with Matana
Aliza Bulow, a returning guest, shares the path that led to her conversion to Judaism with us, an in depth conversation about finding belonging in our community, and her love, respect and trust she shares with her husband, despite his late in life rejection of their religion. Aliza previously shared her journey through her son’s depression and eventual suicide in two previous episodes.
For our 20th year anniversary gift, I asked Ari for the absolute impossible. He was able to do exactly what […]
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Jason Wasser is a healer therapist who practices the neuro-emotional technique. A licensed marriage and family therapist, he is one of only a few thousand licensed NET practitioners in the country and a mind-body integrative wellness specialist. His knowledge about the mind-body connection and how to move past traditional talk therapy through trauma muscle testing is extensive.
Children with OCD and anxiety need their parents to understand that they feel terrified. They need their parents to express confidence in their ability to face their fears. What they don’t need is for their parents to do everything for them when they’re afraid because over time, they will need to learn how to deal with their fears when their parents aren’t around. Dr. Lebowitz’s book, Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents, provides a roadmap for how parents can successfully guide their children to overcome their fears.
In part 2 of our talk with Alana Shlagbaum, who is not a therapist, doctor or any kind of health expert but a preschool teacher from New Jersey, Matana shares her own personal story with Alana, of how miscarriage and living with chronic bleeding prevented her from becoming pregnant.
Our guest today is not a therapist, doctor or any kind of health expert but a preschool teacher from New Jersey. She talks about our personal experiences with infertility, miscarriage, and living with chronic bleeding conditions. Alana struggled for years without having anyone who understood what she was going through, so she is here to offer that support she never had to others.
Communities often attempt to silence sexual conduct and misconduct and the associated secrecy and shame it fosters. Intentional secrecy surrounding sexual knowledge, sexual abuse and sexual addiction profoundly harms children and families in any community and especially one that is sincere and devout, such as Judaism. The Chasidic community in particular has an extreme level of secrecy to the degree that the word ‘pregnant’ is not said aloud, because it’s considered too sexual. Mordecai Salzberg, LCSW, is a sexual addiction therapist who works primarily with Chasidic Jews, and speaks about the havoc that this secrecy is wrecking.
Author Gary Sweeney, wrote a brilliant memoir about growing up with his great-grandparents’ support. His book, The Light of Other Days, shows us the positive person that his great-grandfather was in his life, rather than focusing on his abusive parents, teachers and others. The title’s intent is to focus on the good days that have been or will be, rather than the deep darkness of the present. Gary experienced depression and lives with anxiety and sensory processing issues.
Margy’s father committed suicide and her struggle with his mental health symptoms didn’t end with his death. He was a hoarder. Margy, as his only child, was thrust into the role of going through her parents’ house after he passed. She was the one who had to hire help and a dumpster and motivate her mother to go through her belongings every single day until the house was cleaned out.
You might know someone with mental illness. Maybe it’s you; maybe a family member or friend. But it is someone you wish to see get better. You’ve seen them suffer, even while in treatment. Perhaps you have suffered as well. You wish there was another way for them to find help and hope in the darkness. Chazkeinu was created to offer that additional support to Orthodox Jewish women living with mental illness.