ZARAGOZA, 15 (EUROPA PRESS)
A group of experts has highlighted the importance of diet, sleep and exercise as keys to taking care of mental health. They have participated in the videoconference “Keys to protect mental health in times of COVID-19”, organized and broadcast by Fundación Ibercaja on their YouTube channel.
The event was attended by the doctor and manager of the Aragonese Association for Mental Health (ASAPME), Ana López Trenco, and the psychiatrists Isabel Irigoyen Recalde and Miguel Martínez Roig. The talk can be seen at the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDHuwmkFu0E&feature=youtu.be.
The meeting was presented by the head of the Ibercaja Foundation People and Center Development Area, Inés González Tejedor, who recalled that the Ibercaja Foundation committed itself to being an agent of the United Nations Organization (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ) and that the actions it organizes are intended to provide a service to citizens by aligning their activity with the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.
Inés González has cited the third of the Sustainable Development Goals: “Ensuring a healthy life and promoting well-being at all ages is essential for sustainable development,” and she stated that the objective of the videoconference “is to promote mental health in a time when it is more necessary than ever. “
Taking care of general health with a good diet, adequate sleep habits and some exercise are some of the recommendations that speakers have given to take care of mental health. Isabel Irigoyen has also recommended “that everyone try to do some volunteering from home, call a person who is alone, or who is afraid.” For Isabel Irigoyen, “with good self-care we are taking care of others”.
Ana López Trenco has also pointed out harmony as one of the keys to good mental health. “Unlike balance, which is instability, harmony is peace, peace that allows us to face difficulties calmly,” he said.
According to the ASAPME manager, it is beneficial to “nourish ourselves with culture, reading, music, whatever is most pleasant for us; but it is also beneficial to give ourselves permission to be sad.” Isabel Irigoyen has also said that “we can take a moment to fuel our concerns, but the rest must act.”
Miguel Martínez Roig has stated that “one of the essential tools to take care of our mental health has to do with seeking positive support.” The psychiatrist has also recommended not to overinform: A time of day for information and the rest pleasant activities. “” Information sometimes generates uncertainty and discomfort, “he added.
Miguel Martínez Roig has considered that “there is a positive message from the pandemic. We have learned many things, we have discovered facets of ourselves that we did not know, we have faced and faced things that we did not think we would have to face.”
All three alluded to everyone’s responsibility to act during the pandemic “by being responsible we are helping others,” said Martínez Roig. Isabel Irigoyen has affirmed that “we assist how those under 35 are living this. In hospitals we already see a trickle of young people. Now it seems that for young people health and leisure no longer prevail.”
Ana López Trenco has expressed that “we are all committed to ending this pandemic” because “this has not ended”, and added that “this crisis has shown that most of us care about the rest of human beings”, adding that “like all crises, it is an opportunity for improvement”. For the ASAPME manager, “listening and empathy are essential to help others, especially the most vulnerable people.”
The three speakers have highlighted their fear of the consequences that this pandemic will have on the mental health of the elderly and have exposed the need for good social and health coordination to support the most fragile. And they were pleased that “for the first time, people are talking about mental health as well as physical health.”
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