Gauthier Delomez 6:17 p.m., May 23, 2022

Often associated with school, the practice of philosophy nevertheless has benefits in daily life.

This is why Julia Vignali and Mélanie Gomez welcomed Laurence Devilllairs, philosopher, and Michel Lejoyeux, psychiatrist, who discussed tips for keeping a good mood.

Montaigne's advice is "very concrete, very enlightened", says Professor Michel Lejoyeux, psychiatrist and author of the book

En bonne santé avec Montaigne

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While bodily exercises should be favored to preserve one's health, mental exercises can also be beneficial.

This is what he explained alongside the philosopher Laurence Devillairs in the program

Bienfait pour vous

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At the microphone of Julia Vignali and Mélanie Gomez, the two guests discussed the benefits of the practice of philosophy on daily life.

>> Find all the programs of Mélanie Gomez and Julia Vignali from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Europe 1 in replay and podcast here

Do not separate body and soul 

For Laurence Devillairs, "it's hard to think when you're in pain somewhere. Philosophy takes care of the fact that the soul and the body go together, because you can have a tendency to want to live only in the mind, or to cultivate one's physical form. Philosophy tells us 'not one without the other', this is its first benefit", she explains on Europe 1.

Expel sadness with optimism

If Montaigne is a reference in terms of philosophy, Professor Michel Lejoyeux evokes the character of the eternal optimist of the thinker who can help to evacuate sadness.

"(Montaigne) makes the difference between what is called melancholic depression, which is a medical subject, and the sadness that must be chased away, not loved and considered as a foreign voice that is mistaken. We have from the start behavioral therapy,” adds the professor.

Seek the truth

The evils of some people may be due to reality.

Philosophy teaches to live with it and to be lucid, as explained by Laurence Devillairs.

"Awareness is both harmful, because it requires us to open our eyes, to see what we do not want to see, but by doing harm, this lucidity is good, it is what Montaigne says", adds the philosopher.

Montaigne invited his readers "to almost open their guts and ribs to see what's inside and without concession because the truth will do good anyway", explains Laurence Devillairs.

The search for the truth "delivers false pretenses, opinions that are imposed on us, false opinions that we have about ourselves, from our sadness...", indicates the philosopher.

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Carry with you phrases from Montaigne

Laurence Devilllairs also invites listeners to carry an "anti-stress kit" with them, filled with quotations from Montaigne.

"I think you have to have bits of Montaigne's sentence with you", defends the philosopher on Europe 1. And Laurence Devilllairs to quote in particular "When I dance, I dance. When I sleep, I sleep".

"Montaigne says that you absolutely have to inhabit what you are doing. You have to accompany your action with your attention," she says.

eat mushrooms

Michel Lejoyeux puts forward a piece of advice from the French philosopher, which was to eat mushrooms.

"A study on food and good mood that has just come out shows that people who eat 20 grams a day of mushrooms are less anxious and less depressed," he reports in the program Bienfait pour vous.

The professor also discusses another piece of advice from Montaigne.

"When we are not well, we have the right to have fun. For example, if you have to cross a bridge and you are dizzy, it is better to think of something else", he underlines.

So many tricks to reconcile with philosophy.