What protects us from developing a mental disorder?

Now that mental health has become one of the main topics of interest and that public care centers are mostly overwhelmed, it may be useful to remember which factors have demonstrated a protective capacity in the development of mental disorders.

Committing to prevention is a completely complementary measure to investing adequately in a quality healthcare network, especially aimed at the most vulnerable patients with serious mental disorders.

Starting with the basics, the first thing is to understand that our prodigious mental world is an emergent property of a biological organ called the brain, that gelatinous mass of just a kilo and a half that, as the renowned neurologist Vilayanur Ramachandran says, “is capable of contemplating meaning. of the infinite and can contemplate itself contemplating the meaning of the infinite.”

Mistreating the brain is always bad business, in the short and long term.

Blows to the head of children (due to accidents, falls, riding a bicycle without a helmet or physical abuse) continue to constitute a public health problem.

Another way to give their brain a kick is to allow them to consume toxic substances, especially in adolescence.

The normalization of drinking practices and the consumption of joints in 15 or 16 year old boys contrasts with the evidence that alcohol is associated with the development of anxiety and depression, and the association between cannabis and psychosis is clear.

In people with genetic vulnerability, the consumption of joints can trigger schizophrenia, which may have remained latent without it.

discourse

on the topic of cannabis, but we also have to think about who will foot the bill for a potential increase in psychotic, often terrifying, experiences.

A chronically sleep-deprived brain is also a damaged brain.

It is a factor to take into account, among others, in the analysis of the results of the PISA study or labor productivity.

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When mental health becomes content: “We don't need 'influencers', we need psychiatrists”

And sometimes I think it also has to do with the crazy political polarization, spurred on the radio first thing in the morning, when listeners need a couple of hours of rest.

Taking care of the body is also taking care of the brain.

Nutrition and lifestyle habits (avoiding a sedentary lifestyle, exercising, not smoking) lead to good physical health and also appear to protect against Alzheimer's disease or depression, for example.

Some factors that protect us or confer risk of mental pathology appear before birth.

The correct nutrition of the pregnant woman, her protection against infections, the total rejection of consuming toxic substances during this period or delivery in the best possible conditions appear in studies as important long-term factors in the child's life.

But, as pioneer John Bowlby—the psychoanalyst who has best resisted the rise of neuroscience—pointed out, the secure, close, and sustained bond between mother (or father) and baby is the primary protection for mental health.

Through the experience of attachment, the child learns to understand his or her own and other people's minds, to trust others, and to interact in a healthy way.

On the contrary, physical, sexual or emotional abuse in childhood increases the risk of developing psychosis, suicidal behavior by 4 or the risk of using illicit substances in adult life by 11.

Therefore, there are two preventive measures within our reach: one, allowing the decisive intimate experience of parenting to extend into the first year of life (not just four months);

and two, reduce rates of child abuse with greater child protection.

Surveillance and persecution of pedophiles should be significantly increased.

Bullying

and social adversity are two factors that appear in most studies, with their protective reverses: a healthy and inclusive school environment, and appropriate rebalancing and social protection policies

In the arduous objective of developing a vital project, social determinants (working conditions, salary, housing) and the capacity for resilience or adaptation to adversity are equally important.

Being unemployed or not making ends meet affects mental health, of course.

And appealing in these cases to the individual resilience of the subject seems to a certain extent to blame him for his misfortune, and demand that he accept and adapt to an unjust reality.

But betting the entire understanding of psychological discomfort on the social is partial and misleading.

With these parameters one would say that in Scandinavian societies, which have a Welfare State that is glorious to see, mental health must be formidable, but reality indicates that the suicide rate in Sweden or Finland triples or quadruples that of Madrid, for example. example.

On the other hand, the idealization of meritocracy is unfair because we do not all start from the same conditions;

but its opposite, the suppression of the concepts of merit and individual will, sends a dangerous externalizing message, which does not favor personal adventure, innovation and effort.

Perhaps it is best to foster in adolescents three traits that have been associated with long-term emotional well-being: a sense of agency or self-efficacy, tolerance for frustration, and development of a life purpose (in a manner compatible with reasonable social balance policies).

Empirical studies outline the portrait of the resilient subject: of an optimistic nature, persevering, kind to the environment, capable of continually reevaluating their beliefs and regulating their affects, who actively faces stress and tends to feel positive emotions (if I know him, I will tell you). I present immediately).

He uses humor, meditates and seeks social support when he needs it, he is not hostile or angry (he is not

or

), he feels committed to what he does, he gives it meaning and addresses challenges.

But studies indicate that the resilience of this fantastic person is based on their sense of belonging to a group, whatever it may be, on having a certain role in a broader social cell (their family, group of friends, team, club, parish, lodge...).

He shows gratitude and compassion, and feels capable of changing things.

We will have to be resilient to face this mental health crisis.

Prevention is possible and perhaps more profitable than waiting to treat the pathology.

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