Dear Dr. Yael
If earworms are causing you significant distress it is important to seek professional help. This could be a sign of underlying anxiety or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Pride And Prejudice
More likely, the shadchanim and your family and friends are making valuable suggestions that your ego refuses to consider.
Anger and Adolescence
Unexpressed anger can lead to other problems, such as feeling perpetually hostile and cynical.
Taking Control of Your Anger
We all deal with anger once in a while. But, during the teenage years, anger is something that can take over both teenagers’ and parents’ lives. This anger can feed that bad wolf and make him grow out of proportion.
Dear Dr. Yael
If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing, if you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune, if you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
But What Will People Think?
We forget to look in the mirror to acknowledge our beauty and successes, and instead, open every window to let in our failures and disappointments.
Fear, Anxiety, Fright, Stress, Oh My!
ear is part of our survival instincts. When we are faced with danger, our body goes into what scientists call fight or flight mode.
Dear Dr. Yael
Keeping a journal has also been found to be helpful in remediating homesickness. When writing, it’s important that your daughter focus on the positive and all of the fun that she is experiencing.
No Regrets
If your parents are not the right resource right now, find someone who is. This can be a Rebbetzin, an aunt, a close family friend, or a therapist. It’s true that many kallahs feel nervous after getting engaged and it is possible that you are simply one of them.
Teenagers’ Life Skills
Who doesn’t love to procrastinate? It’s much easier to do something fun than to sit down and do what you’ve got to do. But establishing what our priorities are can then help us fight that procrastination and accomplish our goals.
Dear Dr. Yael
Prioritizing other people‘s needs can lead to burn out and neglecting your own emotional and physical well-being.
Past, Present, Future
We tell ourselves every day that mistakes define us and shape us and in turn they hold us back from improvement and change. But what if you ate the cake, enjoyed it, but ultimately decided that it was not in your best interest?
Remediation Vs. Acceleration
While remediation focuses on the past, acceleration focuses on the present. What are the students learning this week?
Dear Dr. Yael
Dedicating small mitzvos you do in your father’s memory can also be helpful. It doesn't have to be large things. Every mitzvah can be something special for your father.
I Got This Feeling
Perhaps, you feel closer on one date and less so on another. This is common, and patience and some encouragement can be all that we need. That being said, when we actively notice that we like someone less and less as we date, we need to recognize and take note.
What Is Introversion?
For those who are introverted, being with people often feels like it is sapping their energy – even if they themselves have great social skills. Because of this perceived depletion of energy, after a party or meeting, they will need time alone in order to recharge.
Dear Dr. Yael
Some people may think it is cruel to not marry a boy because of their family background, but be forewarned: even if he is remorseful about the way he treats his mother, he will most certainly repeat it with you.
Don’t Pop My Bubble
In shidduchim we need to look toward possibilities and potential. We do not hold onto self-righteous anger, we do not become cold and unfeeling, and we do not develop a victim mentality. We have to face opportunity with an open heart and from a place of yes.
Not The Same
It is so exciting that you have met someone that you are contemplating a future with. But with Pesach and the spotlight on minhagim and customs, you now see your differences in a new light. You worry that this will be an adjustment you might never be ready for and may be too much to take on.
The Social Skills Revolution: A 49-Day Challenge For Connection And Growth
Pesach is a time of freedom – not just from physical bondage but also from limitations that hold us back. Just as Bnei Yisrael prepared for their journey from Mitzrayim by refining themselves, we too can use this time for self-improvement.
Dear Dr. Yael
You are likely having anxious thoughts. These thoughts are probably swimming around your mind all day and are exacerbating your anxious feelings. Once you identify your anxious thoughts, you will need to reframe them and create more logical, non-anxious thoughts, which you will use to start getting your anxiety under control.
Single Freedom
Dear Dating Coach,
I am not going home for Pesach. Nothing you say will convince me to change my mind. I am dating someone pretty...
Dear Dr. Yael
It is crucial that the couple should not leave the session in a state of anger. Instead, it is best to focus on positive things in the marriage and work on the deeper, more problematic issues separately.
Mirror, Mirror
Your inability to see past a picture, a number (both height and weight!) your impudence over color preference, and your arrogance in creating a Ken doll just for you, will leave you not only without a date, or mate, but a future based on Torah values.