- Comprehensive health not only covers the physical part but also the emotional one.
- According to the WHO, about 5% of adults worldwide suffer from depression and in severe cases it can lead to fatal consequences.
- The ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic have left open wounds and could be the cause of an even greater increase in mental health problems.
The world has not yet recovered from the health emergency caused by Covid-19. Although the level of infections and deaths is at its lowest point, the greatest risk is that the SARS-CoV-2 virus will never disappear. Among the specialists it has been alerted that It will not be the last pandemic in history and some even consider that the one caused by mental health could be the next.
In this case, everything starts from the poor definition of “health” that the majority of the planet’s population has. To date it is thought that it only covers the physical part, but this is not the case because it also involves the emotional part.
What is mental health?
According to the WHO, it is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not just the absence of illness or disease. But what is dangerous now is the exponential increase in mental disorders in recent years.
In this regard, the Secretary General of the Ibero-American Social Security Organization (OISS), Gina Magnolia Riaño Barón, announced that the mental health will be responsible for the next pandemic.
Based on his opinion, both companies and governments must act immediately to reverse the situation. Otherwise the outlook for the future looks quite complicated.
Now, it is necessary to remember that the mental health is more than the mere absence of mental disorders. It occurs in a complex process that each person experiences differently, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress, and social and clinical outcomes that can be very different.
Mental health conditions include mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities, as well as other mental states associated with a high degree of distress, functional disability, or risk of self-injurious behavior. People who suffer from them are more likely to experience lower levels of mental well-being, although it is not always necessarily so.
The most common mental disorders in the world
- Anxiety
- Depression
- oppositional defiant disorder
- conduct disorder
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- post traumatic stress disorder
For its part, the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic have left open wounds and could be the cause of an even greater increase in mental health problems.l
In that sense, stress and anxiety levels are at too high levels. Similarly, there is a downside to the adoption of the digital lifestyle based on remote activities.
Despite saving time by not requiring physical displacement, the lack of affective relationships generates depression and loneliness. In addition, a sedentary lifestyle also promotes obesity, which is another serious disease.
In it World report on mental health: transforming mental health for all, published by the WHO, calls on all countries to accelerate the implementation of the action plan. The main recommendations are the following:
- Increase the value that individuals, communities and governments place on mental health, and engage all stakeholders, from all sectors, to commit to and invest in mental health.
- Act on the physical, social and economic characteristics of family, school, work and community environments in general in order to better protect mental health and prevent mental health conditions.
- Strengthen mental health care so that the entire spectrum of mental health needs is covered by a community network and by accessible, affordable, and quality support services.
Also read:
Mental health, how to face this new global crisis in the post-pandemic?
Impact of the pandemic on the mental health of medical personnel: These have been the most common symptoms
How does the Covid-19 pandemic affect mental health?