Emotional management, the key to mental health care

The impact of Covid-19 and subsequent global instability have raised social anxiety about health. Good habits and prevention are two pillars of proper emotional well-being.

The epidemic marked before and after in the field of mental health. The emotional consequences of confinement have, in many cases, triggered episodes of stress and depression. This position, along with the view that some public figures have recently given to this kind of circumstance, helps to make this problem no longer a taboo to enter public debate as an issue of relevance to society.

There is no doubt that Covid-19 has affected the population in terms of emotional well-being. The number of people suffering from anxiety and depression grew by just over 25% during the first year of the epidemic, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). The study warned that one in eight people in the world suffers from anxiety or depression, and adds that suicidal thoughts have increased by between 8% and 10%, especially among young people.

These issues were addressed at the meeting Emotional Health and Well-being: In Spotlight, organized by EXPANSIN and El Mundo in collaboration with BBVA.

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Why has the pandemic had such a devastating impact on the mental health of a community? “In our lives, we all have a series of emotional regulation strategies, which help us compensate and manage stressful situations we go through,” said Silvia Lava, PhD, clinical and health psychologist. Incarceration and subsequent restrictions have prevented many people from enjoying the moments of leisure and socialization they needed as an exit valve. As Lava noted, “This has caused stressful situations to continue to build up and leave us without the resources to face our day.”

To these consequences of the pandemic, many possibilities have been added in the past year – from the war in Ukraine to inflation – which have led to global uncertainty and, as a consequence, emotional instability among the population. 8.3% of Spaniards consider their mental health to be not good and 40.7% realize that it can improve, according to the latest Sanitas study on mental health in Spain. In other words, “almost half of the population believes their mental health can be better,” said Francisco Ray, director of business development at BBVA Seguros.

This scenario revealed many mental health problems that remained invisible and raised concerns about emotional well-being among the population. In parallel, Ri explained that “we detected a strong increase in health insurance contracting since 2020, which continued in 2021 and 2022.” He also stressed that the use of digital tools for healthcare is increasing. As evidence of this, BBVA Salud policyholders have conducted more than 110,000 video consultations in the past twelve months.

As a first step in caring for mental health, Silvia Lava advised that “we must be clear about what our emotions mean. There are no bad feelings: they give us all information about what is happening to us and they are temporary, so it is important to listen to them and learn to read them.” In addition, the clinical and health psychologist explained that “there are some basic pillars to achieving emotional well-being: movement and exercise, eating healthy, and resting in the necessary hours.”

For his part, Francisco Ray emphasized the role of prevention in relation to mental health: “Maintaining healthy habits, creating awareness of how to take care of ourselves physically and emotionally, and in short, anticipating ourselves is very important.” However, many people arrive very late for their consultation appointment, once the condition is already in a more advanced state. In this way, the Director of Business Development at BBVA Seguros emphasized that “emotional well-being must be approached from prevention, and this is exactly the concept in the genesis of insurance”.

Among the various solutions that the entity proposes to its document holders, the most used relates to areas such as nutrition, personal trainers and above all mental health. “Health insurance helps complement public health from a prevention perspective,” Ray said. Silvia Lava agreed that “we should not wait until someone has a disorder to seek help, because our mental and physical health will already be affected.”

“We can all change the way we experience life and how we interpret it,” the doctor emphasized. In the same way as these healthy habits, Francisco Ray noted access to insurance: “An investment in health insurance is an investment in the emotional well-being of a family, and it has a very positive impact on people’s lives.”

Solution

In addition, technology has also become a facilitator in the field of mental health. Ray cautioned that “digital apps and tools help improve our emotional well-being, but it is important to have a medical professional behind them.” Thanks to artificial intelligence, BBVA and Sanitas have launched a tool that allows users to perform a quick psychological assessment and keep a daily record of their feelings. As Silvia Lava added, “It does not replace treatment but can improve it thanks to the data, while evaluation is very useful for a person to better understand their situation based on criteria determined by specialists.”

In line with this type of solution, BBVA President Seguros concluded, “We chose to offer customized products and use our digital capabilities to help people adopt healthy lifestyles that allow them to lead healthier, longer and more productive lives.” .