"Suicidal thoughts have increased by 12.5 to 14% in young people".
Ángela Jordana is a specialist in Health Literacy and Salutogenesis - a concept developed by the physician and sociologist Aaron Antonovsky in the 1970s. Creator of the method LifeCourse and MOA, she teaches courses to individuals and organisations seeking to find meaning and new solutions to today's challenges. For Jordana, a person without meaning and purpose in life is a ship adrift, a body on the way to imbalance.
According to the researcher, the WHO definition of health - a state of complete physical, mental and relational well-being - is a utopia and she considers that it is necessary to redefine it and to clarify in detail to professionals and companies what we understand as such; a concept that in her opinion is still very confusing.
CEO of WHI-Institute (Wellbeing & Health Innovation)Jordana has extensive experience in the management area of several multinationals in the pharmaceutical sector such as MERCK-MSD, PFIZER and SANOFI. She has completed the Executive Business Coaching & Mentoring programme at IE Business School and the Health Literacy Program at the University of Girona. She holds a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Barcelona, a Business PDD from IESE Business School and an MBA in Marketing Management from ESADE. She was also a senior researcher at XploreHealth-SanaMent (IrsiCaixa), where she conducted a study in six schools with more than 258 students on stress, anxiety and depression in young people.
- Do we live in a society with more anxiety and stress than a few decades ago? We read more and more articles in the press about this issue. Do you have an opinion on this?
Yes. The frenetic pace at which we are living is an unstoppable socio-cultural trend that leads to anxiety, chronic stress, depression and existential angst. In January 2019, before the pandemic, the World Economic Forum at its meeting in Davos already declared mental health as the epidemic of the 21st century. The COVID-19 crisis has aggravated this situation, which has particularly affected two groups: young people, whose lifestyles have changed radically, and people between 50 and 60 with a senior profile, who have begun to experience the uncertainty of not knowing what is going to become of them in a changing work context such as the one we live in. To this we can add the suffering of loneliness that we have seen among our elders.
With regard to young people, suicidal thoughts have increased by 12.5 to 14%, according to the Mental Health ConfederationSuicide is a chilling figure, and has been the social group that has frequented mental health services the most. Suicide is very serious, involves hopelessness with no return, and is already the leading cause of unnatural death among young people aged 12-29. Moreover, for every suicide that is completed, there are between 10 and 20 unsuccessful attempts, which are usually experienced in solitude.
- Should the media talk about such sensitive issues as suicide?
- We lack awareness of the seriousness of the issue. What happens is that we have to be very careful, because many media outlets are looking for easy and alarming headlines to sell. The key is for the media to communicate and explain the situation without dramatising it. However, there is still a fear of talking openly about the issue because of the possible "call effect".
- In an open letter he published recently, he says that he did not know how to stop in time before going into depression because he did not know how to stop and did not want people to interpret that he was "unfit and underperforming". Do you think there is a certain social pressure to be healthy?
- As an executive and manager you are under pressure from all sides. The pace is hectic, the work schedule is very tight and if you don't reflect on what you are doing and find space to reconnect, you get exhausted. The body is very wise and knows how to regain its balance, as long as you don't push it to the limit. In my case, I didn't know that what was happening to me was depression. I thought it was fatigue, lack of motivation or lack of enthusiasm. At a medical check-up for us managers, the doctor, when he finished, looked at me and asked me how I was. I replied with a certain cockiness that he should tell me, as he was the doctor and had all my tests. He looked at me and asked me again: "No, I'm telling you. How are you? And at that moment something deep inside me broke through and I collapsed.
- How did you feel when you were diagnosed with depression?
- On the one hand, I was calm because I knew what it was and also that being a woman is a risk factor in mental health. What worried me was that the company would know. In demanding environments and complex contexts, we force ourselves to keep up because often the fear of others finding out how you are is strong.
I was on medication for 6 months and never stopped working for a day. Today I know it was a mistake. It is essential that we stop, that we observe ourselves and become aware of ourselves. Only then can we lead our lives with meaning. And today, as then, learning to stop is a huge necessity. The consumption of anxiolytics and antidepressants continues to increase year by year. At all ages, the number of women with depression is higher than that of men.
- However, men commit suicide more often than women.
