"The best anti-anxiety remedy is having a circle of friends."

BarcelonaA quarter of the world's population will suffer from a mental disorder at some point in their lives, according to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), which identifies mental health as one of the major challenges for improving care. Further data underscores this concern: 15% of adolescents will also experience distress; suicide is the second leading cause of non-natural death among minors. No one is immune to experiencing anguish, depression, anxiety, or an eating disorder, although individual factors (low self-esteem, illness, or addictions) and socioeconomic factors (stress, unemployment, discrimination, injustice, or unwanted loneliness) can contribute to suffering.

With this data in mind, psychiatrist Josefina Castro from the Hospital Clínic and clinical psychologist Guillem Feixes from the University of Barcelona (UB) debated, at a conference organized by the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC) in collaboration with the newspaper ARA, where the boundaries lie between being interconnected and experiencing greater complexity. Fortunately, while just a few years ago mental health was a matter dealt with in the privacy of families and medical consultations, today it has come out of the closet and is discussed more than ever.

So, to break the ice and provide context for the audience, the debate moderator, ARA journalist Lara Bonilla, posed the question of when to seek help and where the line is drawn between simple discomfort and a disorder. The two experts, members of the IEC, point out that objective diagnostic criteria exist, and Castro adds that the intensity and frequency of the pain are taken into account, but above all, the degree of suffering and its interference with daily life. From there comes the diagnosis, which, although often accompanied by "stigma," is vital for the psychiatrist: "It's good to put labels on things so we can move towards medical treatment" and overcome or reduce suffering.

The antidotes

Against fatalism, Feixes emphasized the importance of having "trusting and high-quality relationships," people to confide in about doubts and anxieties, to vent and avoid isolation. In this regard, the psychologist stressed that a social network of friends or family to share feelings, fears, and hopelessness is a good "antidote to suicide" and to unwanted loneliness, another major ill of today's society. "The oldest and most important anxiolytic is a secure relationship," he asserted, adding that having people to turn to in moments of distress is also harmless to one's health. "Having high-quality relationships is not addictive," he affirmed. The debate also highlighted that the major challenge is increasing investment to reduce waiting lists for psychological and psychiatric care, for both adults and children. The lockdown and subsequent restrictions imposed during the pandemic years caused great distress among children, who felt the lack of socialization during a crucial stage of their development and saw face-to-face interactions replaced by virtual ones through screens.