In Israel today, the word "normal" has changed. It used to mean simple things: children walking to school without glancing at the sky, parents planning vacations months ahead, a Friday evening without news updates.
Since October 7, the idea of returning to "normal life" feels both necessary and impossible. People long for it, yet fear it. Many whisper, "How can life go back to normal after this?"
Mental Health First Aid Israel calls this tension the paradox of recovery: the human need for normalcy alongside the deep awareness that nothing will ever be quite the same. Healing, therefore, cannot mean going back — it must mean moving forward differently.
MHFA facilitators remind communities that grief and growth must coexist. A society that rushes to rebuild without acknowledging pain risks building over open wounds.
In workshops, facilitators use a metaphor: "The goal isn't to erase the scar; it's to make sure it stops bleeding."
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