Mental Health on the Home Front
Some quotes from the event
Soldiers are the healthiest people today. They are doing what they want to do. They know they are doing what they should be doing. It's us who are confused. Should we be making food for the soldiers? Should we be picking fruits and vegetables for the farmers? Collecting clothes for those displaced families? That can create some anxiety and cause us to loose hope.
While sitting in a shelter, they want to see your coping skills. We as parents have to say this is scary and tell them how we are feeling.
The moments we share with our children can even include - This is what I do with Hashem. When our children see us interact with Hashem, serve Hashem, it makes it more attainable, more real for them.
It is very hard for more parents to be vulnerable and say I have flaws. But we must keep in mind that every normal person has flaws. We can show them how to react to reality.
Judaism is complicated. it's not a vending machine type experience.
For those of us who have feeling of guilty getting back to normal life- There has to be a balance. And you can revisit and reactivate those feelings of sorrow. You can't forget and act as if nothing is happening on the front lines or that there are no more hostages still in captivity. There are. and it's very real. But you can't pretend that the world is ending and you have to give up on things in your life because of it. For example, I am allowed to be happy that I have a house while there are poorer people that don't have a house. That ability to live in a duality is integral to our sanity.