Through the Sweat: Lessons from Other
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Mental Health, Community, and Belonging

Through the Sweat:
Lessons from Other

Mental health is not about eliminating struggle but about learning to live with it in new ways. We invite you to look at Ari'el Stachel's Other with our professional insights, clinical information, and practices to help you and your community be more resilient.

Ari’el Stachel’s story is not one of ease, but of persistence. His life was shaped by experiences that could have broken him—obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, substance use, loneliness, and, as he shows us…endless sweating! On top of that, he’s faced rejection from friends for looking “too Arab” or not being who they expect him to be; to be part of one culture he identifies with, he’s been forced to deny another part of himself.

Yet Ari’el kept showing up in his life with determination, creativity, stubbornness, and humor. His journey is unfinished and imperfect, but also deeply textured with meaning, connection, joy, and self-discovery. Other invites us to consider four big ideas: struggle, resilience, identity, and compassion.

Other: Reflections on Struggle, Resilience, Identity, and Compassion

1. Struggle: Living With, Not Against

In Other, young Ari’el names his OCD “Meredith,” turning his invisible battle into a person that he has a relationship with. For much of his life, Meredith is a villain – something (or someone) to ignore or eliminate. But over time, he comes to understand that what felt like her sabotaging him was also a way in which she was protecting him.

Many mental health struggles and experiences – anxiety, depression, addiction, intrusive thoughts, thoughts of suicide – are not enemies to be destroyed, but parts of us that have been working overtime to keep us safe. When we turn toward these parts with curiosity and compassion rather than fear or shame, their grip often softens, and we can renegotiate this relationship, often with the help of therapeutic interventions. The goal of living “with” and not “against” is not erasure but integration – learning to listen to these parts of yourself without letting them dominate the whole of who we are.

Reflection question: Do you have a “Meredith”? What would you want to say to them?

2. Resilience: Rising Through the Dirt

There is a parable called “The Donkey in the Pit.” In it, an old donkey fell into a pit. The animal cried and whined for hours while his owner, a farmer, tried to figure out what to do. Finally, the farmer decided that since the animal was old, and the pit needed to be covered up anyway, he’d just bury the donkey right there and began covering it with dirt to bury it. But with every shovelful, the donkey shook off the dirt and stomped it down, eventually building a mound strong enough to climb out. The very thing meant to bury him became his way forward.

Ari’el’s story as told in Other echoes this idea: we can climb out of even the deepest pits if we refuse to give up. Instead of being buried by circumstances, he used what life threw at him – stigma, anxiety, displacement, even sweat – as the material he now stands on. His resilience mirrors a line from Jewish liturgy: “Even ma’asu ha’bonim hayta l’rosh pina” – the stone the builders rejected became the cornerstone. Sometimes what seems like our greatest liability becomes the ground from which we grow.

Reflection question: What’s the thing that makes you sweat? Could it be your secret strength?

3. Identity: The Strain of Not Fitting Anywhere

Ari’el identifies as an Arab Jew—the child of a Yemeni Jewish father born in Israel and an Ashkenazi Jewish mother. In America, he was often told he was too Arab to be accepted as fully Jewish, too Jewish to be seen as Middle Eastern, and too American to belong anywhere else. After 9/11, he distanced himself from his father in public to avoid being read as “othered” or dangerous. He tried on identities the way some try on clothes—passing as Black, appropriating and suppressing accents, adjusting his story depending on the room.

In psychological terms, this is a coping mechanism called “masking.” Masking offered Ari’el survival, but it also made him profoundly lonely. Drugs, sex, and alcohol numbed the noise but did not resolve the alienation. His story shows what happens when external pressure to “choose” one part of identity collides with the complexity of who we actually are. Only when he stopped running from his full, layered truth did something inside him quiet. Embracing authenticity, while risky, is what ultimately allowed Ari’el a missing sense of belonging.

Reflection question: What’s that one thing you feel you “must” hide, even from your closest friends?

4. Compassion: Seeing Without Needing to Know

We rarely know the battles people carry. Some are hiding in plain sight—behind humor, social performance, distance, or perfectionism. Some are managing storms inside themselves while looking like nothing is wrong. Some are still trying to figure out where they belong and get labeled “a mess” for it.

Other is a reminder to widen our compassion for each other: for what we see, and for what is invisible. We are surrounded by individuals navigating inherited trauma, unnamed mental health struggles, racial and cultural misreadings, and identities that don’t fit neatly into categories.

Compassion is not about fixing others, but about seeing them fully – even when we don’t understand their whole story. A little humility and humanity go a long way in fostering mental health for individuals and communities. And that includes including developing compassion for oneself.

