Joan Deus: "The incipient detection of mental health problems is vital"

It seems like specific concepts such as "narcissist profile" or "toxic person" are making their way into mainstream language. Can we say that psychology is becoming more mainstream or even that there is a boom in emotional wellbeing?

There is more sensitivity towards generic mental health issues, a topic that covers the possibility of disorders, the prevention of diseases and the promotion of emotional wellbeing. We take more and more care of our physical health and that has translated into taking care of our emotional wellbeing: doing things and being with the people who make us feel good. More than becoming more popular, psychology is now where it deserves to be.

You explain that mental health is something more than just the absence of disorders.

When we are talking about disorders, we think of doctors in white coats prescribing pills. In contrast, psychology plays an important role in fostering wellbeing. And we must work inexorably with our medical colleagues. Psychology has always been associated with behavioural problems, and psychiatry with mental problems: some behavioural problems stem from mental problems and vice versa. Therefore, it is not an issue of whose patient it is, but rather what type of treatment is the most adequate for them.

In ancient times, mental illness was explained through myths and superstitions. When did we start having scientific knowledge of the human brain?

Psychology dates back to around five centuries before the time of Jesus Christ. The first neuropsychologist was Greek, Alcmaeon of Croton, and after that came Socrates: one placed emotions inside the brain and the other spoke of introspection as a way to get to know oneself and care for one's mental health. For many centuries, the care of our emotions was left in the hands of religions, which took care of preventing and treating mental health problems. And these problems were still taboo at the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries. In the 20th century, with the arrival of drugs, medicine in general experienced a great surge; until then people still used medicinal plants to treat all sorts of health problems, even mental ones.

A lack of awareness of mental illnesses also includes a strong dimension of gender. There are specific concepts which have been typically related to the female gender: women are more nervous, or more fragile, etc.

This is a very important topic and we now understand the issue much better. In the 1990s, there was a burst of studies explaining the mechanisms of our brains, where there are undeniable differences between men and women. We have the same rights, but biologically we are different. And neurobiological differences can explain, for example, why some types of problems are more frequent in one gender or the other. That does not mean that there is a weak sex or a strong sex, not at all. It is an important step forwards, not to stigmatise one sex or the other, but to understand many of these illnesses and find a cure.

A lot has been said about the emotional problems caused by the pandemic and lockdown. What can we take away from that experience?

I always use the example of the children born during the pandemic: they have spent three years with no adequate socialisation and have experienced the world with masks, which affects their language acquisition, and are behind in their oral language skills. However, some mental illnesses have improved or worsened, depending on the case: for a person with social phobia, the pandemic represented a reservoir, but for those with obsessive compulsive disorders (OCDs) that involved cleaning for example, the lockdown was a torture.

What specific challenges to mental health and emotional wellbeing can we find in a university environment?

There is a positive evolution towards making visible, not stigmatising and understanding mental health problems. A total of 85% of universities in Spain offer psychological services to help with mental health problems. And the organic law on universities, the LOSU, has made it clear that the university is concerned about these issues. But the UAB has gone a bit further and offers many of the resources needed to respond to these health demands. We offer services, for example, to detect when classmates may have a mental illness, and act as liaisons between psychological suport services and teaching staff.

Are there things that make each group different?

There is an important variable, which is age. Students suffer from many adjustment disorders, in other words, the reaction they have to a specific problem they are facing when they do not know how to handly it adequately and this produces anxiety and alters their state of mind. And now we are detecting many more personality disorders: obsessive and avoidant disorders, border personality disorder... Students ask us for study tips and there is an increase in the awareness of gender-based violence—not only related to rape, but to a whole array of sexual aggressions and harassment—and the abuse of power. That also demonstrates a loss of fear in acknowledging a problem and facing it. With regard to personal aspects, we find stress, burnout syndrome, relational and speech-related problems, depressions, OCDs, phobias and panic attacks.

What type of measures can be taken to help prevent mental illnesses?

The first step is psychoeducation: making the population aware of symptoms that can lead to a possible problem. The first people to detect changes are those closest to the person, and early detection is very important. The UAB has made great advances in training thanks to the Barcelona Trauma, Crisis and Conflict Unit, the UTCCB, which explains to students what mental illnesses are and the symptoms they can look out for among their classmates. We also work with degree coordinators and lecturers. The UAB also works on promoting physical and social activities as elements of cohesion, prevention and emotional wellness. And we are now working on a protocol of action when detecting the risk of suicide.

So, when we detect symptoms that can be worrisome, not in ourselves but in other people, what can we do?

One of the things that can break barriers is acknowledging that mental illnesses are an illness, and not be afraid of them. Before, when a person had depression , a family member would normally react by saying "I don't know what is wrong with them". And then I would have to explain that it is an illness and we have to treat it as an illness. Or the fear of spiders, another mental health problem that causes a behaviour of avoidance and rejection: it is a minor issue, but it is still a mental health problem. If we understand that someone is ill, we feel sorry for them and instinctively try to help them. There is no need to scold them, but rather give them hope and explain to them that they are suffering from an illness and that together we will find a treatment.