He was always a good boy, uncomplicated, successful. He started Yeshiva Gedolah happily and Ima packed into his suitcase, a lot of prayers, hopes, and dreams.
The beginning was excellent, but as time went on, things started to get bumpy. On the phone, his sentences weren’t clear enough. He looked like a young man who was “going through something.” The school called. A lot of confusion, embarrassment, and helplessness suffused the P. family those days.
Time went by and one chilly day, the parents and the Yeshiva staff understood that Moishy was experiencing a severe psychiatric crisis. It turns the entire home upside down. He didn’t make contact with a living soul for months. Our life ground to a stop.”
We were pressured and panicky, acting with poor judgment and making mistakes that complicated the situation and almost caused damage that could have been hard to correct. We desperately needed a listening ear, someone we could pour out our hearts to, someone to cry with us, to give us good advice and guidance. We understood that this story was too big for us, emotionally and practically, and we looked for someone who could help us carry the burden and take things into his hands.
Hashem sent us a angel from Ezer Mizion. Our faithful emissary of Ezer Mizion is there with us day after day. The battle encompasses all areas of life – routine times, Shabbatot and holidays. I’ll give one example: Our eldest daughter got engaged and the groom was due to come to us for the following Shabbat. The groom of course, had heard about our Moishy, but we and our daughter were tense about how he’d react when he’d encounter this reality face to face. In an advance discussion with our mentor, we prepared for it emotionally and technically and managed well through the Shabbat, the engagement period and the wedding.
Ezer Mizion provides a full support system. One Friday, when we couldn’t’ find the medication that is so vital for my son, we went to Ezer Mizion. Every summer, Moishy participates in Ezer Mizion’s retreat. There are many programs that help in so many ways.
And the other children? I’ll share one story. Our daughter wasn’t happy in school. We convinced ourselves that the difficulty would pass but the mentor insisted that we take action. He went with us to a placement committee, helped us with the draining negotiations we needed to carry on with the Education Department, and didn’t rest until the matter was fully arranged.. Today the girl is blossoming. If not for his gentle but uncompromising push, our daughter would have paid a steep and painful price for the family struggle.
We have a lot of hope for the future! We constantly see improvement. Thanks to the mentoring and close guidance, Moishy is managing to live well. The mentoring gives us “crutches” and slowly teaches us to walk alone.
The support that we receive is our floodlight; it illuminates for us the strength that we received from Hashem. If not for that light — I don’t know where our family would be today.
There’s something important to tell families: Don’t hesitate to seek help. Mental illness is not different from any other medical problem. We didn’t choose it and it isn’t our fault. The journey isn’t easy, but going through it with support or without it is the difference between “surviving and succumbing.”
