Dr. Mouta, President of the Health Observatory of Peoples and Director of SER by Quantum Global Care in Lisbon, Portugal, is a recognized leader in Preventive Health and Transdermal Oligotherapy. During her talk, she highlighted the importance of understanding the role that epigenetic mechanisms, lifestyle behaviors, and dietary habits play in shaping our mental health.

Her engaging insights emphasized the need for an integrative and preventive approach, which considers not only medical interventions but also how our environment and daily habits impact our overall mental well-being.

For those who couldn’t attend the live session, the video is available on the event’s Sympla platform. This presentation is a must-watch for anyone interested in fostering a holistic approach to mental health.

Stay tuned for more thought-provoking discussions as we continue Abayomi Academy Week, bringing together experts to share invaluable knowledge and inspire positive change in our lives.

#AbayomiAcademyWeek #MentalHealth #Epigenetics #Naturopathy #PreventiveHealth #DrPaulaMouta #Lisbon #Wellbeing

Mental health issues among children and adolescents are escalating, with conditions like depression and anxiety increasingly affecting young people. Addressing these challenges requires not only effective treatments but also environments specifically designed to support recovery and development.

The Necessity of Specialized Spaces

Creating appropriate spaces for mental health treatment is vital. Urban environments must be safe, welcoming, and stimulating to offer continuous support and meet the unique needs of children and adolescents. These environments are meticulously designed to enhance well-being through thoughtful, functional layouts that facilitate behavioral interventions and therapeutic activities.

On the other hand, rural spaces provide a different type of sanctuary. Located in serene, natural settings, these environments are designed to minimize stress and support deeper recovery. The tranquility of nature allows individuals to escape the pressures of daily life, which can significantly aid in their healing process and overall well-being.

The Role of Behavioral Neuroscience

Incorporating behavioral neuroscience into these spaces is crucial for optimizing treatment outcomes. Behavioral neuroscience applies scientific principles to understand and address mental health issues, enabling the creation of environments that not only treat but also nurture emotional and cognitive development.

Advanced methodologies like the Abayomi Methodology focus on designing intelligent and joyful environments. This approach extends beyond mere treatment, aiming to enhance quality of life through well-considered design and functional spaces. Similarly, the MelhordeSi approach employs neuroscience and behavioral techniques to provide specialized clinical support and foster cognitive growth.

Together, these approaches ensure that spaces are not only therapeutic but also effective in promoting emotional and cognitive well-being. They address key mental health issues such as anxiety and depression while encouraging positive social and emotional development.

Creating a Supportive Future

Investing in thoughtfully designed urban and rural spaces is essential for providing effective mental health support. By integrating cutting-edge methodologies with strategic design, we can create environments that offer lasting benefits for children and adolescents. These spaces play a crucial role in fostering a healthier future for the younger generation, ensuring they have the support they need to thrive emotionally and cognitively.

CEO of MelhordeSi, a Scientist, and a Comportalmental Consultant in Military Intelligence and Civil Society. She conducts trainings, lectures, and consultations, and is the creator of the MelhordeSi Method.

Patrícia Fraga, a visionary and dynamic professional, holds a Ph.D. in Architecture, blending her passions for sustainable urbanism, education, and technology. With a multifaceted career spanning engineering, construction, and academia, she’s the Founder and Chief Happiness Officer at Abayomi LLC and Executive Director at Abayomi Academy. Patrícia’s global influence extends through her roles as an international speaker, published author, and advocate for Smart & Happy Environments. Her commitment to cultural inclusivity shapes transformative projects worldwide, emphasizing the integration of technology with environmental responsibility. A mother of five, Patrícia’s journey reflects resilience, innovation, and a dedication to creating positive, sustainable, and joyful living spaces across the globe.

Get to know more about Dr. Fraga: Linked In Instagram

In our ongoing journey towards smarter and happier environments, we have reflected on several essential aspects so far. From the outset, we explored how the harmony between technology and happiness can transform our spaces, delved into the importance of self-awareness and situational awareness, and learned to harmonize our physical and digital spaces to promote greater well-being. 

