How to Heal

By Shlomo Maital

     My recent Jerusalem Report column was titled “Nation in Trauma”. 

     On October 7, Israel suffered a traumatic disaster that smashed many of our most cherished beliefs – particularly, that the Israeli Army would protect us, and that never again would Jews be murdered, burned, and taken prisoner, starved, abused, and held in dark dungeons, as in World War II.

       A massive effort is underway to prevent the trauma from becoming “post trauma”, or PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), among some 330,000 reserve soldiers and among nine million Israelis. But there is an equally massive shortage of trained professionals able to help achieve this.   Israel has one psychiatrist for each 11,000 citizens.  And most are over age 55.  There are only some 5,000 badly-underpaid psychologists in the public service.   

        In the end, it is going to be mainly up to us Israelis to help ourselves heal. 

        But how?  What can we Israelis do on our own to avoid post-trauma?  What can everyone experiencing trauma do to help themselves heal?

        Dr. Mooli Lahad is one of Israel’s leading expert on coping and resilience.  Here is his acronym, BasicPh, for his proven approach:  Six ways to cope and bounce back.

        The six are: 

   * B  Belief: faith, inner core values.   

    * A   Affect:  By expressing emotions, we share fears, anger, sorrow, etc.  Talking through anguish with friends and family helps.

    * S   Social:  Seeking friendship helps us to stay grounded and decreases isolation.

    * I   Imagination:  Children are especially good at coping, by expressing their thoughts and feelings in a creative manner – e.g. through art, drama, music.  But so are adults.  I have a close friend who does coping through poetry.  One poem a week.  And it brings solace to all who read it, not just himself.

     * C   Cognitive:  Utilizing problem-solving, strategizing with others, can make us feel less alone, and more in control.  This applies to helping others, not just ourselves.  

     * Ph  Physical:  Physical activity helps release feelings, in an indirect way.  (I do a lot of walking and running).

       Trauma is bi-directional. It can lead to traumatic growth —  leveraging trauma to build back better – for ourselves, our families, communities, friends, country. 

       Or it can lead to post-traumatic stress – endless looped replays of horrific trauma that paralyze and drag us down.  

        We can help ourselves heal. And more important, we can help others.