5 tips to improve your mental health from a text from 400 years ago (and still valid)

When it comes to self-help books, it is believed that the newer the better. After all, don’t we all want to have access to the latest tools to achieve maximum expression of our personality?

Well, maybe not always. The book The anatomy of melancholy Robert Burton may have been written in 1621, but it is a pioneering text in understanding the human condition that remains remarkably modern.

Burton, a British priest and scholar, has accumulated nearly two thousand years of scholarship, from ancient Greek philosophy to 17th century medicine.

He was familiar with the subject, having been a victim of the “blues” himself – a discomfort seen to encompass discouragement, depression and inactivity.

But to what extent is Burton’s foundational work supported? compared to what we know today about depression and emotional disorders?

Scottish journalist and author Amy Liptrot has reviewed Burton’s work and published The New Anatomy of Melancholy, an updated guide to the 21st century.

Liptrot tells us about the following five mechanisms applied in the 1620s that are still as useful today as they were then.

1. Monitor your emotional state and identify customers

To those who suffer from it, depression may seem like something that has neither a head nor a tail, but our moods can often follow very similar patterns.

Burton theorized that melancholy was “an inherited disorderAnd looked for patterns of mental illness in families and across generations.

Maybe that wasn’t too crazy – today it was discovered that depression has both a genetic and an environmental component.

“When one of the parents is suffering from severe depression, I like to see that there is a service where the minor and their extended family are involved in the same treatment and have the option of receiving care,” says Dr. Frances Rice, who works with families on depressive disorders.

But these are not just genetic models those that are useful for predicting mental illness: we can also study patterns of our behaviors.

Burton’s study of melancholy not only focuses on the low moments, it also takes the reader to the dizzying heights of their emotions.

With advances in our understanding of mood disorders, contemporary researchers point out that the extreme ups and downs described by Burton may in fact have been symptoms of bipolar disorder.

He had an amazing perspective on his own constantly changing moods and the circumstances that affected them.

Today, this idea can be seen as an essential tool in the management of mental illness; If we can notice changes in our moods and behaviors, we can begin to deal with the external factors that stimulate them.

2. The benefits of cold water

In his book, Burton has compiled a huge range of ideas and texts written by others.

The advantage of outdoor swimming “In cool rivers and in cold water” was one of the theories it included, as it was recommended to anyone who wanted to have a long life.

He may be right about it.

“As you get used to the stress of cold water and can cope better with it on a psychological and cellular level.at the same time, it reduces the inflammatory response to other stresses that underlie things like depression, ”says Dr Mike Tipton, research director at the Extreme Environment Laboratory at the University of Portsmouth, UK.

3. Get closer to nature

City dwellers can also get in touch with nature: going to the park, planting plants in the house or watching birds from a window or balcony.

For Burton, nature was the key to alleviating the symptoms of melancholy.

He brought out the virtues of herbs and flowers such as borage and hellebore to cleanse mental haze, purge the veins of melancholy, and brighten the heart.

Professor Simon Hiscock, director of the Oxford Botanic Garden, UK, says plants like borage have been used in the treatment of melancholy, anxiety and depression since ancient times – not only this modest herb was believed to give joy, it is said to have been dissolved in the wine of Roman soldiers to give them courage during battle.

Burton pointed out that nature’s “uplifting” effects are not limited to edible plants. He also strongly advocated the stimulating effect of gardening, plowing and plowing on the body.

British gardener and host Monty Don, who has personally coped with severe depression, describes the ‘potent medicine’ that comes from physical connection with plants, contact with the soil, and feeling the presence of the bushes that he has. has planted.

“I find that the best exercise is done when combined with some type of function.it says. Walk the dog, for example, provides exercise, purpose and connection to nature.

Burton’s theories of being on the outside are now officially recognized and incorporated into treatments offered by the British National Health System.

4. A shared problem is a reduced problem

“The best way to get relief is say our regrets to a friend, not drowned in our chest, ”Burton said 400 years ago.

Introspection and withdrawal are common behaviors among people with depression. While this rarely makes the victim feel better, acting against these impulses through socialization can seem almost impossible to do.

Dr Rice, who works with families to understand depression, suggests plan fun activities as part of a treatment program that encourages patients to engage in activities that increase their chances of receiving benefits, even if they feel ready to do the opposite.

Burton was also right when he recommended “to use friends … whose jokes and joy may please you.”

If you talk to your doctor about your bad mood, you may be expecting him to prescribe antidepressants. But did you know that in countries like Denmark, Canada and the UK, doctors now prescribe “social revenue“Like art classes, museum visits or group walks?”

Liptrot says if loneliness, rather than serious mental illness, causes you anhedonia (the inability to engage in enjoyable activities), a social prescription could be more useful than a drug.

5. Work-life balance

Okay, Burton didn’t use the phrase “work-life balance”, but instead referred to “the love of knowledge” as opposed to “too much education.”

His theory was that spending too much time bending over, reading, and writing meant not paying enough attention to other activities that we know are good for mental health such as exercise, sleep and socialization.

This is where the balance comes in: When we are mentally preoccupied and restless, studying is a welcome distraction, a positive focus with a sense of purpose.

However, if we study too much we do not become sedentary and lonely, giving up other activities that nourish a healthy mind.

Burton’s words may have come from the past, but his compilation of theories on the causes, symptoms and treatments of melancholy continue to be useful and relevant for the present.

It is true that his understanding of physiology is largely outdated – his medical knowledge was based on the ancient Greek “humor theory”, in which a system of four “humors” or bodily fluids (black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm) determined the functioning of the human body, its appearance and even its character.

In fact, “humor” prevailed until the 1850s, when it was superseded by the discovery of pathogens (organisms that cause disease) and the “microbial theory” of French scientist Louis Pasteur, whose work have revolutionized medical thought.

Yet Burton had a innate understanding how best to relieve our melancholic symptoms.

If self-awareness, swimming, nature, community and reading worked for people 400 years ago, why not here and now too?

BBC Mundo