Reflection question: What’s a time when you didn’t feel “seen,” and how did it affect you? Have you ever not “seen” someone else and regretted it once you learned their truth?

Tips, Insights, and Actions

Anxiety Disorders

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

 
Tips, Insights, and Actions

Mental health is not about eliminating struggle but about learning to live with it in new ways. These tips, inspired by Ari’el’s journey, offer insights and practices that can turn pain into growth, create a different reaction to inner challenges, and foster resilience in ourselves and our communities.

Let pain become material, not burial.

Struggle isn’t the opposite of strength—it’s often how strength is formed. Reframing painful experiences as part of growth can be empowering.

Humor can be medicine, not avoidance.

Wit, irony, and self-deprecation are not signs of denial. They can be lifelines, providing relief without denying reality.

Recovery is not linear or finished.

Coming undone and recomposing oneself is part of the journey, not evidence of failure. Viewing setbacks as expected actually helps sustain long-term progress.

Treat inner challenges as companions, not enemies.

Conditions like anxiety, OCD, depression, and addiction often begin as protective mechanisms. Understanding their original purpose can change their power and open a path to healthier coping.

Naming creates space.

Giving something a name – like Ari'el naming his OCD "Meredith" – can help create distance, dialogue, and dignity. This tactic can make it easier to observe and manage symptoms rather than be overwhelmed by them.

Masks are heavy – even when they work.

Passing, performing, or shrinking to fit a space may enable survival, but it costs belonging. If you can take off the mask safely with even one person, that matters.

You don’t have to pick one identity to be real.

Being a Jew from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America, or mixed heritage is not a contradiction. It's truth, and it’s also true for people who have a mix of other races, cultures, nationalities, and religions. Embracing the "both/and" of identity supports self-acceptance.

Assume complexity when you meet someone.

Mental health struggles and the complexity of people’s stories often don’t show on the surface. Curiosity is kinder than certainty and can foster compassion.

In Other, anxiety is both subject and catalyst: the force that once dominated Ari’el’s life, is also the force that helped him reclaim his story. His openness highlights a bigger truth—anxiety is among the most common mental health challenges, touching millions of lives, and speaking about it openly can ease stigma and point people toward support and care.

Focus On:
Anxiety Disorders

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or fear that can manifest in your thoughts, emotions, and even your body. It is the brain’s way of reacting to stress or danger. Anxiety can sometimes be helpful, like when you’re preparing for something important, but it can also become overwhelming and problematic when it persists over time or is present in the absence of any real threat.

Anxiety Disorders Include:

  • Specific Phobia: Extreme fear of a specific object or situation (like spiders, flying, or heights)
  • Social Anxiety Disorder: Fear of being judged or embarrassed in social situations
  • Panic Disorder: Repeated panic attacks (sudden episodes of intense fear with physical symptoms like racing heart or shortness of breath)
  • Agoraphobia: Fear of being in places where escape might be hard or help might not be available during a panic attack
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Constant, excessive worry about everyday things like health, work, or relationships

Treatment for Anxiety Disorders

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the gold standard for treating anxiety disorders. Look for a behavioral health provider who indicates use of CBT or other evidence-based treatment approaches for anxiety, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) or Mindfulness-Based Therapies. Common CBT techniques for managing anxiety include:

Cognitive Restructuring

  • Goal: Help to think in a more balanced and realistic way
  • Summary: Anxiety often comes from negative or exaggerated thoughts (like “I’ll fail” or “Everyone will laugh at me”). Cognitive restructuring teaches how to spot unhelpful thoughts, question them, and replace them with more helpful ones. It’s like being your own mental detective, looking for evidence and finding a fairer perspective.

Exposure Therapy

  • Goal: Help face your fears so they lose their power.
  • Summary: Avoiding situations that cause anxiety can actually make the anxiety worse over time. Exposure therapy gently helps people experience their fears in a safe and gradual way so that the brain and body learn not to have an anxiety response.

Behavioral Experiments

  • Goal: Test anxious predictions to see if they’re really true
  • Summary: This technique encourages people to try out their fears and see what actually happens. It’s like running a small experiment in real life to challenge fears and build confidence through experience.

Mindfulness-Based CBT

  • Goal: Help to stay present and reduce overthinking.
  • Summary: Anxiety is often triggered by the “what ifs” of the future or regrets of the past. Mindfulness teaches how to focus on the here and now so the mind can be calm and experience moments that are free from ruminating worries.

Problem-Solving Therapy

  • Goal: Help solve real-life problems that cause stress.
  • Summary: Sometimes anxiety comes from feeling stuck or overwhelmed by complex challenges. This technique provides a step-by-step way to break down problems, come up with solutions, and take action, which allows people to feel more in control and less anxious.

