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Coronavirus in Argentina: the 8 tools of Facundo Manes to survive quarantine

2020-07-10T03:23:19.602Z


In the framework of Clarín's Dialogues cycle, the renowned neurologist gave his keys to cross the confinement and overcome the pandemic.


Gonzalo Sánchez

07/09/2020 - 7:00

  • Clarín.com
  • Society

The life of Facundo Manes, one of the most prestigious people in Argentina, is a long journey .He was born in Quilmes and grew up in Arroyo Dulce y Salto, north of the Province of Buenos Aires. He is a neurologist and neuroscientist, graduated from the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Cambridge, England, where he obtained his Doctorate in Sciences. In 2001, he returned to the country and created the Institute of Cognitive Neurology, INECO, and the Favaloro Foundation Institute of Neuroscience. It also created the INECO Foundation for research in cognitive neurosciences. He is a professor at prestigious universities abroad and has published more than two hundred and fifty scientific papers in the most important international journals of his specialty. Manes is convinced that a country's wealth "is measured by human capital, education, science and technology, and that there is the basis for social development."He has been touring the interior for some time giving talks.

This conversation with Clarín, who was part of the Dialogues cycle, exclusively for subscribers, took place while the quarantine was tightening due to the advance of the pandemic. An interesting concept anchored in Manes' message: for the neurologist there is no "day after" the pandemic. In any case, he points out, "the day after is now" and there is no time to lose.

-We are afraid, we live in fear, being exposed to a virus predisposes us in a way that we have not experienced before, how do you live it?

-We are for the first time in history emotionally synchronized large sectors of the world population. It never happened that the same emotion prevails on all continents. It is a crisis of health, but also humanitarian, social, of international relations, of tension between powers. We are going to a multipolar world. But it is also a moral, political, ideological crisis. And everything affects our emotions. I live it like most people. I am fortunate to contribute my grain of sand to the legacy of Dr. René Favaloro, trying to accompany the foundation's doctors, who are on the front lines, and concerned for the country because this situation requires a collective commitment.

- It doesn't help to save yourself, you can't.

- The one who can save here does not exist. He is totally wrong. This pandemic gives us the opportunity to think about what we really are, who we are, what things we value, even trying to find our best version, it gives us an opportunity to think collectively. We are more than ever in the same sea. Not in the same boat, in the same sea.

-Health crisis, economic crisis that is felt and will be felt more strongly later and in the present, the confinement and the uncertainty. How can we avoid being overwhelmed?

-It is a very delicate moment for our mental well-being. The pandemic and quarantine have a concrete impact and there are tools to try to reduce this. In previous epidemics in Southeast Asia, also in Canada, there were quarantines lasting much less, about 3 weeks. Something as long as this and encompassing so many people never happened. The data we have of impact on mental health are from shorter quarantines and it was observed how negative symptoms appeared in mental health: post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, exhaustion, insomnia, psychosomatic worries, frustration, detachment, increased use of chemical substances. tobacco, alcohol, drugs, more domestic violence, confusion and anger. And this effect is the combined effect of the pandemic and quarantine. 

-No one says for now how the exit will be.

-It is true. Lack of horizon, lack of perspective, of a managed exit that is comprehensive, multidisciplinary, based on scientific evidence, with reliable data and that addresses mental illness or mental impact, in the same way that health is addressed . Health is one and includes mental health, but I repeat, having a strategic exit plan that is comprehensive, multidisciplinary, that gives us perspective and that is supported by reliable data and scientific evidence. It is key that society has a horizon and that there is a serious, honest discussion, not of factions, not contaminated by normal politics, that it be a health, social and economic debate. And this will allow us to reduce uncertainty. In other words, there is much that the authorities can do for our well-being. If the messages from the authorities are contradictory, the mental impact of the pandemic is exacerbated. The authorities must have the empathy to behave and communicate in a transparent and very responsible way, with humility, being aware that many Argentines or citizens are living in poverty or have lost their jobs.

"The brain is a social organ," says Manes.

-It seems a good point, but we need tools, what can we do for ourselves in this time of enduring?

