in search of well-being based on habits and attention to symptoms

in search of well-being based on habits and attention to symptoms
in search of well-being based on habits and attention to symptoms

When asked about the topic, the professional explains that mental health is directly related to well-being, both emotionally and psychologically and socially, and expresses that there are many areas in which one should feel good to say that one has a good health. mental health.

Embed – Dra Paola Desiervi – Psychiatrist (MP 30937- ME 20266). Director at Philippe Pinel

“When we talk about health, we also talk about the absence of disease. In mental health, many times there are symptoms that do not determine an illness and other times there are a set of symptoms to which we have to pay close attention, especially when they begin to affect our quality of life,” says Desiervi.

To add: “If I suddenly stop resting well, I lose my appetite or it increases a lot, or I feel some strong negative emotional state that lasts over time, such as a lot of sadness or I begin to lock myself in what is interpreted such as social isolation, those are some signs that we should be attentive to to start thinking that something is affecting my mental health.”

How can I contribute to mental health through self-care?

-To take care of ourselves, beyond mental health itself, we have to take care of our physical health because both go hand in hand. We have to rest well, eat well, do physical activity and then take care of our mental health, especially in our relationships. That is super important to be able to maintain our mental health: having healthy ties with friends, with your partner and with family, among other areas. That is one of the basic concepts to be able to stay mentally healthy.

-How does the social environment affect it?

-With regard to the social environment, it would include the work, school and family environment, among others. There are several environments that make up the social environment and can influence it positively and negatively. Depending on how I connect with these, how I feel and my personal tools, will be how the environment influences mental health. Social networks, especially in some ages such as adolescence or young adults, often influence in a negative way because, for example, if we upload a publication we are waiting to see if this or that person likes me, or if they don’t like me. , or how many they gave me. That today is becoming an influence, perhaps much more marked on adolescents because older people have social networks, they upload photos, but they are not so attentive, but adolescents today have a kind of assessment through their social networks that violates a little stability in adolescence.

-What habits contribute to improving it?

-For the environment to be healthy, it is important to take care of the physical part. Above all, do things that we like. I always tell patients that we have to think of our mental health as if it were a cell phone battery. I download it because I use it and use it, and if I don’t charge it, the cell phone doesn’t work the next day because it doesn’t have a battery. We have to look for the activities that recharge each person’s batteries: resting and eating, we already said it, but there are people who like to make art. So, that space is the recreational space where one can relax and do something that makes them feel good, that improves their self-esteem. Another person will like music, another person will like sports. It’s not that there are specific tips for everyone to do the same thing, but rather that each person has to see what are the things that give them satisfaction. That’s the most important thing. Many times, we do things daily that we do because we have to do them. Kids at school sometimes study subjects because they have to study them. Or at work, sometimes you have to fulfill a task that you don’t like, but it is part of your job. So, we are always going to have situations that we don’t like at all but we have to balance the balance with things that we like and that give us pleasure. That’s the way to stay in the best shape possible.

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-What is the difference between anxiety and stress?

-Anxiety is an emotion that occurs in a situation in which I have uncertainty. I don’t know what is going to happen, so that makes me anxious, that is, the fact of not being certain about how things are going to turn out. And to some extent, anxiety is normal. It occurs in many aspects of life and once anxiety begins to affect my pace of life, or my quality of life, or it takes away my sleep, we are already faced with an anxiety that we call pathological and that requires treatment. . Stress is actually a physiological reaction of the body to a particular external situation, in general, or sometimes internal to my thinking, to which I am not prepared to resolve it or I feel that I do not have the tools to resolve it, and that generates stress. Stress, when sustained over time, also leads to pathology. Stress is normal too. We all experience a certain amount of stress. But when it begins to accumulate or becomes chronic over time, it ends up giving us a pathology.

-How do they affect mental health?

-Today, more and more, they affect mental health. And it is not that stress did not exist before and now it exists, or anxiety did not exist and now it exists: both have always been there and they directly affect mental health. When one sustains it over time, one ends up having a pathology and requiring help to incorporate the necessary tools to solve it. You need therapy, medication or some other complementary therapy. If we do not act in time, we have a much greater chance of getting sick and losing our mental health.

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