A sound mind in a sound body: the challenge of the 21st centuryIn her book New Maladies of the Soul, Julia Kristeva asks us:“Who still has a soul?” This question - philosophical, theological or simply incongruous - takes on a new dimension today. Faced with neuroleptics, aerobics, and the onslaught of the media, does the soul still exist?1 (p.9).
Mind-body dualism, established since Descartes, strongly marked the analysis of various types of ailments and remained in vogue in certain disciplines until the 20th century. Contemporary neuroscience, however, has left no doubt about the materiality of the mind in the brain. Today, it is possible to demarcate regions involved in different decision-making processes, behavioral changes produced by lesions in various brain regions and even use chemical markers for certain diagnostic tests. To the disappointment of staunch biologists, more and more studies are also showing us that the plasticity of the human brain and its immaturity at birth point to the environment as one of the most important modulators of development.
It has never been possible to think of the human being as disconnected from society and culture, nor is there any health consideration that does not include mental health. However, it must be acknowledged that contemporary Western subjectivity (pardon the generalization, but it is appropriate at this point) is proving to be increasingly fragile when it comes to coping with the pitfalls of life. Values such as the good life have become synonymous with “never ever suffer for anything”. Feelings of belonging and community are increasingly scarce in today’s big cities. Furthermore, the significance that work once brought to people’s lives seems to have been diluted by the loss of professional categories and the emergence of new working relationships that dispense with job descriptions and advocate self-employment, which is the eternal bane of the unprotected entrepreneur. It is not surprising, therefore, that people resort to vicarious forms of satisfaction: addictions, medicalization of life and feelings, and various neurotic relationships with food and physical activity. It is in this context that Kristeva’s question remains relevant, despite having been originally formulated in 1993.
This issue of Ciência & Saúde Coletiva Journal is an example of the link between mental health, health in general and social and demographic variables in the field of public health. It bears witness to how our profession has not ceased to seek answers and alternative paths to the massacre of contemporary sociability and shows its value of usefulness in relation to this highly contemporary topic.
Brazil is country with an aging population. We must ask ourselves what factors are associated with violence against the elderly? Areas that create fear, foster hatred, and the role of the media: what does this tell us about our psychic and social constitution? The power of having psychoanalysts in psychiatric outpatient clinics to enrich the discipline of psychiatrists themselves. The relationship between the quality and daily distribution of meals and stress. “We don’t just want food”, it needs to be of good quality and adequately distributed throughout the day. Multidisciplinary mental health residencies in Brazil need to formulate their political and pedagogical projects. Are they up-to-date enough to face the dilemmas of the moment? How can we do so without giving up the founding values of the field without transforming it into a graveyard of empty slogans that no longer communicate anything to anyone?
The mental health of the Roma (gypsies) is a little-studied and neglected topic, as is the case with other vulnerable groups. Similarly, a review of psychic suffering in universities pointed to the scarcity of studies over 46 years! The development of children born during the Zika epidemic (though not affected by the disease) is another case in point. These are some of the topics covered in the following articles, namely texts from the expanding and developing field of public health. We welcome you!
