Philosophy Of Mental Health In The Face Of Uncertainty

Abstract

The article relates to the philosophy of health and determining its foundations in the face of uncertainty. The definition of health and its foundations from the perspective of social sciences and philosophy has been found. The field of psychological, mental and social health is reviewed. It contains principles of the equilibrium of the system of psychological, mental and social components of health and practical tips for maintaining balance among psychological, mental and social components of health. It also contains the literature review, interviews and the expert opinion. The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The main trend of our time to strengthen both the health of the individuals and the society is working with psychological and mental health. Understanding the fundamental foundations of the philosophy of health will help to form a correct and healthy way of thinking of a modern person.

Keywords: Psychological, mental and social health, definition of health, philosophy of medicine

Introduction

At all times, people were interested in the state of their health, as it was vital for their survival to have a physically strong body, which was resistant to various diseases. When a person was confronted with a particular disease, he looked for any cure - thus medicine developed. Over the past few centuries, humanity has begun to pay more and more attention to medicine and health care, due to the appearance of new diseases, as well as the development of treatment technologies. Now, in connection with the development of information technologies and the appearance of access to huge volumes of data, people from different sides are aware of possible problems, cases and methods of treatment. Especially, the information flow intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing the attention of most of the world's population on taking care of their own health and the danger of a virus, which can harm the body. However, the field of healthcare is studied not only by medicine, but also by many other sciences, for example, economics, management and philosophy. The topic is especially relevant now because people are in a state of uncertainty about their health.

Problem Statement

There are many articles about the definition of the concept of disease. It describes the types of diseases, their perception by different persons, as well as the views of many philosophers on this condition. For example, Simon et al. (2017) takes the concept of disease outside of medicine, referring it to a multifactorial term. Especially noteworthy is the patient's emotional perception of the disease and the diagnosis, as well as its impact on the quality of life and the further course of the disease. Kidd (2017) describes first-person illness narratives, where he also touches on the topic of the individual's attitude to the disease, his mental and emotional perception. Of course, the desire to understand the root, the true cause of the onset of various diseases is an important area of research, but it belongs to the medical field and is aimed at treating diseases, which have already appeared. In our opinion, it would be preferable to study the definition of health and define its foundations from the perspective of social sciences and philosophy. After focusing on the strengths of the human body, we multiply them, increasing the overall well-being of the individual. Nowadays, in the rapidly changing world where it is difficult to reveal the truth, it is important to understand the philosophical foundations of health, including healthy lifestyle, thinking and behaviour (Kidd, 2017).

It is well known that in the scientific literature, journals and social media, there is an opinion that the cause of many diseases is stress. It would seem that the decision is obvious - you just need to be calm, not to worry and not to succumb to stress. Everyone knows this word and for many people it means excitement, a critical situation and danger. It seems to us that we understand it when we are under stress and when we are calm. However, the modern world dictates its own rules. If we are talking about life in a city, especially in a metropolis, we simply cannot avoid external stimuli: traffic, the flow of people, noise, polluted atmosphere and a frantic rhythm - all of this is the cause of the latent stress that we experience every day. Taking into account the specifics of the environment, we also throw various stress factors into our basket of life. An abundance of information surrounds us: reading or watching content, listening to music, a stream of correspondence and calls. In addition, we can have a snack of junk food, and then we wonder why we are so tired by the end of the evening, and irritability is at its peak. Of course, we shouldn't forget about our reaction to circumstances. If you worry about every little thing, worry when you make any decision, or fuss over trifles, it is unlikely that a healthy diet, sports and any supplements will significantly improve health.

Research Questions

The first question is the definition of health and its foundations from the perspective of social sciences and philosophy.

a. The second is the equilibrium of the system of psychological, mental and social components of health.

b. The third is practical tips for maintaining balance between psychological, mental and social components of health.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to understand the fundamental foundations of the philosophy of psychological, mental and social health.

Research Methods

Within the framework of this article, the literature review, interviews and the expert opinion were collected.

