The work needs to begin now.

Last week I wrote about how stress from the w*r has affected me, somatically and mentally, and hundreds of you agreed with me and shared your stories about how you were coping in this strange lull of c*asefire that we are in.

Here's a snapshot of a corner of my Israel today: Scott and I went to a spa together to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary.

What I really needed was quiet. Internally and externally. To shut off my brain and just recalibrate.

It was very freeing to be among other Israelis, who were also attempting to relax. I felt among them, as if I had more permission to do so. Even if it was just for 24 hours. Having no clue what will happen next. No s*rens. No sound.

We had a wonderful time, really sunk into the silence, the womb-like warmth of the atmosphere, and had some really important conversations.

But the truth is, as peaceful as the environment was, I spent a lot of time taking in who else was around us.

As soon as we checked in, I saw a young man, who was dressed as a civilian, but his mud-caked boots gave him away. Sure enough, he met up with several other young men, each one of them sunburnt to a crisp, clearly having long days in the sun, and exhausted. Even while they sat in the spa, their eyes were heavy, often having soft conversations or sitting in silence. I can't imagine what they have seen, or what these soldiers were soaking away.

I saw couples in the pool or in the hallways, clinging to each other, deep in conversation. Not in a normal way, with a measure of desperation, like they had been apart for a long time. Sure enough, when they were walking around the hotel, they were wearing tshirt with their unit's signage - miluim couples (reserves) taking a moment of respite together.

I saw other couples having low-intense arguments over dinner; both crying in the middle of the dining room. I tried to give them privacy, but they were right in front of me while I was eating dinner. I watched the wife as she wiped away tears with her napkin.

I even thought I saw someone whose face I recognized from the news. He was tall and too thin, paler than he should have been. Maybe it was just my Israeli imagination, wrestling with an awareness of who is now home and living among us again. Scott agreed that he thought that I was right, but that doesn't really matter.

The point is that Israeli society is at a reckoning point.

In different levels and capacities, we have been exposed to a level of tr*ama that needs attention.

Relationships and marriages need support. I can't describe what it's been like listening to my friends whose husbands have been away at w*r practically for years at this point. What layers of pride, resentment, fear, gratitude, and misunderstanding may lie between them after years essentially apart.

It's not normal what we've had to ask of Israeli miluimnikim.

Family systems need support. Even now, many parents and partners are still not home. Many children are deeply tra*matized from all sectors of Israeli life.

It's very humbling to think about what we have asked of our young soldiers, who have given everything they have to keep Israel safe.

And then there are just average Israelis like me, taking it all in, living within all the news, and trying to keep it all together.

What we have as a result is a significant toll on the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health of this entire country.

Rom Braslavski, a former hostage, this week posted on Facebook, accusing the government, "of ignoring the plight of the released captives who are 'truly suffering,' as they deal with prolonged trauma..."

Israel has a problem.

We have a traumatized nation, with varying levels of severity.

As a society, we need to determine how to address this issue.

Whether it comes from the government or the private sector, we need to think about how we will heal from this.

Help couples heal.

Help children heal.

Help families heal.

Help soldiers heal.

Repair individual mental health across the board.

I'm back home now, and I am thinking about how we need to construct architecture within our society to repair what we can.

To nurture what needs tenderness.

To hold those who need support.

This is an urgent and pressing need that we must address over the upcoming decades.

The work needs to begin now.