Stigma

Etan Neiman
Etan Neiman
Etan Neiman, CPA, is Refuat Hanefesh's Director of Operations and was previously Editor-in-Chief. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yeshiva University's Sy Syms School of Business. While at Yeshiva, Etan was editor of the student newspaper's Business Section and President of Active Minds, a national organization committed to decreasing mental illness stigma on college campuses. He currently works in downtown Manhattan as a Senior Accounting Associate for Brand Sonnenschine. Etan has spoken and written extensively about how he moved past his mental health battles with anxiety and depression. He looks forward to joining others on a similar journey to break the harmful stigma-induced silence. Etan can be reached at alexbneiman@refuathanefesh.org.
Etan Neiman
Latest posts by Etan Neiman (see all)

In the waning moments of the 2020 Democratic National Convention (DNC) and shortly before his highly anticipated acceptance speech, Joe Biden made the decision to give precious airtime to 13-year-old Brayden Harrington of New Hampshire. What did the kid do with the attention of millions of Americans focused on him? He looked them in the Read More …

Anonymous Female
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You came into my life when I was all of seventeen years old. You wreaked havoc on my simple and blissful existence. You overtook me, you controlled me. You unhooked my cart from the train of life. You ruined my plans, my dreams. Panic attacks, manic episodes, and confusion became part of my life. Psychiatrists, Read More …

Anonymous Female
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Editor’s Note: This piece contains descriptions of the author’s Sexaholism symptoms in general terms, which some readers may find uncomfortable. Refuat Hanefesh believes that addiction is a critically important issue to shed a light on in the Jewish community, particularly this segment of addiction as it is seldomly discussed. We commend the author for sharing Read More …

Tzivia Appleman
Tzivia Appleman
Tzivia Appleman graduated from the HANC High School class of 2017. She spent the following year studying in Israel at MMY and is currently in its Shana Bet program. Afterwards, she will be attending NYU. Tzivia is from Plainview, New York and is the former Regional President of New York NCSY. She's a passionate Jew who loves to write and take down the stigma!
Tzivia Appleman
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When I first started watching This Is Us, I immediately fell in love with the relatable and compelling storyline: the childhood, the adolescence, and the adulthood of a very special family that almost seems too perfect. That is until you realize that, from the very first moment, the family is far from “perfect,” making the Read More …

Sarah Last
Sarah Last is a passionate 21-year-old from Plainview, New York. She is currently attending Stern College for Women, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Education. Sarah has been diagnosed with anxiety, Depression, OCD and BPD and wishes to use her experience with mental illness to help others and break the stigma.
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Every morning when I get dressed (especially in the summer), I have a battle in my head, pondering this dilemma: “People will judge me and look at me differently.” “One of the reasons I self-harmed was to have scars.” “I don’t want to be embarrassed by my scars.” “What if I get uncomfortable stares and Read More …

Etan Neiman
Etan Neiman
Etan Neiman, CPA, is Refuat Hanefesh's Director of Operations and was previously Editor-in-Chief. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yeshiva University's Sy Syms School of Business. While at Yeshiva, Etan was editor of the student newspaper's Business Section and President of Active Minds, a national organization committed to decreasing mental illness stigma on college campuses. He currently works in downtown Manhattan as a Senior Accounting Associate for Brand Sonnenschine. Etan has spoken and written extensively about how he moved past his mental health battles with anxiety and depression. He looks forward to joining others on a similar journey to break the harmful stigma-induced silence. Etan can be reached at alexbneiman@refuathanefesh.org.
Etan Neiman
Latest posts by Etan Neiman (see all)

It deeply hurts. Time and time after time again, politicians, newscasters and everyday people associate violence with mental illness. This is both degrading and harmful. It perpetuates the stigmatic myth that those with mental illnesses are to be feared. For those like me, who have moved to manage mental illness to the point where it Read More …

Suzann Lasson, OTR/L
Suzann Lasson, OTR/L
Suzann is an occupational therapist who works on the behavioral health units at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Hospital of Baltimore, MD. She has a clinical specialty in psychiatric occupational therapy and has worked as an occupational therapist for twenty years, with clinical experience in acute psychiatric units, inpatient psychiatric units, outpatient partial hospitalization programs, and inpatient rehabilitation. At Levindale, she works primarily with patients with mental illness, running daily psychosocial groups (including coping skills, stress management, assertiveness skills, safety/fall prevention, anger management, depression management, anxiety management, and how to speak about mental illness).
Suzann Lasson, OTR/L
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I started working in an acute psychiatric unit fifteen years ago as an occupational therapist (OT), during which time the experiences I have had with those in the Jewish community and their petrified need for secrecy have been alarming. More on that crisis in a little bit. First, for context, occupational therapy became prevalent in Read More …

Tamara Feldman
Tamara is ready to end the stigma and open to sharing her stories about depression, suicidal ideation, and anxiety.
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“Relapse” has a lot of different meanings for everyone. To me, relapse is what happened in May of 2019. I was doing great: I was almost done with high school, and I had amazing plans for the future. I couldn’t even see myself getting back into a bad place. I can say, “I should have Read More …

Etan Neiman
Etan Neiman
Etan Neiman, CPA, is Refuat Hanefesh's Director of Operations and was previously Editor-in-Chief. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yeshiva University's Sy Syms School of Business. While at Yeshiva, Etan was editor of the student newspaper's Business Section and President of Active Minds, a national organization committed to decreasing mental illness stigma on college campuses. He currently works in downtown Manhattan as a Senior Accounting Associate for Brand Sonnenschine. Etan has spoken and written extensively about how he moved past his mental health battles with anxiety and depression. He looks forward to joining others on a similar journey to break the harmful stigma-induced silence. Etan can be reached at alexbneiman@refuathanefesh.org.
Etan Neiman
Latest posts by Etan Neiman (see all)

Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade, Chester Bennington, and Robin Williams. Sharon Markovitz, Batsheva Stadlan, Chazz Petrella and recently Channing Smith. All of these wonderful people – the last three of which just teenagers – have sadly been lost to suicide. Those survived by them all made a decision that can almost be described as puzzling. They Read More …