JEWISH WORLD

20 JEWISH WORLD • NOVEMBER 18-24, 2022 Depression continued from page 5 M aayan’s first aid program is just the first step for people looking to get help. “We don’t pretend to be psy- chologists,” she said. “Just like first-responders on the street ar- en’t doctors. Physically sick peo- ple are brought to hospitals, and we can suggest to distressed peo- ple that they make appointments with professionals.” When Maayan was suffering from depression, her parents un- derstood her situation and took her to a psychologist to get help. But she feels that too often young peo- ple’s emotional needs aren’t taken seriously enough. When Mayaan was ill, “One woman told me, ‘What do you have to be upset about? You don’t have a mortgage or children to take care of. What’s the problem?’” “Adolescence is a very difficult time,” she said. “A lot of times teenagers feel like they can burst into tears and nobody understands them. But we want teenagers to know that if you think you are alone, others think so, too.” One practical tip for those who want to help, she said, is to “be with someone who looks like they are hurting, even if they tell you to leave them alone.” She also recommends getting them to some kind of sport. Or even just “ask them to take a walk with you,” she said. “That helps.” Maayan hopes this program will help prevent more suicides. Be- cause of her own experiences, she feels she’s developed a sensitivity to other people’s pain. “A friend told me that my heart is like an open wound,” Maayan said. “But that’s what I can use to help other people.” Diana Bletter is a contributor to the newspaper. Four years after recovering from depression, 17-year-old Mayaan Cohen was moved by her experience to help other kids in the same plight. Since COVID-19 hit Israel, the number of reported cases of clinical depression af icting teenage girls has doubled. that the recession of the water sur- face will lead to the extinction of this algae, and then the sinkhole will change color. There’s a sink- hole with dozens of hot springs, so your feet soak in boiling water and the rest of the body in cool water. “I also sometimes lead a tour of the salt formations and stalactites area. The most beautiful trip in the country, in my opinion, and that’s where the amazing black sinkholes are,” he adds. “This is a very popular trend,” Peretz confirms, “and all of Israel comes here. Really. If for 14 years I’ve been giving tours for a specif- ic crowd, here I’m exposed to all walks of society eager to experi- ence this phenomenon. B ut this trend draws the curious, who often don’t realize the dan- ger into which they walk – or more precisely, drive. “People hardlywalk around this space independently,” Peretz says. “You see hikers some- times, but very few. What the public does, which is truly stupid and out- rageous, is to take off-road vehicles down to the water line. “About two years ago a travel- er went down with a jeep and got stuck in the mud, as did the two tractors sent to rescue him. One of them is still stuck there, 100 meters from the Metzoke Drag- ot Junction, like some landscape sculpture,” he adds. “Travelers must understand that this is a very geologically active area, and therefore also danger- ous,” he says. So how does he take groups of travelers to tour and even dip in the sinkholes? “Anyone trav- eling with me has to sign a waiv- er saying they can’t sue me. If the state doesn’t take responsibility for this area, you expect me to take re- sponsibility for it?” And if no one is taking respon- sibility for the situation, all that is left is to go down to what is left of the Dead Sea and view one of the most compelling, colorful, and ultimately saddest displays Israeli nature has to offer today. Eitan Leshem is a contributor to Haaretz. This sign, one of many in the area around the Dead Sea, reminds visitors of the danger posed by the sinkholes. Behind the beautiful sinkholes stands a single, solitary, and horrifying tragedy – that of the Dead Sea shoreline receding. Sinkholes continued from page 17 FREE For your FREE digital issue send an email to: lijewworld@aol.com