Depression

Do TV shows accurately depict mental illnesses? Do they help defeat stigma? Maybe. Here are three examples.

Outreach initiatives Coordinator at Refuat Hanefesh
Moshe Winograd grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and earned his PhD in Counseling Psychology from Seton Hall University. He received Semikha from RIETS in 2011. Moshe resides with his wife and children in Boca Raton, Florida and is doing a post doctoral fellowship at Mental Health Center of Florida. He is an adjunct professor of psychology at NYU and has previously taught at Brooklyn College. His clinical and research area of focus is Perinatal Mental Health, and he intends to work with couples, families and individuals experiencing difficulties related to pregnancy and women's health. Moshe is looking forward to engaging with the diverse Jewish community in a variety of initiatives to reduce stigma related to mental health.
Moshe Winograd
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Pregnancy loss, whether an early term miscarriage or a late term stillbirth, can be devastating for both men and women. On a clinical level this can lead to anxiety, depression, and PTSD.   What Have I Lost? Part of the difficulty in coming to terms with the loss is not having the same relationship with Read More …

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg is the Senior Rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue in Florida, the largest Orthodox Synagogue in the Southeast United States. He serves as Co-Chair of the Orthodox Rabbinical Board’s Va’ad Ha’Kashrus, as Director of the Rabbinical Council of America’s South Florida Regional Beis Din for Conversion, and as Posek of the Boca Raton Mikvah. He serves as Vice President of the Rabbinical Council of America and as Chairman of the Orthodox Union Legacy Group. He has delivered the invocation to the U.S. House of Representatives and has been invited multiple times to meet with the President and White House staff.
Efrem Goldberg

When I was a young rabbi, I encountered someone with depression. I vividly remember thinking to myself, why can’t he just snap out of it? What does he mean when he says he sleeps most of the day and can’t concentrate on anything? We are all tired and dealing with stress. Just resolve to get Read More …

Shanee Markovitz was born in Israel and grew up Southern Florida. She is currently in the honors program at Stern College for Women. Shanee is a big proponent of destigmatizing mental health and being open about it. Her own experiences, including her mother's suicide, have led her to get involved, speak out, and make a difference. She has written popular articles on numerous sites including the Forward and is in the process of writing a book about various mental health topics. She speaks in public forums about the effect mental illness has had on her life and the wisdom she has attained from her struggles, as well as the impact mental health has on individuals and communities. She is devoted to seeing the stigma of mental illness disappear during her lifetime. She would love for you to join with her on the quest to destigmatize mental illness and support those in need.
Shanee Markovitz

A huge part of the stigma surrounding mental illnesses involves the notion that a person living with a mental illness will be unsuccessful. This claim is simply not true, and I chose eight accomplished and/or famous people who live with a mental illness and also fight the stigma and #breakthesilence to prove it.

I am about to tell you why you should NOT care at all about mental illness. Yes, you read that right. While that might sound completely contradictory to the essence of this blog, it isn’t. In fact, understanding this reality is the first step in changing the way we approach mental health and as I Read More …

Hindy is an advocate focusing on removing the veil of shame covering mental health and addiction in faith-based communities. She is the Communications Associate for BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy, a program for young adults on individualized journeys of self-discovery and healing. Her own journey with suicidal ideation, depression and building communities has given her a unique perspective when creating social change. As an avid camp person, Hindy thrives in the great outdoors, loves ceramics, playing with baby goats and hiking. Hindy’s goal is to fuse her commitment to her communities, youth and the great outdoors into an answer for addiction and mental health issues.
Hindy Finman
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Dear Suicide, We’ve known each other for a long time. I’d say going on 20 years. We have quite the relationship. It was odd for many years. I mean, how is a kid supposed to figure you out? I thought it was my family’s background that made me odd. But that didn’t make sense because Read More …

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I was diagnosed with depression a few weeks after my 17th birthday. The months leading up to my diagnosis had been turbulent at best. One good hour was often followed by many bad days. Eventually, my good hours were spent anxiously anticipating the next storm. I fought my battles silently and didn’t think anyone could Read More …

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I listened to a lot of music when I had depression, and played a lot of word games on my phone. I had to charge it pretty often those days. It was a coping mechanism. Nothing beat distraction — the sheer power of my mind pushing everything down so all that remained was the dizzying Read More …