Findings

The main trend of our time to strengthen both the health of the individuals and the society goes along with psychological and mental health. Let us look not at the causes of mental health deterioration (for example, inability to adapt to stressful environment), but rather at the foundations of mental health. After interviewing specialists in the healthcare area (surgeons, therapists, endocrinologists and many others), we came across similar stories of working with patients. Every year more and more people come with complaints of purely psychosomatic, demanding a full examination from the doctor: instrumental, laboratory and preferably the conclusion of the medical commission. The health care system spends many resources, and it turns out that the patient is physically healthy, but at the same time one continues to prove the presence of a serious illness to the doctor (Zyukin et al., 2020). In addition, many patients, regardless of the specialty of the doctor, often come to him as to a psychotherapist: they need to speak out, be heard and receive emotional support (Sholl, 2015). Moreover, such visits to a specialist are enjoyable, and people get into the habit of regularly visiting doctors in most cases exclusively for psychological assistance.

The NMRC’s (National Medical Research Centres of the Russian Federation) specialists noted an increase in the prevalence among patients of mental disorders, depressive disorders and burnout syndromes. The alleged reason for this trend is a systemic instability of the economy (fear of losing a job), a high pace of life in big cities, a large amount of information consumed from unreliable sources (especially in the isolation during Covid-19) and other external factors of an aggressive information and social environment. By the way, due to the development of social networks and virtual reality, many people get depressed due to the lack of live communication and loneliness. On the other hand, there is a positive dynamics in the state of patients of various profiles after providing them with psychological assistance (for example, the symptoms of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system and neurology disappear without medication or surgery).

The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. As we mentioned before, people need to focus on well-being, not on the disease and defects. Leaving physical health, as a combination of factors of genetics, epigenetics, medical interventions, to medical specialists, it is better to focus on the psychological, mental and social components. The equilibrium of the system of these components is possible only with a favourable satisfaction of the corresponding spheres of life. We cannot imagine a psychologically and mentally healthy person, separated from the society. Many single people suffer from deep depression and constantly turn to psychotherapists, clearly feeling their inferiority in personal health due to the lack of sufficient communication with colleagues, friends and family. Such situations especially manifested themselves during the self-isolation (Covid-19): the number of divorces, domestic violence, nervous breakdowns and, accordingly, the number of exacerbations of chronic diseases against a background of stress increased. All of these symptoms are consequences of the narrow communication circle (Held, 2015).

First, to form health and wellness, we should start with psychology, and specifically with the way of our thinking. Every day we wake up with certain attitudes: "today will be a hard working day" or "what a wonderful day off, I am free from all matters." At first glance, it seems that these statements are a true reaction to the situation, but in fact, we ourselves create our day based on the inner mood. There were days when, despite bad weather, unfavourable circumstances at work and the postponement of planned events, we are in the mood for a productive day and do not notice negative environmental factors. On the contrary, we feel uncomfortable, as if something is going wrong on a day, when everything goes according to a plan, everything is good at work and the weather makes everyone happy. Of course, it is a manifestation of our internal psychological characteristics. Possible unrealized plans, unattainable goals, or directly old grievances affect our outlook and imperceptibly distort our reality. First of all, the state of psychological balance begins with accepting oneself with all the flaws and shortcomings. We drive ourselves into the framework, overestimate the requirements and compare ourselves with a certain reference, formed from the outside and having nothing to do with the real personality. This behaviour leads to the instant frustration of distinguishing the fictional image from our real incarnation. Having accepted ourselves, we are faced with the following barrier: the surrounding reality differs from the picture of the world, which we build more and more clearly in our head over the years. The destruction of templates opens our eyes and expands the horizon of our thinking. We cease to be angry at the world, because we do not expect anything from it - it exists, like us, it is not ideal as all the people are. Like any other organism, in order to survive, a person needs to adapt to the modern world. Therefore, it is very important and necessary to choose your role and behaviour that satisfy the needs of the internal body and the external world. It is quite easy for everyone to identify an occupation that he does not like or disgust: someone does not tolerate watching TV series. From the outside world, the reaction is also easily detected: there is hardly a place where it is considered the norm to be drunk and inadequate in public transport - the rejection of other passengers caused by the situation is obvious. That is why, in order to maintain psychological comfort, it is necessary to focus both on the internal needs of the individual and on the request of the external environment (society, economy, political system of the state). We have adopted a psychological balance and created the foundation for a healthy and prosperous life.

