Jewish Mental Wellness
TOOLKIT
TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome
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About the Blue Dove Foundation
6
Acknowledgments
8
Facts & Statistics
9
Kavanah - Intention
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Part One: Making Mental Wellness Our Jewish Community Culture
12
Preface
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Introduction
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Section A: Our Mental Wellness Philosophy
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Our Jewish Mental Health Values
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Our Mental Health Definitions
22
Section B: Creating a Mental Wellness and Stigma-Free Environment
32
Section C: Jewish Prayers, Rituals, and Resources
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Jewish Mental Health Resources
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Part Two: Recognition, Response, and the Road to Healing
55
Introduction
56
What to do in an Emergency
59
Additional Emergency Resources
65
Mental Disorders and Conditions
69
Anxiety
70
Depression
79
Bipolar Disorder
85
Personality Disorders
91
Suicide
99
Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders
106
Trauma
114
Low Self-Esteem
122
Kavanah - Intention
127
Part Three: Resources
128
Grounding Exercises to Help Someone Who is Struggling
129
Self-care with a Jewish Connection
131
Gratitude & Joy with a Jewish Connection
135
Jewish Mental Wellness Workshops
138
Tools and Resources from the Partnership Center
139
Mental Health Glossary
142
Suggested Readings
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WELCOME Hope is one of the greatest resources we have to change the culture of silence and stigma around mental health in the Jewish community. The Blue Dove Foundation wants to inspire you to be courageous and confident in offering hope to people who struggle with their mental well-being and addiction. This work is personal to me. Having lost a sister to an opioid overdose as a result of a mental health condition, I know firsthand how mental health struggles and addiction affect the individual, the family, and the community. I envision a Jewish society where we lead by example, educating one another and offering support so fewer people have to suffer the heartbreak my family experienced. The Jewish Mental Wellness Toolkit is a response to continuous requests for help in the area of mental health. As a practical guide for everyday use, it is designed to supplement some terrific tools that already exist. We believe it will help us take a tangible step toward creating a stigma-free, supportive Jewish community. In the pages that follow, we offer guidance and support for transforming our culture along with practical and concrete information about mental health and wellness. Created through a Jewish lens, this Toolkit is full of resources, facts, and suggested readings. We hope it will empower you to turn hope into action. The Talmud teaches us “Whoever saves a single life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.� I believe, together, we can do just that. Warmly, Gabrielle Spatt Executive Director The Blue Dove Foundation
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ABOUT THE BLUE DOVE FOUNDATION
WWW
@ TheBlueDoveFoundation
@BlueDoveFoundation
TheBlueDoveFoundation.org
Who We Are The Blue Dove Foundation was created to help address the issues of mental illness and addiction in the Jewish community and beyond. Based in Atlanta, we work with people and organizations across the United States and around the world. The Jewish community is not immune to the problems the rest of society wrestles with when it comes to mental health and substance abuse. Yet we as a group too often have refused to acknowledge and discuss the issues. As a result, many individuals and their families suffer privately and lack the information necessary to address their struggles. Recognizing the importance of collaboration when it comes to solving this community problem, we accomplish our work through program, promotional, and support partnerships. The Foundation values both our existing relationships and future partners whose missions align with ours.
Our Mission To educate, equip, and ignite our Jewish community with tools to understand, support, and overcome the challenges presented by mental illness and substance abuse. As a community with a focus on tikkun olam, we work to eradicate the shame and stigma surrounding these issues. Once we achieve this goal, we can begin to improve and save lives.
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Resources
RECOVERY: The process by which people with mental illness return or begin to work, learn, and participate in their communities. For some individuals and their families, recovery means the ability to live a fulfilling and productive life. SAMHSA: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is the agency within the HHS that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA's mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities. SCHIZOAFFECTIVE DISORDER: A mental condition that causes both a loss of contact with reality (psychosis) and mood problems (depression or mania). SCHIZOPHRENIA: A severe mental disorder that appears in late adolescence or early adulthood. People with schizophrenia may have hallucinations, delusions, loss of personality, confusion, agitation, social withdrawal, psychosis, and/or extremely odd behavior. SCHIZOPHRENIFORM DISORDER: Symptoms consistent with Schizophrenia but that last less than six months. SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT/EDUCATION (SEE): Part of coordinated specialty care, SEE services help clients return to work or school and achieve personal goals. Emphasis is on rapid placement in a work or school setting, combined with coaching and support to ensure success. Learn more at www.hhs.gov.
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Resources
SUGGESTED READINGS For easy access to all website links included in this Toolkit for additional reading, visit thebluedovefoundation.org/atltoolkitlinks, and enter the password “wellness.� #QuietingTheSilence: Personal Stories By the Blue Dove Foundation Available on Amazon and quietingthesilence.org.
For the longest time, the Jewish community avoided talking about issues related to mental health. Even today, a stigma remains that prevents individuals from opening up and seeking help. #QuietingTheSilence offers a chance for people to share accounts and perspectives related to their own life-changing experiences involving mental illness and addiction. Through these personal narratives of struggles and loss, we hope to show individuals they are not alone and to work toward eliminating the shame and stigma many feel around these topics. The book also includes Jewish prayers for healing, mental health resources, essays about joy, gratitude, and self-care, and a mental health glossary. And God Created Recovery: Jewish Wisdom to Help You Break Free From Your Addiction, Heal Your Wounds, and Unleash Your Inner Freedom By Rabbi Ilan Glazer Available on Amazon
Rabbi Ilan Glazer has felt the pain of addiction personally. In And God Created Recovery, he shares insights and highlights of his recovery path and aims to help others find experience, strength,
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