Are you OK?
This week, the world marks both World Suicide Prevention Day and R U OK? Day. In Israel, especially these days, when an entire nation’s soul is in need of healing, it is important to pause and reflect on the power of human connection. We must pay attention to the people around us, learn to recognize signs of distress, and genuinely care for one another.
Connection, communication, and attachment are all rooted in encounters between people. Each encounter holds the potential for a profound interpersonal experience. In daily life, our encounters are frequent and intense — sometimes emotionally charged, sometimes superficial — but each one carries immense, untapped potential.
The question is: what is that potential?
Attachment is the cornerstone of our survival and development as human beings. Already in the story of Eden, God creates man, but also creates woman in His image, sending the message that a human being cannot exist alone — they are created in connection with both God and another person.
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, argued that human beings require attachment in order to develop mentally and physically. His successors coined terms such as “secure attachment,” “the good-enough mother,” or “holding environment.” All of these reinforce the understanding that connection is essential for growth and mental stability. Not every human interaction results in a deep emotional attachment, but each one carries a meaningful potential for emotional support.
So, what does a person essentially need in a relationship? Every human being needs to be seen — to have their physical and emotional needs recognized. When people feel truly seen by others or by their community, they become free to grow emotionally. This is an unconscious, ever-present wish that accompanies us in every interaction, always seeking fulfillment.
The R U OK? project, led in Israel by Enosh, is an initiative to raise awareness of the need for authentic attention to others. In the question “Are You OK?” lies an invitation to truly see and understand how someone is doing. It is not a casual, throwaway question, but a conscious shift in the way we connect.
The project was founded in Australia in 2009 by Gavin Larkin, following his father’s suicide. Larkin was deeply convinced that if someone had asked his father whether he was okay, the tragedy might have been prevented. Today, the project is particularly relevant here in Israel, amid the ongoing social and national crisis, the fears and uncertainties of the present, and the painful wait for the return of the hostages. Now, more than ever, we need genuine invitations to share and to listen.
This project is an opportunity for personal and social change, so urgently needed in our daily connections.
The R U OK model offers four simple steps to help us truly be there for one another and turn a conversation into something meaningful:
- Ask a genuine question.
- Listen to what comes up.
- Think together about possible support.
- Follow up and check in again.
These small, everyday moments of attention allow the person in front of us to feel less alone.
In a reality of ongoing emergency, a single conversation can spark profound change — not as a substitute for therapy, but as a tool to recognize early signs of distress, encourage seeking help, and strengthen a sense of belonging. Because sometimes all a person needs is for someone to see them, care, and listen.
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For more information about the project: https://ruok.org.il/
Enosh Information and Support Line: *5873
