Stay moving, but not just any way. This is not the latest slogan of a sports hall, but rather the title of the dynamic conference which will be given by the child psychiatrist from the Oreste center in Tours Xavier Angibault and the psychiatrist from the CHRU Pierre-Yves Sarron, Wednesday October 16 , at Tours town hall, as part of Mental Health Information Weeks. We will talk about “taking action”, development and prevention of depression. Explanations from Dr Pierre-Yves Sarron.
More than sport or even physical activity, you address the benefits of “movement” for mental health. What are we talking about?
Pierre-Yves Sarron: “To say that sport is good for your health is to open the door: of course it is good for us. Our bias, as psychiatrists, is the fight against inaction. The idea is to provide keys from therapeutic methods to take action, even for people who do not have a pathology. It goes into preventing depression. »
For psychiatrist Pierre-Yves Sarron, getting back into action is one of the keys to fighting depression.
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It’s even a question of well-being and fulfillment… Are we in a kind of coaching?
“Everything the coaches say is not to be thrown away, even if it is a little grandiose. In therapy, we consider that it is good to do things, but that there is a quantitative and qualitative dimension to take into account: if it does not make sense, if it is not satisfying, it does not has no effect. About fifteen years ago, we believed that to be well, you just had to move, do things and that was enough. This is what we asked of our patients. We realized that it wasn’t very effective: people were getting back into action, but it didn’t last. Today, before taking action, we try to define values, which can do us good. »
You provide the keys to finding these fulfilling activities. Aren’t they all?
“There are obligatory actions, like eating, moving around, working… Optional actions, which remain constraints, like shopping, preparing meals, cleaning… And everything that relates to rest, relief actions, like leaf through a magazine or scroll on your phone. The idea is to add something that is fulfilling, to take a step back, to see what perhaps already exists in our habits and which we can make more active. »
You mention the telephone. Do you have a method to reduce screen time without frustration, even among teenagers?
“Indeed, we are going to illustrate this notion of habit – we are habit monsters – with screens. We will ask ourselves how we can go against habit, with principles used in addictionology. It’s not easy, we don’t pretend that. The idea is that you shouldn’t try to cut back drastically all at once, but rather break out of the habit script in small steps and introduce other things instead. »
Is the lack of “chosen” activities a real problem for our mental health?
“If we look at our modern society, our lives are made up of many constraints and habits. Many people have the feeling of being subjected, of being more spectator of their life than actor. A feeling that becomes more complex during periods of stress. It’s interesting to have a few keys to action in periods when things are a little tight. »
“Stay moving but not just any way”, Wednesday October 16, village hall of Tours town hall, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Free entry.
