Today I want to blog about something a lot of my family, friends and Jewish community worldwide are feeling. This is only my opinion but I am writing to make sense of the senseless hatred that is hitting the UK towards my community.
For the past few years, since October 7th 2023, life for our Jewish community changed overnight. We had the trauma of the hostages being take into captivity, of people murdered and sexually abused, of the war in both Israel and Gaza. But no one could have predicted (unless you work in intelligence) that after the hostages were returned, and with the current war in Iran, British Jewish buildings- synagogues, charity buildings, ambulances saving lives of anyone regardless of faith, would be being firebombed with intent to endanger life across North West London. And in Manchester just 6 months ago at Heaton Park synagogue, people were killed in a terror attack just for being Jewish on the holiest day of our calendar. Indeed, I know people in Manchester who were meant to be in synagogue that day but miraculously were ill so didn’t go- which potentially saved their lives.
Of course, many of us knew about the reach of Iran and it’s proxies- we had the attack too at Bondi Beach and in USA. But to target British Jewish institutions and communities because Israel is at war with Iran, is antisemitic and its not just happening in this country, its global.
So how do I feel?
We can not let them scare us, intimidate us, tell us we can’t live our Jewish lives. Yes, we must be safe and take precautions but we can’t stop our lives, because then the terrorists will win.
It’s an incredibly upsetting and anxiety provoking time and with the constant news of attacks (here and abroad), mental health can dip. So I would say if you’re reading this, please reach out to your Jewish friends and communities. No one should have to be afraid to go and pray or be part of their community in the UK and elsewhere in 2026.
Standing in solidarity with my community and all those being attacked right now.
Love will win- our love is stronger than hate. I am praying we don’t have more attacks here and abroad.
Thank you to Anuj and team at FeedSpot for selecting as us a Top 20 Social Anxiety Blog on the web for 2026! We are thrilled to be on the list at number 10.
On 1st March 2016, I wrote my very first blog about my mental health struggles with bipolar disorder and anxiety. For me, it was an outlet to share with friends and family what I was experiencing after one of the worst bipolar episodes I had faced and after hospitalisation in 2014. I didn’t realise that this traumatic time in my life, would also cause my mental health to dip and struggle further as I developed PTSD symptoms (panic attacks) and sat on a 2 year waiting list for NHS therapy. Professional support was not coming easily during this time, and so this blog became not only a therapeutic outlet but a place to connect with others going through similar things. And to explain to those who had never experienced mental illness, exactly what it can do but just how you can support those experiencing it.
Part of me can’t fully believe that I have been blogging consistently for 10 years. There have been times where I have wanted to give up but this little blog has been my saviour and in truth, helped me to launch a writing career that I did not expect and am so grateful for. It has also helped others to share their mental health stories and products, been a platform for mental health campaigns and charities and I am super proud of the impact we have had. One of our biggest accolades is being a Top 10 UK mental health blog by Vuelio every year since 2018- which means we are having a positive impact and reach!
The blog has published over 800 posts, with hundreds of thousands of views! It is read on every continent with a particularly large readership in the USA (as well as UK and other countries). We have covered so many topics- bipolar disorder, PTSD, anxiety disorders, depression, pre and post natal depression, OCD, BPD, eating disorders, psychosis, mania, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, trichotillomania, addictions (drug, alcohol, gambling), body dysmorphia and mental health topics like child mental health, work stress, emotional burnout, relationships, domestic and sexual abuse, homelessness. We have shared about wellness products and worked with inspiring health and lifestyle brands.
The blog inspired me to share my own story far and wide – writing for mental health charities Mind, Rethink, Time to Change, Bipolar UK, No Panic, SANE and Metro.co.uk, The Telegraph, Happiful, Glamour, Jewish News, Huff Post. Featured in Cosmopolitan, Elle, Yahoo News and other publications. Thank you particularly to the editors at the publications for sharing my story and believing in my mission! This also led to me writing my book ‘Bring me to Light’ which was published in 2019 by Trigger and remains one of my proudest achievements. I then released my children’s book ‘Arabella and the Worry Cloud’ and had some writing featured in ‘The Book of Hope’ by my friends Jonny Benjamin MBE and Britt Pfluger (an amazing experience!). In 2017-18, I was also involved with setting up the Jami mental health shabbat in my community and spoke in several synagogues and at a community festival Limmud with my Dad, about our journey with bipolar. The same year that I started this blog (2016), I also met my now husband, who supports me through all of my writing and mental health work.
