Ancient ideas that still work.
Introduction
The two ailments that most afflict and paralyze humanity today —and increasingly so—are anxiety and depression. According to the World Health Organization, more than 300,000,000 people worldwide presently suffer from depression.
As a matter of fact, in our nocturnal prayers —penned thousands of years ago— we ask G-d to “remove Satan from in front of us and from behind us”. Perhaps the authors foresaw our reality. The most effective tools Satan has to paralyze us are fear of what awaits us in the future (anxiety) and remorse for what we did or didn’t do in the past (depression).
There are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Each of the three hundred million is a world unto him or herself, and each situation requires its own assessment, diagnosis and treatment. There are, however, tools that can help everyone in one way or another, in addition to the specific professional care they may need.
In this new weekly series, started as we began the new 5780 Torah study cycle, I explore the weekly Bible reading and share teachings that can serve as “tools” to help us improve our moods as well as those of our loved ones.
I invite you, dear reader, to join me on this fascinating journey. Your feedback will be more than welcome.