Economic and social inequalities that emerged globally after the pandemic have damaged mental health worldwide. Expecting people to be happy when there is increasing income inequality, and inequality of rights and opportunities in the world is like expecting a miracle. Those who determine global policies must take measures in this regard and fulfill their responsibilities. A new change is happening in the world. What does this change entail? Mental and mind health are now being prioritized. The materialist reductionist approach, which denies mental health and views humans solely as biological beings, is changing.
We have left behind October 10, World Mental Health Day. Initiated by the World Federation for Mental Health, October 10 has been observed as World Mental Health Day every year since 1992. This year's theme was announced as "Mental Health in an Unequal World"; while the World Health Organization determined this year's theme as "Mental health care for all: Let's make it a reality". Is happiness possible in a world with inequalities?
The theme chosen for this special day is very meaningful: "Mental health in an unequal world"
After the Covid pandemic, inequalities became much more apparent. The opposition of socialism, communism, and capitalism dualism following the Cold War caused inequality in the world. Today, income inequality has seriously increased due to capitalism being the sole superpower in the world. The Covid pandemic also accelerated this. Especially the selfish, greedy, and empathetic attitudes of developed countries made it difficult for the rest of the world to access vaccines. In fact, let alone vaccines, 2 billion people in Africa do not have access to clean water.
Can people be expected to be happy in a world with such income inequality, and inequality of rights and opportunities? Of course, it is very difficult, even impossible.
Preventive measures are essential when heading towards a crisis
All these inequalities and factors have damaged mental health worldwide. As these factors multiply, social events emerge. If there are triggers and provocateurs, these events occur earlier. We liken it to this... If a person has inflammation in their middle ear and the surgeon realizes it won't go away on its own, they make a tiny incision in the middle ear, drain the inflammation, and it heals quickly. This is a preventive measure because if left alone, it would cause more severe damage. It cleans it up with less damage, leaving a slight trace. In this regard, the world is also heading towards a crisis. Therefore, measures must be taken against threats to mental health. If we sit back and wait, saying "whatever happens, happens," uncontrolled events will develop. Therefore, it is necessary to intervene under control and correct anything that is going wrong before it explodes.
The world is fighting a battle against loneliness
Suicides have increased worldwide after the pandemic. In Japan, a Ministry of Loneliness was established last March. In this country, where suicides among the elderly have increased, they are developing robots to combat loneliness. There are chat rooms in Japan. The state has opened chat rooms for people to overcome their loneliness. People who have never met before chat with each other.
Despite the increase in material well-being, the level of happiness has not increased
In a society where people are not happy, an increase in material prosperity has no benefit or meaning. According to statistical data from a study conducted in the USA, the gross national product per capita increased from 20,000 dollars to 35,000 dollars between 1950 and 2000. Psychological well-being was measured similarly. The proportion of those who felt very happy always remained around 30 percent. Material prosperity increased, but psychological well-being did not increase in parallel. Spiritual well-being did not increase in parallel. Based on these findings, scientific communities are trying to find solutions by carrying out related projects. For this reason, inequalities are highlighted as a theme on World Mental Health Day.
It is not enough to only consider physical health
While previously only physical health was focused on, the importance of mental and mind health is now understood. Mental and mind health are now being prioritized. A new change is happening in the world. What does this change entail? The materialist reductionist approach, which denies mental health and views humans solely as biological beings, is changing. The topic of the soul was entirely left to theologians. Now it has entered the realm of science.
A multidisciplinary field has been created focusing on the spirit, mind, and body. At Yale University, quantum physicists, neuroscientists, philosophers, and theologians are currently working together. For example, there is a book titled 'What the Bleep Do We Know!?' which has also been translated in Turkey. A physics professor, a quantum physicist, a theologian, and a psychiatrist are discussing the topic of consciousness. In other words, all knowledge is being rewritten.
The mind must govern the body
Mental health is very closely related to and directly affects physical health. For example, there's a thought stuck in your mind, something you're preoccupied with. You're feeling down and need to exercise, but you just don't feel like it. You're not sleepless, and no part of your body hurts. So why can't you do it? The mind isn't giving the body permission to do it. The mind doesn't give permission to the body because there is a mind above our brain. And there is a spirit above our mind. There is such an integration. There is such a relational work.
"In such a situation, if a person makes this distinction, they can protect their mental health. "
There is a lady who goes to physical therapy. Her physical therapist gives her therapy. He pulls and contracts her shoulder and neck, which should normally cause pain. He asks, 'Auntie, after these movements, you should be groaning in pain, why aren't you? Don't you feel pain?' The lady replies, 'Of course I feel it, I feel it very much, but I think about how it will pass after this treatment. I think about the relief afterward, and I endure it.' So, in this situation, the mind is governing the body.
Positive alertness provides psychological resilience
The mind, which is called reason and judgment, gives commands to the frontal lobe of our brain. Thus, our body is directed either to laziness or to energy. A person becomes happy by helping others and achieving small successes in life. Living a meaningful life is very important for mental health. Moreover, being active also provides positive contributions to psychological resilience. There are people who are 90-100 years old. Even though their bodies have aged, they are energetic and active.
Mental and physical activity: Effective in preventing Alzheimer's
This is the most important thing that prevents Alzheimer's: Mental and physical activity. The more active a person is, moving at least 5,000 steps a day, the more they are in a state of positive alertness. Not in a stressful alertness. They will achieve small, goal-oriented successes, experience the satisfaction of finishing a task, the satisfaction of helping someone, the satisfaction of making someone happy. Such small successes cause the person's brain to release happiness hormones.
Well-being is important and necessary
We used to say mental health, now we say psychological resilience. Because when we said mental health, it was understood as the absence of illness. Mental health, in addition to the absence of illnesses, is possible through a person's ability to be resistant to new mental pathologies and other diseases, to be in a state of well-being, to have resilience, and to have flexibility. If a person learns all these, they can manage stress and pursue more meaning concerning the future. Meaning is very important here for mental health.
There must be strategic goals throughout life
A person who seeks meaning is like a ship leaving the harbor knowing where it is going. Because it knows where it is going, the wind helps it. A ship has left the harbor but does not know where it is going, the wind drags it wherever it wants. As a person embarks on the journey of life, they will also have strategic goals. They will have short-term and medium-short-term goals. If a person lacks these goals, they cannot transcend themselves, and a person who cannot transcend themselves will not seek meaning. Besides basic needs like eating, drinking, and reproducing, humans should also have goals like loving, being loved, doing something for society, having high values, and self-actualization. Therefore, mental health is not just the absence of psychological illness, but a person's investment in areas that will make them happier. The magic word here for a person's mental health is to assign positive meaning to events, to be able to make positive interpretations, and to maintain oneself in a positive emotional state. It is important to also see the negative and manage the positive emotional state.
Connecting to a higher power is a psychological need
During the pandemic, humanity found itself helpless in many areas, especially concerning death, and we experienced this firsthand. In such situations, a person who believes in a higher power that knows everything and controls everything gains the peace and tranquility that this belief provides. Spiritual tranquility is gained in this way. Mental health is gained in this way, physical health is gained in this way. Therefore, believing in a higher power is important. In the Minnesota Model we use for addiction treatment, one of the 12 steps is believing in a higher power. This can be a guardian angel or a mental sanctuary.
Connecting to a higher power that makes a person feel they are not alone is a psychological need. If a person contemplating death thinks that there is life after death, that good deeds will not go unrewarded, and that evil deeds will also incur their consequences, then that person finds a solution and grasps meaning at that moment. This spirituality is very important for grasping meaning.
Source: Hürriyet Aile