By Rachael B. (Goldberg) Rothstein and Devora (Greer) Shabtai

July 2011

As published in the Jewish Press August 2011 Mental Health section of the Special Pull-Out Health &Well-Being Supplement.

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In the shuffle of communal celebrations and activities, the Jewish community radiates joy and stability. For some however, on the back burner lies a more complex web of emotional turmoil. Many individuals within the Jewish community struggle with a range of psychological conflicts that go clinically untreated and/or unnoticed due to fear of stigma and public embarrassment.

Individuals struggling may see themselves as victims without the means to achieve appropriate treatment. Well-meaning religious mentors may use a combination of intuition and insight in the course of their counsel without considering established, evidence-based approaches. On the other hand, psychologists may leave their religious patients feeling a sense of fragmentation between their religious beliefs and the therapeutic process.

Psychologists have long tried to determine whether religious beliefs can aid in the battle against stress, anxiety, depression, and even physical illness. Over 20,000 scientific articles have been published on religion and mental health. However, little research has been designed to address the unique needs of the Orthodox Jewish community. Recent empirical research, however, is pointing to what our Torah sages have been telling us for 3,300 years, namely, that working on one's relationship with God is important for mental health. In addition, research now shows how some of our own mussar principles can be utilized as tools in the treatment of anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders.

Several empirical studies have recently uncovered that working on specific components of one's spirituality could have profound benefits for emotional well-being. The following principles capture two of the most important findings of the research thus far.

Principle 1 : Increasing one's emunah (faith) and bitachon (trust) in God has been scientifically proven to improve one's mental health (i.e. less anxiety and depression, and "greater personal happiness"). Trust and mistrust in God were, in fact, predictors of mental health and well-being.

In one recent study, researchers used some of the following exercises in a recently launched Torah-based treatment protocol. The treatment was designed to encourage individuals to tap into their own relationship with God as a source of psychological strength and support. In a randomized controlled trial with over 125 Jewish individuals, participants who completed these exercises experienced dramatic reductions in anxiety in just two weeks.

Sit in a comfortable, relaxed position. Take several slow, deep breaths in and out.

- Think of someone you trust. Think of what makes them trustworthy in your eyes. Now try to see how it feels to think of this person as God's messenger. Try to picture that God sent them to you, to help you in some way in your life, out of deep caring for your personal happiness and well-being.

-Think about a stressful past event when things turned out better than expected. Think about how God controlled the fact that the situation turned out okay in the end. Contemplate God's role in the situation. What did God do to make it turn out okay? What might have happened had some random force been in charge and not God?

- Try to feel increased trust in God when engaging in daily activities. For example, try to practice feeling this trust the next time you stand up. Trust that God will enable your muscles, ligaments, and bones to accomplish the task of getting out of your chair. Realize that God is the One keeping things running, and will continue to do so.

-Try meditating on the following ideas:

Trusting in God involves believing that success and failure are not related to human efforts.

Trusting in God means believing that the outcome of any situation is ultimately in God's hands.

Trusting in God involves believing that God is always in complete control because no power is greater than God. Therefore, for those who trust in God, help is close by even when things seem really bad.

These meditative exercises can help to illuminate the balance between human effort and Divine assistance, alleviating the anxiety-ridden person of needless worry, particularly for things that are out of their control.

Principle 2: Higher levels of gratitude toward God have been associated with higher levels of psychological well-being.

In another study, researchers found an association between people with higher levels of spirituality and gratitude and decreased levels of anxiety and depression. Explanations have been offered that grateful people experience even more positivity and emotional well-being in response to positive things in their lives, and during times of distress are more likely to see themselves as the beneficiaries of kindness.
These findings allow room to encourage integrative methods of building gratitude and other spiritual concepts into treatment protocols for the clinician and into the individual's use in everyday life.

Try the following "gratitude building" exercises throughout the day:

- Constantly try to view yourself as the beneficiary of God's kindness (i.e. try keeping a list of specific things in your life that you feel grateful for).

- Verbally express your gratitude to God in your own words.

- Think of something that you value very dearly in your life (e.g your hands, your sense of sight, a family member).

Now take a moment to picture your life without the person/item you chose. Try to think about how your life might be different without it. Also, think about how the "item" has made your life more convenient and happy. Now, take another moment to think of the item as a gift from God. Imagine God giving you the item with the full knowledge of what it does for you in your life and how difficult life would be without the item or person.

While these exercises are straightforward, they require focus and constant practice. By implementing these methods, one can begin to tackle the overwhelming and sometimes debilitating nature of anxiety, fear and panic.

Findings that shed light on the relevance of spiritually when considering anxiety bring hope to individuals seeking to boost psychological well-being. Two entities which are often left unassociated--one's relationship with the Creator and aspects of one's mental health--- are now proven closely linked. With the help of spiritually-integrated cognitive behavioral techniques like those mentioned above, one can find peace of mind with emunah and bitachon.

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Rachael B. (Goldberg) Rothstein graduated from Stern College for Women where she studied psychology and journalism. She currently works for Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future in the Leadership Training Department.

Devora Shabtai is a psychology student at Stern College for Women and a Research Assistant in the JPSYCH Laboratory ( www.jpsych.com).

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