Healthy mind

The Roman poet Juvenal is credited with the phrase "a healthy mind in a healthy body." The phrase certainly belongs to Greco-Roman civilization and its humanistic values. According to this conception, the human being is a hybrid being who exists not only to display the virtues of the body, but also those of the mind. When the body becomes ill, we resort to medical treatment to cure it; the same should happen in the realm of the mind or soul.

There is a debate between psychiatry and non-psychiatric psychology about whether all mental illnesses have an organic origin. The controversy will surely continue in the future. Perhaps for this reason—but also for other reasons—legislation has been slower to recognize the rights of people affected by mental illness. This is important in several areas of human life, one of the most essential being labor law.

Various societies have taken measures in this regard. First, to combat the stigmatization of these individuals and, subsequently, to guarantee their rights.

Modern science—and not just the natural sciences—recognizes the complexity of the phenomenon and understands that its causes are multiple: biological, genetic, cultural, economic, political, and social. Hence the importance of continuing to support and increase the resources channeled toward scientific research.

While this is happening, we must adjust our legislation to address the rights of people suffering from a mental illness. It must be said from the outset that Mexican laws unfortunately lag behind those of other nations, not only in Europe but also in Latin America. It is more or less a consensus in these countries that, for example, a worker diagnosed by a medical specialist with a mental illness will be entitled to 15 days of paid temporary disability leave.

For all these reasons, a group of parliamentarians have undertaken the task of introducing a bill to reform the Federal Labor Law regarding mental health. This initiative is based on advances in international law and adopts formulations established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the 2030 Agenda.

The goal is to provide workers suffering from a mental disorder with time to manage their discomfort and achieve a state of physical and mental well-being. This is undoubtedly important so that workers can reach their full potential in their workplace, but also so that they can maintain healthy interpersonal relationships.

The reform seeks to require employers to grant mental health leave to workers and proposes that this leave may be extended for up to five days and issued up to twice a year. The worker must also present a document endorsed by a healthcare professional with a valid professional license and affiliated with a public social security institution.

The initiative also makes it clear that the use of this benefit should not be at the expense of the worker's enjoyment of other permits and benefits to which he or she is entitled under the law. Finally, it clearly establishes that employers may not demand specific private details from workers about their health conditions, at the risk of being subject to the corresponding penalty.

While we, as a species, continue to explore the mysteries of the human mind, it is up to us to continue striving to expand the human right to health.