As I look back over the past 10 years, to where we were in 2016 with mental health stigma, I am proud to have played a small part in changing the landscape and narrative online around mental illness, particularly bipolar disorder and psychosis. We have many followers on social media platforms and continue to share about mental health and well being and be a resource for all those who need it, so they never feel alone.
(image: Ineffable Living)
Thank you to every single contributor (and every reader) to Be Ur Own Light Blog 2016-2026. Your words and belief in our mission to end the stigma around mental illness have meant the world to me. I hope going forward I can continue to share more real stories, more important information on care and treatment and campaign for better care.
There is still a way to go. NHS waiting lists are too long and care is under funded, leading to not enough beds. Mental health stigma online (and sometimes offline) sadly still remains high. As a society, although we have improved, we still need to fully understand mental health conditions and separate them from the person themselves. I am optimistic that things can and will change.
To everyone reading this going through a period of mental ill health or living with a chronic mental illness, I see you and you are never alone. As a blog community, we can come together to empower each other, so no one ever feels invisible and I hope that I can continue to write too.
Thank you, from my heart, for the past 10 years! Here’s to many more years,
WiseUp Team Building, the multi award winning, UK Youth wellbeing and resilience organisation, has launched WiseUp to Switching Off – a guided programme designed to help young people and families build healthier relationships with screens and technology.
This launch comes at a time when children’s digital wellbeing is at the centre of national discussion, with the UK government recently consulting on measures inspired by Australia’s ban on social media for under-16s as part of wider online safety reforms.
With evidence mounting globally – recent World Health Organization data shows that rates of problematic social media behaviour among adolescents increased from 7% to 11% between 2018 and 2022 and that more than one in ten teenagers may struggle to control their use and experience negative consequences such as disrupted sleep and lower wellbeing – WiseUp’s journal is positioned as a practical alternative to purely restrictive approaches.
A significant proportion of young people report a negative impact on mental health from digital and social media use; a UK Digital Youth Index indicates that approximately 17% of young people aged 8–25 say their internet and digital device use harms their mental health, with the prevalence rising among older teens equating to around 2.5 million young people across the UK.
Richard Wise, CEO of WiseUp, said: “We created WiseUp to Switching Off, a digital detox guide, because families, teachers and young people are increasingly telling us they want positive and practical tools – not more tech bans – to make sense of their digital lives. Screens are now woven into education friendships and culture but when usage becomes compulsive it can undermine sleep focus and emotional wellbeing. Our journal helps young people become aware of their patterns reflect on their experiences and make incremental sustainable changes.”
He continued: “Screens themselves aren’t the problem – but the way they pull young people in can be. When scrolling becomes a coping mechanism, when anxiety, loneliness or pressure drive screen use the impact on wellbeing can be profound. WiseUp to Switching Off exists to break that cycle. It gives young people permission to pause, space to breathe and the tools to reconnect with themselves and the world around them — while empowering schools and parents to put wellbeing back at the centre of everyday life.”
(image: Izzy Park: Unsplash)
The WiseUp to Switching Off digital journal combines evidence-based education about technology and the brain, practical habit-building tools, daily reflection prompts and offline challenges designed to improve focus sleep and connection with others. It is intended for use both at home and in educational settings complementing Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) learning.
Parents and wellbeing leads in schools have reported that the journal has helped young people reduce conflict over screens. It has also improved sleep routines and helped them rediscover offline interests, reinforcing WiseUp’s belief that self-directed change (rather than coercive restriction) is both sustainable and empowering.
WiseUp encourages parents, teachers, practitioners and policymakers to explore the journal and join the ongoing effort to support a balanced digital future for young people. To download your free copy visit the WiseUp website.
Time to Talk Day is today and it is ‘the nation’s biggest mental health conversation’. This year’s theme is Brave the Big Talk, have conversations about mental health experiences that might feel a bit unspoken, with an aim to destigmatise mental health issues.
Today I would like to talk about living in remission with Bipolar 1 Disorder (I was diagnosed aged 16 in 2004 and am now 37!). I am lucky that although the illness I have when unmedicated is severe- I have had episodes of psychosis and mania and suicidal depression, and been hospitalised twice, I live in remission these days.
What does remission mean to me?
