Anxiety and the Jews
Anxiety and Judaism: the two seem to go hand-in-hand. From Moses to Franz Kafka to Woody Allen, the tradition is filled with worriers and hand-wringers. This year's Elephant in the Room Contest--Moment's annual initiative to foster conversation about important but seldom-discussed topics--asks readers to tell us about their experiences with anxiety. We spoke with Jeffrey Cohen, Senior Visiting Fellow in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales and author of A Rabbi Looks at Mental Illness, about Jews' anxious history and what Judaism can bring to the treatment of mental illness. Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.
Are Jews more anxious than other people? Is there truth to the idea of the anxious Jew?
It's a requirement, isn't it? I think Mediterranean societies are inherently prone...