-A tool, or a habit, is to see reliable news and not for long, because that is what even the World Health Organization recommends. I'm going to tell you what's going on in the brain. I am 51 years old. Before the pandemic, I had a checkup and I'm fine. If you see the probability that I will get sick and die, it is negligible. It can happen, but it is very very low. But now that if Facundo Manes, who three months ago had a check-up and is in good health, is all day watching news of not very reliable people, counting the dead, counting the dead in the world, receiving whats apps from friends with photos From what happened in China, in Madrid, something we call negligence of probability begins to happen. I, who have almost very little chance of anything happening to me, begin to think much more about the probability of becoming infected and I perceive that I am going to become seriously ill and die. So one of the things we have to do to manage mental well-being is to go to reliable sources of information and not for long.

-Annoted: negligence of probability.

-Another behavior that happens in this crisis, especially at the beginning, when they warned us that we were going to be quarantined, is that people go to the supermarket to buy toilet paper, do you remember? This is an illusion of control. Anxiety and fear appear. Anxiety is an anticipatory fear. Provisioning, of course, is a way to lower anxiety a little. We have the toilet papers, but then it goes up more strongly. We already have the illusion of control, so there are many behaviors that we are seeing appear, but as we see the virus spreading, we are also seeing fear spread and that is very important to talk about.

Facundo Manes. Photo: Luciano Thieberger.

-Of course forward.

We are seeing the spread of the virus from the beginning, but we are also seeing the spread of fear. It is because we are faced with something new, threatening, unpredictable. And for the first time in history, there is widespread fear at the same time in much of the world's population. And fear is one of the emotional states that makes the world stop. Everything in a compass of waiting until the danger is somehow resolved. But for now that will not happen. Why do you have to be careful? Because fear is a very effective emotion for social control. The fear of being out of a job makes the worker duck his head. The fear of being persecuted makes the citizen resign himself to the abuse of the powerful. The fear of losing what little you have makes you not go for more. Fear is a primitive strategy of coercion that is far from what modern and democratic societies maintain as ideal.

-Be careful with the politics of fear, it means.

-Of course, facing this, what to do? Cooperation, again feeling part of something collective. The antidote to fear is to cooperate and feel part of the collective. Because there is the real fear of getting sick. But there is also the risk of consuming the wrong messages, biased messages or those aimed at generating something on time and falling into that trap. It is very important to talk about this, because the powerful can use the term take care of us to control us. Fear predisposes to that.

-There is a debate: What will the post-pandemic world be like?

The day after it already started. The world is going to be totally different. Each pandemic throughout history changed the beliefs of the time, and they changed society. He asks how it is changing us. I think, like many, that previous trends that existed before the pandemic will accelerate. In terms of education, we are going to a hybrid education that requires us to think about new challenges. For example, there will be a much more important distance education than there was before the pandemic. But it is also true that it will never replace the teacher, the human contact, because the brain, our brain, basically learns when something motivates us, inspires us. That is what the teacher achieves with human contact. And as that we are going to see an increase in the pre-pandemic trends that are going to accelerate. And this can bring out the best in human beings.

-You are giving a very positive message at a time when you have no choice but to be a little lonely.

Now we go to the field of tools to combat this moment. Enter a term that is important and what is resilience. Resilience is human behavior, which allows us to face a problem, go through it. Overcome it and come out stronger. Previous disasters were studied and a large part of the population was found to be more resilient, so a large part of the suffering population is likely to become more resilient. What I want to comment first is that accepting negative emotions is part of our well-being, since we are going through pain, we are going through pain, suffering and accepting that is part of well-being. Well-being is not just positive emotions. Accepting negative emotions is part of well-being. There is one thing you named that is loneliness, which is a very, very important topic, because the human brain is a social organ. We need the other and human ties impact our well-being. There are several studies that show that people who have more human ties have a longer life expectancy. We are social beings, we need to bond for our survival, for our well-being and this virus takes the best of us, the best of our species, which is human contact, social contact, and uses it against us. So a recommendation.

-Ahead

The first would tell you that I will give to pass. The best thing at the moment regarding mental well-being is to maintain physical distance, but to be socially connected. Use technology, for example. This we are doing now to connect and call an older person that perhaps we have not seen for a long time. My mom lives in Salto, she's older, we can't go visit her. My brother lives in Buenos Aires with me, but we call her twice a day. At night, when we eat, the grandchildren call her eat with us by phone or videoconference. We have to use the technology that I criticized many times before the pandemic to stay connected.

