Israel Zyskind is a Pediatrician in private practice in New York City. He has long been an advocate for patients who are stuck in the struggle of finding a path to recovery, be it physical illness or mental health. Dr. Zyskind went to Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. He completed his pediatric residency at North Shore-LIJ Health System. Dr. Zyskind hopes that Elevatr will provide the ability for those struggling with mental health issues to support one another and help each other conquer the struggle. Dr. Zyskind acts as an advisor to several health start-ups and has published in the field of Pediatrics. He currently serves as a clinical instructor at the New York University School of Medicine.

Click to tweet: Israel Zyskind shares his incredible journey on the i’Mpossible Project #podcast!

Time Stamped Notes

• 4.33 Israel encounters many children with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, OCD and more quite often in his pediatric practice in New York City. As such he has created an iPhone app called Elevatr that offers peer to peer mental health support
• 9.20 Israel finds that there is a lot of stigma surrounding mental illness and mental health in his Orthodox Jewish community (as it is stigmatized in many communities)
• 10.00 If one doesn’t get mental health/illness treatment as soon as possible, it may be more difficult to treat later on in life
• 12.10 Often the first time someone seeks help or is preliminarily diagnosed with a mental health condition is in a pediatrician or general practitioner’s (doctor) office
• 20.45 Israel’s least favorite word is “can’t” and works with his own kids to embrace “can” instead of “can’t, and if someone were to make a movie of his life, Bradley Cooper would play the title role of Israel (find out more fun facts about Israel in the Quick Fire Round).

Key Points

• One of the reasons mental illness is difficult to treat as a clinician is many people don’t externalize how they’re feeling inside. They (or their loved ones) don’t know how to articulate what they’re struggling with like they would with something like pneumonia or the flu
• If you suspect you’re experiencing symptoms of mental illness and have never gotten treatment, it’s okay to first discuss your feelings with your general practitioner medical doctor

Resources or Websites Mentioned

Elevatr.com – a peer to peer app dedicated to providing mental health support

Israel’s email address – Israel@elevatr.com

Israel’s phone number – 917-741-0400