It means my medication (Lithium and Quetaipine- a mood stabiliser and anti psychotic) stops the very high (manic) and very low (depressive) moods and I can cope better. I am still a work in progress but its way less severe!
It means that although I have ongoing therapy to deal with past trauma, I don’t need to see a psychiatrist at present and am managed by my GP.
It also means that I don’t have to worry too much about bipolar episodes, which is not the same for everyone with our illness! I do however still struggle with anxiety, which I have spoken about before and some days can be harder than others.
Time to Talk Day say, ‘ Talking openly and honestly can be the first step towards better mental health for everyone. It can even save lives. Talking can reduce stigma and help people feel comfortable enough to seek help when they need it.‘
10 years ago, Rabbi Daniel Epstein and the team at Jami charity had an idea about making the stigmatised topic of mental health in the UK Jewish community be more visible amongst synagogues and organisations. They did this by focusing on the day of rest- Shabbat, with Rabbis and speakers of lived experience or mental health professionals. I was lucky to come on board as a volunteer in the first few years, alongside a wonderful team. My role was to help contact Jewish shuls and organisations by email and in the first year I believe we got the Shabbat in to over 80 organisations and over 100 in subsequent years.
My reason for doing this was because I struggled with bipolar disorder (depression, mania and psychosis) and anxiety/PTSD from when I was 15. I felt that no one really talked about it publicly on a communal level and I was inspired by my friend Jonny Benjamin MBE, who was open about having schizoaffective disorder and taking a sledge hammer to stigma. I also admired the work of Jami in the hubs and with their Head Room Cafe and I wanted to make a difference.
I can’t quite believe that the Jami Mental Health Shabbat is 10 years old this year. The Shabbat enabled me to speak about lived experience with my Dad (who also has bipolar) to two large communities (my childhood one- Bushey and husbands- Chigwell) and my Dad spoke at Belsize Square and Edgware Yeshurun about our joint story. I was diagnosed with bipolar at 16 and my Dad was at 44. We were honoured to help dispell stigma through telling our stories from the pulpit, however difficult they were.
The Shabbat has also enabled thousands of people to have conversations and mental illness is no longer hidden in the shadows to be feared. The theme for the tenth Jami Mental Health Shabbat is ‘Bringing Mental Health to the Table’
Jami says, “This special Shabbat is an opportunity for us to encourage conversations on mental health, raise awareness of mental illness and distress and share ideas on how to support ourselves and others within our community. There are many ways for you, your synagogue, school, student or youth group to get involved and everyone can mark Jami Mental Health Shabbat in their own way. Some communities choose to arrange for members of their congregation to share their lived experience or invite mental health professionals to lead a talk, discussion or panel event.”
This year you can get involved by hosting a meal for JMHS and ask your guests to donate instead of bringing a gift, sign up for the free toolkit of resources (services, activities for all ages and much more) or donate at https://jamiuk.org/donate-to-jmhs_meal/ . For other ways to get involved please see: https://jamiuk.org/get-involved/jmhs/.
Jami Mental Health Shabbat coincides with Torah portion- Bo. On this Shabbat, we read about the plague of darkness, which can be likened to the experiences of many living with mental illness and distress. The Torah portion also talks about how the Israelites, full of hope, could see through the darkness into the light. This special Shabbat is an opportunity for us to encourage conversations on mental health, raise awareness of mental illness and distress and share ideas on how to support ourselves and others within our community.
As the Shabbat is this weekend, I want to show my support. Although I won’t be sharing our story in shul this year, everyone doing so should be so proud. I will be donating to Jami to show my support.
Where to get help with your mental health
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, there are a variety of options depending on the issue of concern.
SHOUT – 24/7 crisis text service – Text Jami to 85258
Ring your GP or out of hours service for an emergency appointment
Contact your Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) if you have one
Samaritans – Call Samaritans on Freephone 116 123 (24 hours a day)
Call the PapyrusHopelineUK, on 0800 068 41 41 or text 88247 if you are under 35 and worried about how you are feeling. Or call if you are worried about a young person.
Call 999 or NHS Direct on 111 (England) or 0845 46 47 (Wales)
Don’t hesitate to call 999 in mental health emergencies
Heres to 10 amazing years of mental health conversations!
