Psychology meets health: maturing with science

Abstract

Write a presentation for our journal “International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology. INFAD: Revista de Psicología”, in its year XXXVI, No. 1, and that, in this case, we have agreed on the title for the monograph of: “Psychology meets health” forces me to refer to and reflect on the two concepts involved: “Psychology” and “Health.” I know that when I start to make a “presentation” of the new issue of the magazine, -as happens in this moment -, I always ask myself what I should indicate or what I should capture in those few paragraphs that I force myself to write down. Faced with a doubtful feeling, - perhaps also lazy - my internal world and my experience tells me that with illusion and with courageous work everything will be revitalized as new, that illusion will unmask my fears, change my position, make me get out of what seems cumbersome to me, and will help me to love and live with enthusiasm, what I do, even if it costs whatever it costs me... and knowing that “what you can do today, don't leave it for tomorrow” I get to it. I affirm and believe that enthusiasm and a positive approach will make you think about what you need to activate and/or change in life, and not give up and put aside the negative, but undertake the task of turning it into a positive one. And the illusion is important and constant in this case. Illusion yes, but it alone is not enough, I will also have to respond with rigor, scientificity, with relevance. The feeling is, in this case, positive and I will try to reflect, especially what it requires of me to be making a presentation for a Scientific Magazine like ours. This appears to me, in my most intimate sense, as a lucid and clear demand, excited and positive. With its load of demand, but positive. A journal that is scientifically well positioned and has been published for many years demands it. We are in the 36th year since its origins and always active and present. The “Presentation” is just a small detail before the “whole scientist” of the Magazine. The little before the much. I remember here Tagore's text when he said “Once I spoke of the sea to the stream, and the stream thought that my imagination was exaggerated. And on another occasion I spoke from the stream to the sea and the sea thought that I was a contemptuous slanderer.” Neither should the presentation be a minimal “stream” in front of an immense “sea” (our magazine), nor should it be an immense “sea” in front of a stream. Neither an exaggerated imagination nor a contemptuous spirit. It is true that the set of science implicit, in this issue, and in these past years, of the magazine, is an "immense sea", and living it like this fills us with so much enthusiasm that it already rewards everything thinkable to this "stream" of "Presentation". I said, a few paragraphs above, that I am aware that I am writing a “Presentation” for a issue of our magazine that we have agreed upon as “Psychology meeting health.” Two very involved concepts: “Psychology” and “Health” & “Health and Psychology” We will have to talk about both concepts or better yet we will have to imply both in their entirety and link them with each other. The word “health” already forces us to consider a reflection from Psychology. And give Psychology a connotation of health - healthy. The etymology of the word "health", derived from the Latin "salus", recalls concepts of "being well, without illness, improvement, salvation, security and integrity, happiness, full intimate organization, etc...". All of this is just a reminder of the complexity of the concept of “health.”
, which goes beyond “the mere absence of illness” and involves multiple aspects of our lives, including lifestyles, social relationships and personal fulfillment and, above all, also “mental health”. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes mental well-being as a fundamental component of health and places it as one of the main concerns for the coming years (the Mental Health Action Plan, 2013-2020 did so and the Agenda 2020-2030). “Mental health” is being the subject of significant investments by all states in the world, with strategies that empower people to maintain healthy behaviors related to their mental health, improving the quality of life (WHO) and reducing the psychosocial risks of the disorders involved. On it. This is also a concern of EU member states. in their national mental health strategies.