Experts emphasizing the importance of social interaction for mental well-being point out that looking at events and situations positively also ensures well-being. Noting that the brain and mind are much more flexible, elastic, and open to development than all other organs, Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş states that social interaction is the most important nourishment for the soul. Prof. Dr. Taş emphasized that the damages incurred during the pandemic period can be quickly remedied through positive social activities, positive face-to-face interactions, people allocating time to themselves and their families, and dedicating themselves more to situations they consider valuable for their lives. Taş points out that it is inevitable for individuals who become lonely and isolated from social life to experience mental health problems.
Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş, a faculty member of the Department of Psychiatry, Psychology at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine, made evaluations regarding the importance of community mental health.
Mental health is a state of mental well-being
Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş stated that mental health, translated from English to Turkish as “mental health”, is a state of mental well-being, adding, “We can consider physical health and mental health as synonymous. In one, it refers to the healthy state of the mind, meaning the absence of a problem, and in the other, the absence of a problem in the body.”
Mental health controls the entire body
Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş stated that mental health is the key to a system that controls the entire body, and said, “Through our brain, we control our motor movements, heart rate, excitement, and enthusiasm with the secretion of relevant hormones throughout our entire body. The fact that the main structure running such a system, namely the mind and the brain, operates without any problems, is the most important building block for us to live healthily and happily in society in social harmony.”
Mental well-being is being able to produce solutions to problems
Noting that the definition of good mental health has entered our language from foreign literature as “mental well-being”, Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş said, “Mental well-being means being able to produce solutions to appropriate problems, mostly feeling positive and happiness more intensely in one's life, being able to put forward a more positive perspective on life, and being able to live a life free from problems that disrupt mental health, which we call psychopathology.”
Effort and attention are needed for good mental health
Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş also offered advice for good mental health, noting that physical health must first be in good order for mental health to be good, and said the following:
“I liken the well-being of mental health, or mental well-being, to watering a flower or a computer staying on constantly. For things to be good in life, we need to constantly nourish it, take care of it when small problems arise, and do our best to make it feel better. To protect physical health, it is necessary to pay attention to healthy living. To protect against diabetes, hypertension, and heart conditions, we exercise actively, pay attention to our diet, and try to stay away from stressful situations. These are examples of what we need to do for our bodies to be well.”
The brain also needs rest
Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş noted that the better the mental health, the better the physical health is in parallel, as it manages this system, and said, “For our mental health to be good, we need to distinguish between the periods when our brain works and the periods when we rest it. A constantly thinking and working brain is bound to malfunction, like an overheating computer. From this perspective, it is essential to plan leisure activities well. We need to dedicate ourselves to the issues you value in your life. If what you value is family, you need to dedicate yourself to family and engage in related activities. If what you value is doing good, helping people, then it is necessary to engage in related activities and work. If what a person values is success, dedicating oneself to the path of success and working towards it are always positive for mental health.”
Instead of snowballing problems, it is necessary to learn to look positively…
Stating that anxiety predominantly stands out in mental health disorders, Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş advised, “There are negative expectations about the future, and these negative expectations almost always adversely affect mental health. However, none of us know what the future will bring. In this situation, instead of snowballing problems with a series of negative expectations, it is important to continue looking at events positively, engage in activities that can clear our minds, and be able to shift our perspective from negative to more positive.”
It is inevitable for a person alienated from social life to experience mental health problems
Stating that investments in physical health significantly decreased and were disrupted during the pandemic process, Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş said, “This also negatively affected our mental health. Furthermore, the most important nourishment for our soul is social interaction. The decrease in face-to-face interaction and communication with people is the most important factor negatively affecting our mental health. It is inevitable for a person who becomes lonely and alienated from social life to experience mental health problems. Because then the only voice you hear is your own inner voice, and our inner voice doesn't always tell us good things. Sometimes, like a machine constantly producing negative thoughts, it can also produce negative things. The feedback you receive from people or the leisure activities you spend with them actually cause the part of our mind that is prone to constant negative thinking to speak less or in a quieter voice. This is an extremely positive thing for our mental health.”
During the pandemic, depression and anxiety disorders had to be dealt with
Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş stated that individuals who became lonely during the pandemic had to confront their problems more and deal more with issues such as depression and anxiety disorders due to increasing negative thoughts. Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş said, “During this period, not paying attention to physical health and the decrease in sports activities were also indirect factors that negatively affected our mental health during the pandemic.”
Pandemic damages can be overcome with the values we dedicate ourselves to
Noting that the brain and mind are much more flexible, elastic, and open to development than all our other organs, Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş said, “This elasticity, this plasticity, this expansion can be rapidly achieved, not by the development of new cells in a cellular sense, of course, but by the formation of very healthy connections. For this reason, the damages formed during the pandemic period are problems that can be quickly remedied after the pandemic period through positive social activities, positive face-to-face interactions, people allocating time to themselves and their families, and dedicating themselves more to situations they consider valuable for their lives.”
New positive events can cover old negativities
Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş stated that perhaps one of the most positive aspects of mental health problems is that newly experienced positive events can cover up past negative events and alleviate the pain they caused. Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş said, “For this reason, it may be possible to transform your life into a positive and mentally well-being state again with positive activities and actions after the pandemic period.”
Professional support can be sought
Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş also touched upon what can be done to compensate for the problems and damages that emerged during this period, saying, “The first step here is to determine whether the problems leading to mental health disorders require professional help. If your mental health problems impair your functionality, there's no need to struggle alone in the sea. Professional help should be sought in this regard. Because everyone will emerge from this pandemic process with some damage, and this damage may be irreparable for some individuals alone.”
Listening to music, praying provides well-being
Noting that this help can sometimes be obtained through psychotherapy and sometimes through drug treatment as a result of a psychiatrist's consultation, Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş said, “It can also be quickly remedied with what we call behavioral activation or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) applications, which are widely used today and, in my opinion, have great potential for the future. These therapies and practices involve exercises that focus our minds on affirmation and a state of well-being, rather than dealing with negative thoughts that would occupy our minds. These exercises include listening to music for some people, praying for some, meditating for some, and drawing for others. Everyone should find activities that make them feel good and sprinkle them into specific time slots throughout the day.”
Social interaction is beneficial
Noting that everyone's mind produces negative thoughts, Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş said, “Perhaps creating 'thought hours' can be suggested as a good strategy to prevent these negative thoughts from being pondered throughout the day. Here, instead of thinking about negative things all day, a strategy can be developed where you confine the negativities about your life to a specific hour of the day, accept that hour as a 'thinking hour,' and avoid thinking about these troubles during other hours. Furthermore, what benefits people is social interaction, and it is an undeniable fact that increasing your social interaction with people who make you feel good will have positive effects on your mental health.”
We must protect our values
“We all have values we dedicate ourselves to in this life. These values are like our compass,” said Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş. “If we protect our compass and continue our journey by dedicating ourselves to the path shown by our values, we will quickly recover from the damages caused by the pandemic period and continue to protect, maintain, and develop our mental health at the best possible level.”