Belief in a Lasting Legacy Linked to Better Mental Health, Israeli Study Finds

The Jewish memorial prayer Yizkor, whose name means "remember," is recited in synagogues four times a year, on the last day of Passover, the second day of Shavuot, Shmini Atzeret, and Yom Kippur. Those who say it ask God to remember the souls of departed relatives and friends, renewing their connection with loved ones and pledging charity in their honor. But a new study asks a different question: how do people face their own mortality, and what does it mean to feel that part of us will live on after we are gone?

A Hebrew University of Jerusalem study of 3,000 Israeli Jews found that people who believed they would be remembered by others tended to report better mental health, a stronger sense of meaning, and lower levels of problematic substance use and addictive behaviors. The findings point to a possible connection between a sense of lasting significance and the way people cope with stress, uncertainty, and mortality.

The research was led by Dr. Uri Lifshin, Prof. Mario Mikulincer, and Dr. Dvora Shmulewitz of the Israel Center for Addiction and Mental Health and the university's psychology department. It was published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction under the title "Symbolic immortality, mental health, and addictions: A terror management perspective."

Psychologists define symbolic immortality as the sense that some part of us continues through our relationships, identity, accomplishments, or legacy. The team found that people with a stronger sense of it tended to report greater self-esteem, stronger social support, more meaning in life, and more secure relationships. They also reported fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, sleep problems, and difficulty regulating emotions, and the same pattern held for addictive behaviors, Lifshin said.

While symbolic immortality had been studied before, its connection to addictions had not been investigated. A stronger belief that one would be remembered was linked with lower levels of problematic alcohol, cannabis, and prescription drug use, as well as lower levels of problematic gambling, gaming, pornography use, compulsive sexual behavior, and social media and Internet use. The correlations were generally modest to small, but consistent across a broad range of outcomes.

"The feeling that our lives matter and will continue to matter to other people may be an important part of how we cope with uncertainty and the knowledge of our own mortality," Lifshin told The Jerusalem Post. "Our findings suggest that feeling connected to others, having meaning in life and believing that something of us will remain may go hand in hand with better mental health and fewer problematic addictive behaviors."

The study was conducted in February 2025, during Operation Swords of Iron, an especially difficult period in Israel. Participants were asked whether they believed others would remember them after death, for example through their accomplishments or legacy, and completed measures of mental health, substance use, behavioral addictions, social support, self-esteem, and meaning in life. Lifshin said the researchers measured how much people thought they would be remembered, not how much they wanted to be, adding that feeling like a good person brings significance and self-identity that can reduce anxiety and fear of death.

Asked whether an obsession with being remembered could cross into narcissism, Lifshin said more research is needed. "There is 'healthy narcissism,' to have a good image of yourself. It's part of human nature, but if it's obsessive, there can be a problem," he said, noting that even an atheist can feel a strong sense of symbolic immortality without believing in an afterlife. He added that living through the October 7 Hamas massacre, the war with Iran, bereavement, and continuing security threats could have influenced responses, since exposure to death can make people more concerned about the legacy they leave behind. More than three years after October 7, he said, there was a significant increase in addictions among Israelis, though the trend may have eased somewhat in recent quieter months.

Lifshin suggested that people turn to harmful behaviors to reduce anxiety about threats, and that those without a positive self-image and close relationships find it harder to banish negative feelings. Strengthening people's sense of purpose and social contribution might one day become part of addiction prevention or treatment, he said, but controlled studies would be needed first. While Judaism's 613 commandments provide guidelines for feeling like a good person, he noted that one does not have to be religious to do good deeds.

The researchers cautioned that the study does not prove believing one will be remembered causes better mental health, and the relationship could run in the opposite direction, with poor mental health making it harder to feel connected or confident about one's legacy. Still, they concluded that symbolic immortality may represent "a way of psychologically managing the knowledge of mortality by feeling that some part of oneself will continue through others, one's identity, or one's legacy."