photo by the bop
Research has shown that there's a strong connection between severe childhood trauma and the development of psychosis later on.
Are children who are being raised by parents who live in accordance with emuna principles less likely to become psychotic?
Yes they are.
Even more so, adverse or traumatic events during childhood can predispose children who were raised with emuna to even greater levels of emotional and spiritual development than their peers.
How is this so?
There are many examples from the Torah of children who grew up under
circumstances that would be considered traumatic by today's standards
and they rose to incredible spiritual heights, for example King David
and Rabbi Akiva.
G-d
willing, I'll be speaking about this subject in much greater depth
tomorrow, in my live broadcast. The simple explanation for now is that
Divine Providence looks upon every soul and knows exactly what it needs
to be maximally happy and to fulfill it's purpose in the world.
If, G-d forbid, a traumatic event does take place in childhood, it offers the child of parents who have faith the opportunity to turn to Hashem with their pain, and in so doing Hashem
will lead them to find their true purpose in this world. Since
fulfilling their true purpose is the only way that they can live lives
of true happiness, these kids can end up better off than their peers who
never find themselves.
Today, the first day of the month of Nissan (the month of miracles) is Rebbe Nachman's birthday and the first day that we can make a blessing on the trees. To learn about the amazing connection between these two events read this!
With blessings,
Dr. Zev Ballen