Dr Marta Gil is a Senior Lecturer. Field of Social Psychology Department and Sociology. University of Zaragoza. Spain.
In her speech, she commented on the importance of cultural factors and social aspects linked to drug use. He pointed out that certain customs and habits can be unhealthy references. Although in our Mediterranean culture diet is a healthy factor, it can also be a risk factor and be associated with behaviours (celebration, toasts, drinks with friends, leisure) that constitute a lifestyle that conflicts with health. These factors are intertwined in everyday life, e.g. music through the message of songs can convey unhealthy factors. Knowing how all this is related, how it is embedded in our lifestyles is one of the important aspects to consider in drug treatment and prevention.
He indicated that the environment plays a key role in all of this. If we remember the good wishes of each New Year (sport, diet, etc.), they tend to be ephemeral. If we consider, in addition to the wish, what can help it to be fulfilled in the long term, we are helping to achieve it. Therefore, it is necessary to combine the elements of the good wish (I am going to go to the gym to take care of myself; I take care of myself by not having a sedentary lifestyle) with everything that favours this behaviour in the long term. To do this, it is necessary to include individual and environmental factors (so that I don’t give up going to the gym, I will schedule it to go with a friend). The environment affects risk.
This approach requires the use of a multidisciplinary methodology, as the evolution of lifestyles changes the understanding of how to take care of oneself and even how lifestyle is understood. The difficulty in defining "lifestyle" is now well known.
It is understood as consisting of coherently organised patterns of behaviour that occur with some consistency over some time and are closely related to health (both health promotion and risk).
In addition, engaging in risky behaviour calls for other risks, which in the case of addiction are basic to consider. A family celebration with a large meal, which may be accompanied by wine, tobacco, and liquor at the end, will possibly prevent walking in the evening, as a nap is more desirable. In this case, a pleasant situation becomes a problem to solve addiction.
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