I’ve been excused post-Pesach tidying because I’m too depressed, both in terms of exhaustion and low mood. I guess it was good that I lasted this long. I feel a bit bad that I noted the arguments that I had with my parents in the previous post, as it was really just a blip; most of Pesach we survived without much tension. Considering Pesach stress usually induces at least one meltdown on someone’s part, this was a positive thing. I edited the previous post (although it didn’t say anything really bad), but I feel bad that I posted it in the first place, particularly as people who get my posts via email will see the original version, not the edited version.
The other thing I feel bad about in that post is that, after over a year, I finally wrote a political post. These days I’m not much of a party political person in the left-right sense. I think both sides have a lot to answer for, and beg a lot of questions. I don’t think I can think of a single political leader who I can really say I admire. Even Aung San Suu Kyi has become tarnished by the reality of power. But I am political in the sense of caring about people and wanting the world to be better, but that’s pretty unfocused. I do also care about my own people, the Jewish people, and our place in the world and particularly about the constant threat of anti-Jewish hatred and violence. I don’t feel the need to apologise for this, but I do try to keep it away from the blog, as this is really a mental health blog, although it is a Jewish mental health blog, and I think attempts to separate the Jewish people and the Jewish state from the Jewish religion are artificial and question-begging, if not outright antisemitic. So, although I have been worrying a lot about antisemitism lately, I will try to keep it off the blog.
Politics is sometimes going to impact mental health, and I think there’s a difference between talking politics for the sake of politics and talking about external factors that are affecting your mental health.
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I guess. Certainly the sharp end of politics – when people shout stuff at me in the street because of my identity (which does happen) – impacts mental health. It’s more that I’m scared of getting dragged into arguments or having people stop reading because they disagree with me. Being conflict-averse I think I would probably prefer silent unfriending to arguments, but I don’t really look forward to either.
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