Second, society is needed to maintain health and to develop a positive mindset. In the course of evolution, it developed that in order to survive, a person had to find partners, notice and unite into social groups. With the development of mankind, these groups have grown into systems and communities of different scales. For example, a classroom, university, creative community, sports team, or political party are all examples of communities with people with specific interests. Recently, due to the development of social networks, and especially during the self-isolation of Covid-19, people unwillingly began to communicate less and interact with others live. Loneliness or online communication often creates feelings of loneliness, leaving a person alone with his thoughts, and leads to depression. Of course, at such moments, a person's attention switches to all sorts of personal problems, including health. Many people, cut off from society, begin to delve into themselves and attach too much importance to minor problems. In the era of excess information, when on the Internet you can stumble upon unproven recommendations and articles about various diseases and their treatment, a person begins to "try on" all sorts of clinical cases, which naturally affects one’s well-being. This situation is one of many, but even it shows the importance of socialization. The more actively a person is introduced into various social groups and takes part in them, the less time he has for introspection and increased anxiety about his own person. What is important, it is not enough to find just one social group, for example, a work collective, in order to reveal and develop one's personality and strengthen psychological health. It is necessary to join or create communities for other interests and values: family, hobbies, and sports. Only the balance of all social systems, as well as a clear self-positioning in them, will lead to a healthy and active existence of the individual in modern society.

Third, in order to consolidate the formation of a stable health system of an individual, the filling of the spiritual sphere is required. Of course, it is difficult to clearly define the order of actions, framework and recommendations in this direction, but empirically it is possible to identify some concepts. Since ancient times, people have believed in various deities, symbolism or omens. With the development of humanity, religions and confessions appeared and strengthened. This sphere of human life included not only modern religions, but also various rituals, paganism, astrology, spiritual practices and traditions of peoples. It is difficult to measure, but also difficult to deny the contribution of spiritual foundations and beliefs to the mental and physical health of a person. After all, such beliefs have powerful force and directly affect both the psyche and the behaviour of a person in society, which were mentioned earlier. That is why it is necessary at least to determine your attitude to the spiritual sphere - it is not necessary to join one of the religions, but to be aware of your spiritual values. It can even be ordinary human qualities and principles, which are not so difficult to follow, for example, decency, good breeding or honesty. However, an important condition is the conscious recognition of these foundations as personal and conscientious adherence to them. After all, when we go against our moral values, it causes a resonance in not only our thoughts, but sometimes it also manifests itself physiologically. There are many stories about the powerful power of believing in oneself, a higher force or in one's team. For example, athletes excel their physical performance in competitions, the sick miraculously recovers, and in business, entire companies are incredibly emerging from the deepest crisis. Some may ignore the spiritual component of a person, of course, and feel great. However, the secret is that even such people have a well-defined confidence in their righteousness and lack of spirituality - which in its own way refers them to just another type of belief.

Conclusion

In conclusion, studying the philosophy of health and determining its foundations is very important. The most promising one for non-medical scientists is the field of psychological, mental and social health. Understanding the fundamental foundations of the philosophy of health will help to form a correct and healthy way of thinking of a modern person in uncertain circumstances. In the modern world, it is very important to maintain the psychological balance, to be in a state of mental comfort and to be aware of one’s place and role in society. The theses outlined in this work do not require any manipulation of physical health, unlike drug treatment, for example, but only rethinking everyday life can make a greater contribution to human health and well-being than a developed health care system. The increased interest in recent years in the direction of the philosophy of medicine only proves the relevance of this topic.

References

• Held, L. (2015). Phenomenology of historical spaces [Phénoménologie des espaces historiques]. Revista de Filosofia: Aurora, 27(41), 427-447.

• Kidd, I. J. (2017). Exemplars, ethics, and illness narratives. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, 38, 323–334.

• Sholl, J. (2015). Putting phenomenology in its place: Some limits of a phenomenology of medicine. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, 36, 391–410.

• Simon, J. R., Carel, H., & Bird, A. (2017). Understanding disease and illness. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, 38, 239–244.

• Zyukin, D. A., Bystritskaya, A. Yu., Golovin, A. A., & Vlasova, O. V. (2020). The share of health care spending in the structure of GDP as a criterion for the healthcare system effectiveness. Año 11, 30, 352-363.