Opinion – Michael França: From anguish to psychotropic happiness

Doubts about the future, insecurity, loss of inner peace, frequent mood swings and guilt. It is not easy to deal with the anguish and other negative feelings that arise in everyday life.

Perhaps this has become even more striking with the Covid-19 pandemic. Social distancing contributed to amplifying experiences with unpleasant sensations, and a set of repressed emotions began to surface. The sequelae left in people’s psychic framework will require time and investment to be treated.

Brazil was no longer doing very well in terms of the mental health of its population. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the country is considered the most anxious in the world. About 9% of Brazilians live with anxiety, and this fact has, among others, repercussions on sleep quality. According to data from the WHO itself, insomnia affects more than 40% of the population. These and other factors make Brazil the most depressed country in Latin America.

One of the reasons some mental health conditions have become chronic is the stress contained in today’s hectic lifestyle. With the routine increasingly intense and complex, many are experiencing a deep sense of discouragement, emptiness and apathy. In addition, genetic factors also contribute to the worsening of several conditions.

However, advances in research in recent decades have allowed the emergence of several new treatment options. In 1988, the revolutionary “happy pill” arrived in US pharmacies. Prozac (fluoxetine) had fewer side effects than previous antidepressants and became popular in a society that was agonizing in the midst of various negative feelings and that, at the same time, sought immediate solutions to anesthetize its suffering.

Since then, many other drugs have been invented. However, despite advances in medicine, a significant part of the population does not even have access to mental health professionals. Furthermore, not infrequently, even those who have the financial means to pay for good treatment refuse to use drugs, as, unfortunately, there are still considerable stigmas in relation to their effects.

There are also those who use psychotropic drugs with the aim of improving professional performance and alleviating the natural sufferings of life. In today’s world, it is common to put health aside to pursue goals that, in many cases, will be unsustainable in the long run. In these contexts, “emotional pain relievers” can even harm the development of the individual’s resilience to deal with the difficulties inherent to the human condition.

In the daily lives of many people, abuse in the use of medication and numbness with other drugs are present as an attempt to escape the weakened emotional situation in which they find themselves. Seeking help is the way. However, many are impatient with the lengthy and costly treatments. Psychotherapy sessions and consultations with psychiatrists are not usually cheap. In addition, cases of poorly prepared professionals with pseudoscientific approaches that do little to help their patients are not uncommon.

Despite all the challenges, the synergy of psychotherapy and psychiatry, as well as the possible use of medication and a little patience with the treatment, still represents the best bet to restore the well-being of those who have lost themselves in psychic suffering in a society marked by imbalances.

The text is a tribute to the song “Socorro”, by Arnaldo Antunes and Alice Ruiz, performed by Arnaldo Antunes. Similar to last year, the two September columns were designed to generate reflections on the population’s mental health in a month marked by the Yellow September campaign, to prevent suicide.