At the microphone of Europe 1, psychotherapist Philippe Presles insists on the importance of not giving in to the spleen favored by the coronavirus epidemic.

"You have to invest fully in the present and what matters to us," he explains. 

INTERVIEW

How to best overcome the anxiety or discouragement caused by the anxiety caused by the coronavirus epidemic or the confinements?

Guest Tuesday in Europe 1, Philippe Presles, psychotherapist, author of 

Me: learning to live with your best friend and your worst enemy

, advises not to be trapped in weariness and apathy, to play sport and to keep social relations.

"We must invest fully in the present," he insists. 

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"The trap of what we live with confinement is that we are going through a spleen", explains Philippe Presles, for whom "confinement puts gray on everything".

And to continue: "It's exhausting, but you have to manage to get through it. The trap is to lock yourself in what is easy. You want naps, easy readings, you don't want to tire yourself out. However, this is what is worst for our psyche ". 

"Investing fully in the present"

For the psychotherapist, it is therefore "essential to fully understand what we need in order to move forward", and in particular by listening to the "little voice" that resonates within us.

But how do you know if this little voice is giving good advice?

The specialist identifies two key criteria.

First of all, "Does what she tells us resonate with us? If so, this is a good indication that this is the right path for us. Second: Does what she tells us? offers completely absorbs us, fascinates us? ”, lists Philippe Presles. 

For the author, one of the keys to happiness is optimism.

But how can we keep this optimism in these troubled times, and when the future is uncertain?

"The period is gray and pushes us to go towards what is easy, and that does not build us", answers Philippe Presles.

On the other hand, "if every day we engage in a sport, we commit ourselves to meet others, to help them, to engage in activities that make us vibrate, this is where our optimism comes back, because it is is where we really live ".

And to add: "We must invest fully in the present and what matters to us".

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"Save my energy to do what pleases me"

More generally, one of the keys to getting through the current period well can be quite simply to accept it.

"Acceptance" is very important, assures the guest from Europe 1. Regarding mental illnesses, "in given situations, some will not have symptoms and continue with their lives, and others will have them. realized that when people got sick, a lot of times it was because they hadn't chosen a good solution, that they had avoided a problem instead of facing it. "  

"There is another approach which is that of acceptance. When I am faced with a problem, I will not try to change it and I will keep my energy to do what pleases me", advises Philippe Presles.