Young people and children are suffering from the stress of this ongoing war, as over 25,000 missiles have rained down on Israel in the past 15 months. Some have lost friends and family, and also have to cope with the uncertainty of family members serving in battle zones.
To help them, Natal, the Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center, and Nickelodeon Israel from Ananey Paramount have teamed up to create a first-of-its-kind campaign called “I’ve Got Me,” which gives Israeli children and teens tools to deal with stress and anxiety following the events of October 7 and the war.
The campaign features five short videos starring well-known figures, including Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Linoy Ashram, actor Shahar Tavoch, internet personality Dylen Dror, actress Kim Ben Shimon, and actor Yarin Oron.
In these videos, the stars deal with everyday situations that provoke stress and anxiety, such as hearing a missile alert, and offer practical techniques to help cope with these feelings. The videos are currently being broadcast on Nickelodeon and Teen Nick channels and on social media including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Helping to deal with stress and anxiety
The campaign is designed to give children tools for identifying and dealing with the stress and anxiety they experience, to legitimize their emotions – including fear, anxiety, depression, and apathy – and to help them increase and recognize their resilience.
Above all, these short, entertaining videos reassure them that everything they are going through is normal under the circumstances.
Coping techniques the videos offer include guided imagery meditation, reaching out to friends and family to share feelings, counting objects, and other strategies to get through not only the minutes spent in safe rooms when missiles fall but the rest of their days and nights.
The video scripts were written with the guidance of professionals from Natal, which has been working for many years with parents and children to give them tools for dealing with the anxiety and stress due to the security situation in Israel.