Relaxation Training

  • Goal: Help the body calm down when anxiety activation occurs.
  • Summary: Anxiety isn’t just cognitive. There is a physiological element that affects the body too (like racing heart or tense muscles). Relaxation techniques like deep breathing, muscle relaxation, or calming imagery help the body physically relax, which sends a calming signal to the brain.

Behavioral Activation

  • Goal: Engage in activities that bring joy and reduce avoidance.
    • Summary: Anxiety can make us withdraw from life. This technique encourages people to schedule and do activities that make them feel good, even small ones like walking, calling a friend, or cooking. This helps people to start feeling more energized and less stuck.

Thought Records

  • Goal: Help track and understand anxious thoughts.
  • Summary: This is like a journal where you write down what happened, what you thought, how you felt, and what you could think instead. It helps people see patterns in their anxiety and gives tools to shift thinking over time.

Medications Used to Treat Anxiety

A number of medications are available for effective reduction of anxiety symptoms that are generally well-tolerated and considered low risk.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are typically the first choice for treating anxiety because they’re effective and generally well-tolerated

  • Examples: Sertraline (Zoloft), Escitalopram (Lexapro), Paroxetine (Paxil), Fluoxetine (Prozac)
  • Used for: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, OCD

Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) are also first-line options and may be preferred if SSRIs are not effective or cause side effects

  • Examples: Venlafaxine (Effexor XR), Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
  • Used for: GAD, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder

When to Seek Treatment

Anxiety is a normal part of life. It helps us stay alert, complete tasks, and respond to danger, but it can become a problem when:

  • It happens too often or lasts for a long time (usually more than 6 months).
  • It feels too intense for the situation.
  • It interferes with daily life, like work, school, relationships, or sleep.
  • You start avoiding things because of fear or worry.
  • You feel physically unwell from it, like headaches, stomachaches, or a racing heart.
  • You find it hard to control your worry, even when you know it’s not logical.

You should consider talking to a behavioral health or medical provider if:

  • Your anxiety is getting in the way of your life or goals.
  • You feel overwhelmed or stuck and can’t manage it on your own.
  • You’re having panic attacks or intense physical symptoms.
  • You’re using alcohol, drugs, or other unhealthy habits to cope with symptoms.
  • You just want support and tools to feel better and more in control.

What to expect from your behavioral health provider

  • Your provider will start by learning about you, your history, your challenges, and your goals
  • Assessment measures, structured forms with questions about your symptoms and experiences, will likely be used
  • You and your provider will co-develop goals for treatment, defining what you want to get out of therapy and what you want to be different in your life
  • Based on your individual needs, your provider will likely use a mix of CBT interventions to help you meet your goals. Medication may also be recommended.
  • You will likely be asked to complete homework. This will consist of practicing newly learned skills, engaging in activities, and/or documenting your thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that occur throughout the week.
  • You and your provider will check in on progress, ensuring that treatment is effective and helping you achieve stated goals
  • Ultimately, your provider will want to help you develop the skills needed to take control and manage your anxiety symptoms on your own, without ongoing therapy
In Other, Ari’el describes his lifelong experience with OCD, which he named “Meredith.” By giving it a voice and sharing it openly, he highlights both the challenges and the possibility of relating to OCD differently—with understanding, treatment, and support.

Focus On:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions and repetitive compulsions.

Obsessions

These are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that cause significant anxiety or distress. Common themes include:

  • Fear of contamination (e.g., germs, dirt)
  • Doubts and uncertainty (e.g., whether the door is locked)
  • Need for symmetry or order
  • Forbidden or taboo thoughts (e.g., aggressive, sexual, or religious obsessions)
  • Fear of harm to self or others

Compulsions

These are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession. The goal is often to reduce anxiety or prevent a feared event, even though these actions are not realistically connected to the outcome. Examples include:

  • Excessive hand washing
  • Repeated checking (e.g., locks, appliances)
  • Counting or repeating words silently
  • Arranging items in a specific way

Key Characteristics

  • People with OCD often recognize that their thoughts and behaviors are irrational, but feel unable to control them.
  • OCD can be time-consuming, often taking up more than an hour a day, and can interfere with daily life.

Treatment for OCD

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold standard, first-line psychotherapy treatment for OCD and is supported by decades of research. ERP is a specialized form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) designed specifically for addressing the symptoms of OCD. ERP can be used alone or combined with medication.

