Confronting Anxiety - A Torah Insight

I am hearing it more and more - people are suffering from anxiety and depression.  It is another pandemic along with Covid, although the truth is that  There are three railroad crossings in Palo Alto, and for several years there have been guards at each one 24 hours a day to prevent teen suicide.  The press stopped reporting on it because of fear of copycat suicides.  But from what I am seeing and hearing, the anxiety and depression pandemic has gotten much worse. Now we are facing another surge, G-d forbid.  The anxiety levels are higher.  People are “sick and tired” of lockdowns and masks and disruptions of their lives, some are afraid of having to take a third vaccine shot, and of course there is the underlying fear of getting sick.  I am a strong advocate of following professional medical advice in this situation, and a person who is clinically depressed should seek medical help, but how can we deal with the general anxiety?

 

The situation is so serious that we are devoting a large amount of time, energy and resources at Chabad to address wellness and emotional health, both globally and locally.  (If you would like more information on what we are doing specifically to address the problem, please feel free to contact me.)  What I would like to talk about a little is how any individual can deal with their own feelings of anxiety and find peace and harmony in their life.

 

Every situation that we face can be seen in many ways.  Our feelings are controlled by how we see and interpret what is happening.  A friend once told me that he was driving on a highway in the left lane and was extremely bothered by a slow driver.  Flashing his lights did not help.  As he angrily passed on the right, planning to cut back into the left lane very close to the slow car, he noticed that it was his friend’s grandfather driving.  His anger melted away.  If someone forced you to continuously lift a very heavy item, straining your muscles, you would be very upset.  If it is your fitness coach, you pay them!  The only difference between the two is your attitude and your purpose. 

 

We face many challenges in this world.  In fact, that is the very nature of the world.  The Hebrew word for world, olam, comes from the same root as the word “he’elem,” which means hiddenness.  Goodness and holiness are hidden in this world, and therefore there is a lot of darkness and suffering.  It is our mission to bring light into this darkness and to overcome the challenges.  Each time we do so, we become stronger spiritually and more resilient.  This idea is, admittedly, very hard to apply when major catastrophes happen.  Nevertheless, if we can always remember that while we have no control over what comes our way, we have control over how we react and respond, we can deal with anything.  This does not mean that it is ok for people to act badly or that it is not painful when we suffer a loss or lose our job, etc.  What I am saying is that we need to recognize that everything has a reason and a purpose, even if we cannot imagine that there could be a positive purpose to the negativity we are seeing or experiencing.

 

When we know that there is a Creator of the world and all of us, we know that He must have a purpose and a reason for whatever is happening, helps us keep strong and keep going.  Like the horses and riders in the Steeplechase race.  They are trying to get to their destination as fast as possible, and there are walls set up on the way by the very people who have organized the race that they are supposed to run in.  Rather than be upset or bothered by the obstacles, they are energized by them, knowing that they are there in order to show how strong they are and how high they can jump.  This is how the Torah teaches us to view all obstacles and painful situations.  Rather than giving up or feeling depressed in the face of adversity, we can choose to feel energized in the knowledge that we have the inner strength to “jump over” the obstacle.  As we do so, the obstacle becomes a springboard for growth and happiness in the long run.

 

Perhaps this is one way we can interpret the first verse in this week’s Parsha, Re’eh:  See I place before you today a blessing and a curse.  At any time, today literally, we have situations that can be seen as curses, or if we have the proper perspective, as blessings in disguise.  It depends on how we see the situation and how we interpret it.  Relax, we are in Hashem’s hands, and whatever we face, Hashem gives us the ability to overcome and shine.  It’s all in how we look at it.