I was hesitant to write this blog as my husband Rob and I have just come back from a truly wonderful holiday in Venice, Italy and I feel so grateful we had that time together. We had been waiting all year to go away properly and we had the best time. We walked over many bridges, saw some beautiful things such as St Marks Square and Basilica, Museo Correr (where I found the most incredible ballroom that was like the one in Beauty and the Beast- see photo below), The Doges’ Palace and we celebrated Robs birthday by going on a day trip by boat to Murano and Burano Islands. Murano is the home of stunning glassmaking and Burano is the island with the colourful houses and its a UNESCO world heritage site, famous for lace making. It was so pretty! We also toured the Jewish quarter- the ghetto in Cannaregio and synagogues, ate lots of delicious food (pasta and tiramisu) and went to Chabad (the Jewish centre) for shabbat, went shopping, took water buses and gondolas and just really enjoyed the time off work and exploring. Venice is a truly beautiful place and at every turn you can see something new and exciting- whether its a boat or gondola going along the canal or towers of meringues in a bakery window, to seeing an old lady shuffling over a bridge carefully with her stick and Italians carrying their dogs in little bags to keep them warm, Venice is full of character and of life. One of my favourite things was seeing the laundry (yes really) being hung out on pulleys over the canal in the Jewish Ghetto area, as they don’t have gardens.
I surprised myself this trip with how much I was able to do exercise wise. My husband loves to keep busy and lives life at a faster pace than I do and there were mornings where I found this hard and felt overwhelmed by the thought of the day, so rested and went out later in the day. But generally, we were able to go and explore some wonderful things together. There were a few days I did 14,000 steps a day! Which for someone who is quite sedentary normally, I was so pleased I could do this. Venice was just a truly beautiful city- we stayed in a lovely hotel that used to be a Palazzo (Palace) and had Murano glass chandeliers, it also was on the Grand Canal and had a Vaporetto (water bus) and Water taxi stop. Exploring the city with my husband gave me such a lovely focus and I was really amazed by how much I was able to do, how much walking I did, which proved to me that I can be active and explore.
(image: E Mandelstam- Museo Correr)
Coming home, I have felt hugely grateful to have had this time with Rob. However, adjusting back to normal life in January is hard anyway, but after a holiday I find my anxiety rises a bit. There have been plans I wanted to do here that I havn’t been able to do. However, I am working on it and on exposure therapy with myself to try and do more things here, go out the house more (as I work from home) and do what I can so that my anxiety doesn’t stop me from living my life.
When you have an anxiety disorder, it can be tough sometimes to go outside, to meet people, to do basic things in your normal environment. The weather is cold and dark early, all you want to do is hibernate. Which I feel is OK! I do notice though that its when I start feeling more anxious and unable to do things and can’t push myself that I have to take a step back and start looking after myself, just plan in a few small things to achieve. Overplanning for me tends to be a disaster! Even on holiday, if there was too much planned in, I found I couldn’t always do it and so we had to adapt plans, but I still did lots so to me, that was a win.
The January blues can be hard whether you have been lucky enough to go away or whether you are here and contemplating a brand new year and what it can bring. Remember to be kind to yourself and make things achievable. Whether you’re looking for a new job or you want to achieve another goal, know it will unfold at the right time. I am not good with being patient, but sometimes we have to be!
If you are struggling with your mental health and you need more support, please reach out to your GP, psychiatrist or therapist if you have one. I find things like taking my medication on time and getting enough rest also help me too. I am also counting the wins of thank G-d being well enough to travel and enjoying that time with my husband. I still achieved things and I have to remember I am capable of more than I think sometimes. The most important thing for me is making I do not spend too much time indoors- as the anxiety can then worsen.
What a year it has been, the ninth year of our blog! And now we are nearly at the end of 2025 and approaching Christmas. Thank you to every single person who reads, comments, shares and supports this blog.
This is to wish you and your family a very happy Christmas/ holiday period, filled with light, love and laughter. We celebrate Chanukah and it has been a difficult time this year but we tried to make it joyous and still lit our candles.
Sometimes the festive season brings into focus the things that we don’t want in our lives or difficult relationships. It can impact our mental health. Please don’t suffer alone and protect yourself, if you need to talk to someone please call the Samaritans at 116 123.
Have a wonderful Christmas/ festive season and even better new year! 2026 will be the tenth year of this blog!