- Men take longer to recognise when they are unwell and find it difficult to ask for help and therefore reach the limit, the door of suicide. But this is changing; men are finally recognising that their health is also at risk, and can suffer from such illnesses.
Our socio-cultural model is unsustainable at all levels. We live in a society that separates us from our spirituality, and it has been scientifically proven that this drives us mad.
- On the other hand, do you think there is currently an excessive focus on health? Some psychologists have warned that excessive attention to health can lead to more stress and anxiety.
- I think there is a lot of confusion about what is health, what is meant by health? A lot of people associate it with the physical dimension, with how my body is: "My body is fine, I am healthy". Or to the mind. Many years ago the WHO gave a definition in which it explained that health is "a state of complete physical, mental and relational well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". But, of course, this is utopian; no one is in perfect health. It is impossible.
The publication How Should we Define Health? from the British Medical Journalchallenged the scientific community to take a fresh look and redefine the concept. They defined it as "the ability of the individual to adapt and self-manage to physical, mental and social challenges". With this definition, the individual takes responsibility for his or her health and understands that everything that happens to him or her has to do with him or her. Feeling healthy, being healthy, is in our hands.
- The model and theory devised by Antonovsky emphasises that the individual "finds the source of health and well-being in him or herself," he explains in an article defining salutogenesis. If it is up to you to have good health, are you to blame for your illness?
- The 50% of what happens to us is caused by our genetics, which does not mean that we come predetermined, because genetics is remodelled through the influence of our environment, of our epigenetics. One is not to blame for one's illness and, understanding the definition of health that I have explained to you, a person can suffer from an illness and feel healthy. According to a study, 75% of patients diagnosed with a chronic illness - an illness that you cannot cure - declared themselves healthy and well. When you are aware of what is happening to you and you know yourself, you know when you can go into crisis and you are able to respond in these situations. The challenge is not to fall into the victimhood of illness.
- The 1980s saw the emergence of positive psychology, a current that predominates today. The idea of making friends with positive thoughts and trying to avoid negative ones confronts the thesis that suffering is an inevitable reality.
- If we see positive psychology as a technique that I self-apply to avoid negative thoughts and force myself to change them into positive ones, it is not going to solve anything. However, if we understand it as the ability to observe and investigate ourselves - we are the only living being with the ability to be aware of ourselves - then it is a compelling option. And it doesn't just apply to the mental realm. It's about noticing everything that impacts on my overall health in a positive way. That does help us.
We must go beyond thinking, avoid becoming obsessed with thinking. Realise that we are not what we think.
- He often stresses the importance of finding meaning or purpose in work. However, don't you think that some work is done out of necessity? Some psychologists consider that reflection on purpose at work is a privilege that only a few can afford. What do you think about this?
- Each person must find meaning, find a motive to which he or she feels deeply committed and which allows him or her to connect with his or her own essential reality. It is good that we reflect on the why of work and not simply on the "what for"; we must find in ourselves the resources that help us to make our lives meaningful, that connect us to the intrinsic and authentic motivation of what we do.
- However, there are jobs where there is no promotion or advancement, and if you ask why they work, they will tell you that they work to earn money. In other words, we are talking about jobs that are done out of economic necessity.
- This seems to me to be a false belief. In everyone, there is something deeper than economic or status motivation. A woman who cleaned NASA offices was once asked why she worked. She replied: "Because I help send men to the moon". A cleaning lady who connected with the strength and purpose of NASA. All jobs have a meaning, a "why".
- Is it easier for a manager to find the purpose of his or her work than for a taxi driver to discover it?
We are all called to find it, and I will tell you that for a manager it may be even more complicated because of the short-term pressure he or she is under. We are called to develop our capacity to love what we do and to love who we are. And we are not able to do this because we have not been taught it and it seems to us to be "unimportant" when it is the genuine and authentic thing to do.
- What actions or activities bring us health?
-First of all, we have to find the meaning, the reason for what we do. What brings us health is to be "plugged in" to life. Nietzsche said: "Live your life in such a way that you want to live it an infinite number of times". And Antonovsky said that the main cause of stress came from the absence of reflection and asking ourselves questions. To bring out authenticity and live with inner coherence, from who you really are, Salutogenesis offers us the way and the resources to feel that our life is understandable, manageable and meaningful.
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