How ERP Works

  • Exposure: You gradually face the thoughts, images, or situations that trigger your anxiety (e.g., touching a doorknob if you’re afraid of germs).
  • Response Prevention: You resist the urge to do the usual compulsion (e.g., not washing your hands afterward).

Over time, your brain learns that:

  • The feared outcome doesn’t happen
  • You can tolerate the anxiety
  • The anxiety naturally fades

Why It Works:

  • OCD tricks the brain into thinking danger is imminent and everywhere.
  • ERP retrains the brain to stop reacting with fear.

Medications Used to Treat OCD

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are typically the first choice for treating OCD because they are effective and generally well-tolerated. Examples of SSRIs include Fluoxetine (Prozac), Sertraline (Zoloft), Fluvoxamine (Luvox), Citalopram (Celexa), and Escitaloprim (Lexapro).

Clomipramine is an effective, first-line tricyclic antidepressant used when SSRIs are ineffective or side effects of SSRIs are not well tolerated.

When to Seek Treatment

Someone should seek treatment if obsessive thinking and compulsive behavior begin to interfere with daily life, cause significant distress, or feel uncontrollable. Key indicators that it might be time to get professional help include:

Time-Consuming Symptoms

  • Spending more than one hour per day on obsessions or compulsions
  • Rituals or repetitive behaviors (e.g., checking, cleaning, counting) take up large portions of the day, leaving little time for work, school, or relationships

Significant Distress

  • Feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or ashamed by intrusive thoughts
  • Compulsions provide only temporary relief, and the anxiety quickly returns

Impaired Functioning

  • Difficulty concentrating due to obsessive thoughts
  • Avoiding social situations, work, or responsibilities because of compulsions
  • Relationships suffer due to OCD-related behaviors

Loss of Control

  • Inability to stop or control obsessive thoughts or compulsive actions, even when recognizing they are excessive or irrational

Escalating Symptoms

  • OCD symptoms worsen over time, especially when ignored
  • Stress, life changes, or other mental health conditions can intensify symptoms

What to expect from your behavioral health provider

  • Your provider will start by learning about you, your history, your challenges, and your goals
  • Assessment measures, structured forms with questions about your symptoms and experiences, will likely be used
  • You and your provider will co-develop goals for treatment, defining what you want to get out of therapy and what you want to be different in your life
  • Based on your individual needs, your provider will recommend ERP therapy, medication, or combined treatment with both therapy and medication
  • Your provider will support you to gradually face feared thoughts, images, or situations that trigger obsessions. These exposures are done intentionally and repeatedly, starting with less distressing ones and progressing over time.
  • You will be asked to resist the urge to perform compulsions (e.g., washing, checking, mental rituals). This helps retrain your brain to tolerate anxiety and uncertainty without relying on rituals for relief.
  • You will be asked to do exposure exercises on your own between therapy sessions
  • You and your provider will check in on progress, ensuring that treatment is effective and helping you achieve stated goals
  • Ultimately, your provider will want to help you develop the skills needed to take control and manage your anxiety symptoms on your own, without ongoing therapy
Support for mental health takes many forms–from national hotlines and clinical organizations to community-based programs and culturally specific initiatives. The following resources offer education, connection, and care for individuals, families, and communities.

Resources and Supports

Jewish Belonging and Cultural Inclusion

Be’chol Lashon: Stories, education, and resources on Jews of Color, Sephardi, and Mizrahi communities.

JIMENA: Focused on Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, including Yemeni Jewish heritage.

Sephardi Voices Oral History Project: Multimedia storytelling from Middle Eastern and North African Jewish communities.

Arab American Association of New York: Supports and empowers the Arab Immigrant and Arab American community by helping them adjust to their new home and become active members of society.

Mental Health and Healing

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Free, confidential support for people in distress. In the U.S., call or text 988 anytime to be connected to crisis counselors. Call or text 988 in the U.S.

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness): Offers education, peer and family support groups, and advocacy to help individuals and families navigate mental health challenges.

International OCD Foundation: Provides information, research updates, and a directory of specialists focused on obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions.

 
HereNow: The Jewish Board’s teen-led online and in-person initiative promoting mental health, well-being, and resilience through innovative content and creativity. In partnership with The Jewish Board and UJA, HereNow gives a platform and network for Jewish teens to meet and share what matters to them, and to join the conversation around mental health.

Be Well/NY: New York City’s hub for mental health resources, including counseling, self-care tools, and community wellness programs.

 
Mental Health America’s BIPOC Mental Health Resource Center: A hub of information, toolkits, and support tailored to BIPOC mental health topics.

BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective): Advocacy, education, healing justice, peer support, toolkits for Black mental wellness.

Asian Mental Health Collective: Community support specifically for AAPI communities.

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