Every year, the incredible charity Christmas For CAMHS brightens up the lives of children and teens on NHS CAMHS mental health wards. These are for children who are too ill with their mental health (often distressed and traumatised) to be at home with their families, friends and loved ones. In 2004, when I was just 16 and going through a bipolar episode, at Christmas, I was in a mental health ward away from home (I am Jewish and don’t celebrate Christmas religiously but there is something about being given a gift, a card, activities when you are far from home that warms the soul). I know how scary it can be to live in hospital with other ill children and teenagers. So, I absolutely love the work of this important charity.
Christmas For CAMHS was founded by Dr Ro Bevan. While working as a doctor on a children’s ward in 2015, she saw first hand that, during the festive season, hospitals supporting children with physical illnesses were showered with huge amounts of gifts, festive treats and celebrations – as they should be! They even had enough to cover ward birthdays the following year! The following year she was working on a child and adolescent mental health ward. She was shocked by the contrast. So she posted about the inequality on Facebook – “We had no presents donated. Our patients had one present each using money scrimped and saved from the NHS budget.” Her plea went unexpectedly viral, inspiring an intrepid bunch of volunteers to come together with her to create our charity Christmas For CAMHS. We had to make sure that no child or young person on a UK mental health ward was ever forgotten at Christmas again.
Since then the charity has gone from strength to strength, providing some essential Christmas hope for almost 9875 children and young people. Last year, in 2024, the charity sent over 1100 individual gifts (with an additional fidget toy too) to these children and young people – that’s gifts to every young person in every CAMHS unit in the UK!
They also sent 52 special additional gifts for young people on the ward particularly in need, such as those with no parental support and young people in foster care – this included items such as oodies, comic books and specialist art equipment. But that wasn’t everything! As well as individual gifts and goodies, they sent wellbeing advent calendars, festive decorations and activity kits – great for distracting and boredom-busting – paper chains, homemade cards and ward gifts such as jigsaws, art kits, books and board games. Festive season in a box!
(Image: Christmas for CAMHS)
The charity say, ‘It’s never really about the gift itself. For these young people struggling with conditions such as anorexia, psychosis, bipolar disorder and depression, it’s about a glimmer of hope — the knowledge that someone out there cares for them, is thinking of them, and wants them to feel less alone at a very hard time of year to be poorly in hospital. This is why what we do is so important. These fragments of hope and glimmers of joy can, and do, change the course of lives.’
A recipient of the charity’s kindness who was in hospital years before, told them the following and reached out to the charity.
She said: “I was in a CAMHS inpatient unit over the Christmas period when I was 17. While friends were studying for A Levels and passing their driving tests, I was really struggling to keep myself safe and needed to focus on basics like brushing my teeth and eating regularly. Staying in an inpatient unit is a really tough experience for anyone, but Christmas is particularly hard when the pressure to be with family and enjoy the festive period is much higher.”
I wasn’t safe enough to go home overnight yet, so woke up in hospital on Christmas Day. I remember feeling really low that morning, but the unit had received a care package filled with presents which were given to all of us who were there over the Christmas period. I don’t remember what l picked out, or what the other presents were, but I remember feeling like the universe wasn’t such a bad place after all.”
It felt really special that even when I couldn’t care for myself, there were people who did care for me.I hold that memory close to this day and I’m so grateful to Christmas For CAMHS for helping me through a really difficult time.”
I can relate to this person, I was lucky enough that in 2004, we did receive a small gift and I did get some cards from people in hospital with me (I was struggling with bipolar and psychosis at this time but I still remember that lovely feeling of being thought about by the ward staff).
(image: Christmas For CAMHS)
Christmas For CAMHS is a charity extremely close to my heart. This year, they hope to reach their 10,000th child this Christmas. Times are really tough for charities and they need your help to be Father Christmas and his Elves in all of the CAMHS wards in the UK again this year. You can support Christmas for CAMHS by donating online or choosing a gift from their wish list:
I was delighted to collaborate with JTeen mental health support helpline and service for Jewish teens and young adults aged 11-24, on a podcast talking about my journey with bipolar disorder and social anxiety. I did this to help others and encourage people to seek help, and show its OK to talk about mental illness.
You can watch the podcast here, please watch with care: Trigger warning: discusses suicidal ideation, psychosis, mania, being sectioned under the mental health act and depression. Suitable for 18+
I decided to do this podcast to fight stigma in the Jewish community in London and worldwide and educate people about bipolar, especially parents as it started for me at the age of 15.
Thank you to Yaakov, Tehilla and Michal for making this such a relaxed but important conversation.
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