, Addiction, and Removing Our Personal Chains

We are going to know a new freedom” -Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 83. I have always marveled at the paradox that our nation’s liberation from the bondage of slavery is marked by the quintessential period of restriction. A holiday that requires us to adhere to strict guidelines and detailed instructions with such profound exactitude and measure. To distance ourselves from something that in the rest of the year we get to engage in unconditionally. This is freedom? In working firsthand with individuals in addiction treatment as they battle for ultimate freedom, I now understand that the answer to this question is a resounding yes.