-To be together but separate.

-We have to be physically apart, but not socially because we are social beings. Loneliness kills us. Feeling alone chronically is as important a mortality factor as obesity, environmental pollution or smoking. Let's call an older person who has not seen for a long time, we are connected with technology because we are social beings.

"And not be afraid to ask for help, right?"

-It is very important what you say, because you are not ashamed to say I am thirsty, but you are ashamed to say that you are alone.

-Many people express anxiety and do not know what to do. Insomnia also appeared. Is there an explanation from the neural?

-We are talking about the fact that we are facing the threat of a novel and invisible virus. The main human behavior in millions of years was and is to detect danger and survive. Now what is anxiety? Anxiety is an anticipatory fear. I can see, I am afraid because the virus walks the streets of Buenos Aires. The threat is present. This is real. The human being, unlike other species, has the possibility of recreating past scenarios and imagining future scenarios. But that is also good evolutionarily because one, reviewing the past, learns to survive and imagining the future. It has scenarios to protect itself and survive, but there can also be a pathological anxiety that affects us.

-But is it good that we are worried?

-Good point: mindfulness, can you tell us what it is?

-It is a meditation technique with Buddhist roots, which science uses today and basically consists of mindfulness, mindfulness of the present without judging, because when one is focused on the present, the brain is much more productive and happier, and anxious thoughts disappear, they relax their activity because we focus on the present.

-Can flow using the body and concentrating on breathing for a long time can be something easy to do?

-Yes, fully available and that we lower stress and anxiety. So I already gave you three recommendations, but also, helping another is also a way of being better. When one receives help, one feels good, but when one is altruistic, altruism activates pleasure systems in the brain.

-And physical activity, can it be considered one more tool?

-Definitely, as minimal as it may be, physical activity is another factor that influences a lot. Daily exercise reduces anxiety and improves mood. I would say that one of the best. Physical exercise is one of the best anxiolytics and antidepressants. That an exercise can be guided online is very important because it reinforces creative thinking, reduces anxiety and improves mood, so it is key.

- We have lived automatically and this crisis stopped us in its tracks, that is also dramatic.

- Yes, but we have time to plan. You have to take this crisis, this pandemic, beyond all the drama, as an opportunity to slow down a little, to lower changes, to slow down. An opportunity to become more creative, to become less self-centered, to be more aware. Even to discover or rediscover our best version.

-Anyway, I can't stop asking you how you think 2021?

-About Argentina, I think the moment of truth has arrived for our country. Argentina comes from a chronic decline that is unacceptable and where no political party can raise a flag. We have the same per capita income as in the year 74. Today there is 50 percent poverty. Then, the moment of truth has arrived. We have to think, build, explain and make a different country. We have to do something new, without the usual shortcuts or pitfalls. It doesn't go anymore. We have to get out of this crack that impoverishes us. This factional fight that leads us to more and more poverty and more problems. We have to start discussing the important questions. We have to rebuild the institutions and protect ourselves from abuse of power, corruption, arbitrariness, zigzagging. Yes or yes we are going to have to invest in what we have not invested until now, which is health, education, nutrition.

-Is there happiness?

-I answer it from the keys of daily science. What do we know from the keys to well-being? Quite. Genetics plays a role in our well-being. Before it was thought that 50 percent of our well-being was genetically determined by our uncles, grandparents, parents. Today we know that 30 is less, but the genetic load contributes its own. Another aspect that we know from science from various studies that provide well-being is human contact. How many friends do you have? How many people can you count on? It is a very important indicator of well-being. Also focus on something we like. Mow the lawn, draw, write. When you do something with passion, the world disappears. Also, and this helps us for the pandemic, find a purpose in life, find a goal that exceeds us. Feeling part of a bigger dream gives us a lot of happiness. Altruism also impacts our brain positively. Enjoy the present. Reduce negative thoughts. Having personal goals. Having gratitude is another thing we have to do now, when everything is wrong. There is something in life that is going well. For example, in my case I can now speak, I can see, I can move my arms and legs. Many cannot. That is also key: recognizing and celebrating what we have, having feelings of gratitude for all the good that happens to us, even when the drama surrounds us, also helps us to be happy.

Source: clarin

All life articles on 2020-07-10

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