Itay
Itay
Look differently at your mental health challenges
While serving as an officer during his military service, Itay was exposed to traumatic events, wounded, and once witnessed a terrorist attack on his way to the base.
In the years after being discharged from the army, he did not talk about what he had been through and did not process the things he had experienced.
In general, I wouldn’t talk about what I had been through. I mentioned the facts and where I was, but I hadn’t processed it emotionally at that point. I had not started to see the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
After his discharge from the army, Itay began a spiritual journey and went on a two-and-a-half year trip around the world, during which he participated in Vipassana retreats and began meditating. When he returned to Israel, he studied at the university and completed a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, and acquired a teaching certificate.
He continued his involvement with spiritual development and meditation, and continued participating in retreats. In the summer of 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, he was attending a retreat and experienced a psychotic episode.
At the retreat, I had moved further inside myself through meditation and reached places I hadn’t gotten to before. At some point I had an experience that, at the time, I regarded as enlightenment. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by powerful waves of emotion.
“I’d really like people to look differently at every mental challenge they go through, even the smaller ones. And they should not be ashamed to talk about it. Being open about mental health can lead to broader discourse.”
When Itay returned home, he was very energetic and hardly ate or slept. A few days later, his family realized something was wrong and he was hospitalized. After his hospitalization, Itay moved to Kfar Izon, where he began the rehabilitation process.
I had intensive therapy, which is something I hadn’t undergone in the many years since the end of my military service. During treatment, all sorts of things began to emerge, including the traumatic events from the army.
After completing his intensive therapy, Itay was treated with medications. After trying out several different therapists, he found a therapist he was able to connect with and started an extensive treatment process using alternative therapy.
He also decided to switch careers and, after studying for three years, Itay was certified as a clinical herbalist.
After I started working as a therapist, I realized how problematic shame and concealment were. Then I shared my story on Facebook and with bigger circles of friends and acquaintances.
Today, Itay looks at the crisis he experienced as something positive that taught him and brought him to where he is now. He published a book about his life and how he is coping with his mental health challenges.
As an anti-stigma advocate, Itay hopes to change people’s view of mental health and give hope to other people struggling with mental health issues. He says he is an example of how individuals can get out of mental health crises and even grow from them.
To me, there are specific challenges that one needs to make the most of and overcome.
I’d really like people to look differently at every mental challenge they go through, even the smaller ones. And they should not be ashamed to talk about it. Being open about mental health can lead to broader discourse.
Itay’s story is also available in Hebrew
