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There is an incredible number of factors that can affect our mental health: interpersonal relationships, genetic predispositions, diet, the consumption of psychoactive substances, parenting, lack of physical activity and many more. But maybe one of the most important is financial and employment stability. The amount of work, stress, pressure, the constantly increasing cost of living, and unhealthy work environments greatly affect the well-being of workers. And, although fortunately we talk more and more about the importance of mental health, there is still a lot to do in Mexico.
According to the Ministry of Health, 15 million Mexicans1 They live with a disorder on a daily basis which affects their mental and emotional stability. Three out of four workers in Mexico strive every day to get ahead without having the necessary well-being to achieve it. In addition, this epidemic is growing at alarming rates, proof of this is that the incidence of suicides has increased by 16% in the last 10 years. What's even more worrying is that only 10%2 of these people have access to specialized mental care services.
The causes of this detriment—as well as the factors affecting mental health—are so many that it would be impossible to name them all. But maybe one of the most common is stress derived from excessive workloads which exceed the productive capacity of a single person. As a result, workers have less access to free time that they could spend on family activities, hobbies, adequate rest and nutrition, and self-care in general. In the long run, The amount of stress and lack of time for recreation causes workers the famous syndrome of burnout. This occasional phenomenon documented by the World Organization3 of Health is characterized by a dramatic lack of energy, a negative view of work and reduced productivity.
But what can we do to slow down the accelerating increase in disorders affecting emotional and mental well-being in Mexico? Faced with the growing need for psychological care, several countries have chosen to establish guidelines to take care of the mental health of their workers. In most European countries, as well as in the United States, Do workers have a certain number of days available where they may be absent from work to take time to take care of their mental health. These Mental Health Days ——in most cases—— they can be used without having to check for the disease and do not affect the salaries of employees. Some benefits of this initiative are the reduction of Burnout, increasing productivity, reducing isolation and loneliness, preventing mental health crises and developing a better attitude to work.
However, in Mexico, the mental health care of workers is still lagging considerably. Despite the recent approval of the Decent Holidays Act ——which increases the number of rest days from 6 to 12 days—— and the publication of NOM-035 ——issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, which aims to help identify and prevent psychosocial risk factors and workplace violence——, most Mexican workers don't have access to mental health specialists not to paid days to take care of this one. In life, we all face unexpected situations that can affect our overall well-being. When going through a grief, a breakup, an anxiety crisis, a depressive episode, or any overwhelming circumstance, we should have the opportunity to take the time to heal.
In Mindsurf, we believe that this is a basic need that must be addressed and, for this to be possible, it is essential that we not only talk about mental health: we talk about our rights.
-->1 https://lideresmexicanos.com/noticias/
-->2 https://www.globalopenuniversity.mx/
-->3 https://www.who.int/
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