Saludos cordiales comunidad de Hive.
Best regards Hive community.
A few days ago while exploring Hive's content, of which I have become an avid reader, I came across a post by content creator @cami.rojas that addresses a topic of utmost importance: mental health. In the world we live in today, we lead a much faster pace of life than we did decades ago. The population increase has brought with it more competitiveness, greater economic difficulties and a constant pressure on the human being who seeks to survive; and to all this context is added the situation of the pandemic product of Covid-19 that in one way or another has impacted the physical and mental health of people. That is why I have been motivated to participate in the initiative proposed by Camila, which you can consult by clicking here, which consists of answering 5 questions about mental health.
1. ¿Alguna vez te han enseñado a ser inteligente emocionalmente o te han hablado de la salud mental?
Durante mi niñez y adolescencia, nunca escuché a mis padres hablar del término “salud mental” o “inteligencia emocional” como tales, no obstante, durante mi formación me inculcaron principios sobre el autocontrol y el manejo de mis emociones de acuerdo a determinadas situaciones. Sin embargo, pienso que a nivel de la educación temprana en la escuela no existe una cátedra que instruya al educando en cuanto al tema, y de eso me di cuenta cuando comencé mis estudios universitarios para ser docente, fui consciente de la importancia del bienestar emocional, psicológico y social del individuo y que en nuestras escuelas hace falta una mayor formación sobre la salud mental.
1. Have you ever been taught how to be emotionally intelligent or talked to about mental health?
During my childhood and adolescence, I never heard my parents talk about the term "mental health" or "emotional intelligence" as such, however, during my education they instilled in me principles about self-control and management of my emotions according to certain situations. However, I think that at the level of early education in school there is not a chair that instructs the learner on the subject, and I realized that when I began my university studies to become a teacher, I was aware of the importance of the emotional, psychological and social well-being of the individual and that in our schools there is a lack of more training on mental health.
2. ¿Cuándo fue la primera vez que sentiste ansiedad o desequilibrio emocional?
La primera vez que sentí un gran desequilibrio emocional fue cuando tenía 16 años y sufrí la pérdida de un familiar cercano que falleció a muy temprana edad. Comencé a sufrir de ansiedad, todos los días pensaba sobre ello, me perturbaba el hecho de pensar en la muerte, en que una persona que tenía casi mi misma edad de una día para otro ya no estaba. Y lo peor que pude haber hecho fue no compartir ese sentimiento con nadie, no busqué la ayuda necesaria, y eso contribuyó en parte a formar la personalidad que llegué a desarrollar de adulto.
2. When was the first time you felt anxiety or imbalance in your emotions?
The first time I felt a great emotional imbalance was when I was 16 years old and suffered the loss of a close relative who died at a very young age. I began to suffer from anxiety, every day I thought about it, I was disturbed by the thought of death, that a person who was almost my age from one day to the next was gone. And the worst thing I could have done was not to share that feeling with anyone, I did not seek the necessary help, and that contributed in part to form the personality that I came to develop as an adult.
3. ¿Crees que los medios de comunicación trasmiten el mensaje correcto sobre la salud mental?
Definitivamente no. Los medios de comunicación han contribuido poco en trasmitir el mensaje de que la mente es otra parte del cuerpo que también se puede enfermar y necesitar la ayuda de un profesional capacitado. La depresión suele ser subestimada incluso por la vieja escuela de la medicina, sin comprender que la depresión clínica puede convertirse en una enfermedad muy peligrosa que hasta podría terminar con la vida de una persona.
3. Do you think today's media is conveying the right message on the topic of mental health?
Definitely not. The media have contributed very little in conveying the message that the mind is another part of the body that can also get sick and therefore need the help of a trained professional. Emotional states such as depression are often underestimated by the common citizen, and even by part of the old school of medicine, without understanding that clinical depression can become a very dangerous disease that could even end a person's life.
4. ¿Cuál ha sido tu mayor aporte a tu salud mental?
Durante 15 años me dediqué al activismo político y social. Vivo en un país llamado Venezuela que desde hace mucho tiempo es sometido por una dictadura que constantemente viola los derechos humanos. Por años sentí que mi trabajo nunca fue suficiente, que pude haber hecho algo más por evitar todo esto; y así me atormentaba constantemente viendo las noticias, contemplando fracaso tras fracaso; hasta que un día me propuse romper con ese círculo vicioso y terminar el ciclo para dedicar tiempo a lograr las metas personales que siempre había postergado, una de ellas es la creación de contenido. Desde ese entonces he logrado un mejor estado de salud mental.
4. What has been your greatest contribution to your mental health?
For 15 years I dedicated myself to political and social activism. I live in a country called Venezuela that has long been subjected to a dictatorship that constantly violates human rights. For years I felt that my work was never enough, that I could have done something more to avoid all this; and so I constantly tormented myself watching the news, contemplating failure after failure; until one day I set out to break that vicious cycle.
I decided to end that cycle in my life, and dedicate time to achieve personal goals that I had always postponed, one of them is content creation, and here I am sharing with you. Since then I have achieved a better state of mental health.
5. ¿Si ves a una persona que está luchando contra la depresión, ansiedad o cualquier otra cosa que esté afectando su salud mental, y existe otra persona que la ignora alegando que lo hace por llamar la atención, ¿qué le dirías a cada una?
En lo personal, adoptaría una posición conciliadora entre ambos. A la persona que está sufriendo de depresión le daría mi apoyo, una palabra de aliento para hacerle ver que no está solo; y luego de brindarle mi afecto lo ayudaría a canalizar la situación en búsqueda de ayuda profesional a fin de que pueda salir de ese estado depresivo lo más pronto posible. Por otra parte, a la persona que no cree en los argumentos de quien está deprimido, lo convidaría a no prejuzgar, a que comprendiera que ni él ni yo estamos en capacidad de determinar quién está enfermo o quién no lo está, y que eso solo lo puede determinar un experto. Le pediría que reflexionara, pues un error que cometamos en el trato hacia una persona deprimida podría traer consecuencias irreparables sí no se actúa a tiempo.
5. If you see a person who is struggling with depression, anxiety or whatever else is affecting their mental health, and there is another person who ignores them claiming they are doing it for attention, what would you say to each?
Personally, I would adopt a conciliatory position between the two. To the person who is suffering from depression I would give my support, a word of encouragement to make him see that he is not alone and after offering him my affection I would help him to channel the situation in search of professional help so that he can get out of this depressive state as soon as possible.
On the other hand, to the person who does not believe in the arguments of those who are depressed, I would invite him not to prejudge, to understand that neither he nor I are able to determine who is sick or who is not, and that this can only be determined by an expert. I would ask him to reflect, because a mistake we make in our treatment of a depressed person could have irreparable consequences if we do not act in time.
It seems to me an excellent initiative of our colleague Camila, it is a topic which is not given the importance it should have; and one of the proofs of this has been the little receptivity that this publication had. Even today, talking about mental health is usually a taboo subject, for example, there are still people who think that by going to a psychologist or a psychiatrist they will be labeled as schizophrenic or something similar, when in fact it is the opposite and whoever is concerned about maintaining an optimal physical, mental, social and spiritual state, is a more lucid person than the rest.
Muchas gracias por leerme, y los invito a participar en esta iniciativa.
Thank you very much for reading me, and I invite you to participate in this initiative.
