(Trigger warning, not recommended to read if you’re currently pregnant) The other day, my husband and I were in a cab with a woman cab driver, and over the course of the 40-minute drive, after she mentioned her son, I asked that fateful question, “how many children do you have?” She answered quite calmly, “one, […]
Navigating Mental Health with your Teen [Mental Health Awareness Series#4]
I have teenagers. I get it. No one tells them, anything, ever, because they know it, all. Cue eye roll, sigh, sad shake of the head; isn’t mom dumb? But the funny thing is that we are still their case managers, their guides, the prime decision maker when it comes to their health, and mental […]
Navigating Mental Health in the Elderly [Mental Health Awareness Series #3]
Apparently, doctoring octogenarians is pretty unpopular in the medical community. That means that there are very few medical experts in the field who specialize in the unique healthcare of those over 70. How do I know this? In addition to spending my free time reading medical literature, I happen to be coordinating a study for […]
Navigating Mental Health in Young Children [Mental Health Awareness Series #2]
A few weeks ago, I posted an Ask Aviva question about getting permission for a certain medication for a nine-year-old child with bipolar disorder. My answer addressed how to get permission, but one reader was shocked that a nine year old had been diagnosed with bi-polar. “Get a second opinion!” this reader advised, their underlying implication […]
PPD: What Does It Mean? And How Do You Diagnose It? [Mental Health Awareness Series #1]
The other day I met a woman who inspired me. She was a Haredi (ultra-orthodox) woman in her 40’s who had two children. As this is surprising in the religious community, I wondered if this was by choice or she had fertility challenges. It turns out that she had suffered such severe post-partum depression that […]
Suicide in Israel: which resources are available to me?
When I was in fourth grade, I rode to school every day with four other children. All five families paid a lady driver to take us to school since all the parents worked and there was no school bus from our neighborhood. One of my fellow passengers, Josh, was a quirky, pale, boy in the […]
Are you suffering in silence?
This past week there’s been a great deal of discussion about the tragedy in Jerusalem, the young woman who took the lives of her four children and herself. The youngest was 11 months old. Apparently, the woman had contacted Ministry of Welfare employees to ask for help. As the term PPD, post-partum depression, has been […]