If you have already followed the previous texts and completed the proposed activities, congratulations on committing to your journey to happiness! Share with us in the comments your experiences and learnings. If you haven’t had the chance to read the previous texts yet, I recommend taking some time to do so, as each stage of this journey is a fundamental piece for building more conscious and fulfilling environments.

Now it’s time to delve into a fundamental aspect: Innovative Leadership. 

Leadership plays a crucial role in creating prosperous and happy environments, whether in personal or professional settings. If we look closely, we will notice that every environment has one or more managers who oversee it, whether it’s your child’s room, your home office, or the company where you work. These managers have the power to significantly influence the atmosphere and dynamics of the environment, largely determining whether it will be a space of growth, collaboration, and happiness, or whether it will be marked by conflicts, stagnation, and dissatisfaction. 

Just as in the previous stages of our journey, the Abayomi Methodology offers us a comprehensive and holistic view of the importance of innovative management for the creation of intelligent and happy environments. Through its pillars, we recognize leadership based on values such as empathy, collaboration, understanding diversity, openness to dialogue, integrity, ethics, and respect, which are essential for promoting a positive, inspiring, and happy work and living environment.

For this stage, I suggest you grab your “My Journey to Happiness” notebook and take a moment to observe and reflect on two important environments in your life: a personal environment and a professional one. Even if you don’t have a formal workspace, choose a space where you engage in activities you consider productive and another where you usually enjoy moments of leisure and relaxation. 

In these spaces, reflect on who plays the role of leader and how you feel about this leadership, whether it’s your own or someone else’s. Also, consider how you feel about the other participants in this environment. Write down your perceptions and insights into how these dynamics influence the atmosphere and productivity of these environments. Then, think about ways you can incorporate innovative leadership principles into your daily actions and decisions. 

After completing this reflection, jot down your observations and plans for implementing changes in your notebook. Remember that by adopting a leadership approach based on values and empathy, you are contributing to the creation of more prosperous and happy environments, not only for yourself but also for those around you.

To conclude, I would like to know how you feel about your journey so far. Have you been able to reflect on your leadership practices in the environments you frequent? How did you feel observing these dynamics and considering ways to promote more innovative and values-based leadership? Leave your comments and share your experiences so far. 

In the next stage of our journey, we will explore how smart communication can strengthen connections and foster more authentic and meaningful relationships in our environments. Be ready to dive into this next stage and discover new ways to promote happiness and well-being in your life and work.

Patrícia Fraga, a visionary and dynamic professional, holds a Ph.D. in Architecture, blending her passions for sustainable urbanism, education, and technology. With a multifaceted career spanning engineering, construction, and academia, she’s the Founder and Chief Happiness Officer at Abayomi LLC and Executive Director at Abayomi Academy. Patrícia’s global influence extends through her roles as an international speaker, published author, and advocate for Smart & Happy Environments. Her commitment to cultural inclusivity shapes transformative projects worldwide, emphasizing the integration of technology with environmental responsibility. A mother of five, Patrícia’s journey reflects resilience, innovation, and a dedication to creating positive, sustainable, and joyful living spaces across the globe.

Get to know more about Dr. Fraga: Linked In Instagram

Life often throws us unexpected challenges and hurdles, testing our determination and pushing us beyond our comfort zones. In the face of adversity, resilience emerges as a beacon of hope, guiding us through the darkest of times and empowering us to emerge stronger on the other side. When we step out of our comfort zone, we evolve as individuals, and we develop skills that were previously unknown to us. Who would have thought that I, a shy girl who was terrified of public speaking, would no longer hold back even in front of the great ones, for they are no longer great to her, as she knows her worth and faces them as equals?

Resilience is more than simply overcoming setbacks; it’s about harnessing inner strength and adaptability to thrive in the face of adversity. It’s the ability to bend without breaking, to weather life’s storms with grace and courage. Ah, courage! Courage is not the absence of fear but facing those fears head-on. We don’t conquer our fears overnight; it takes time, training, and the will to overcome them.

At its core, resilience is rooted in mindset – the belief that challenges are not insurmountable obstacles but opportunities for growth and transformation. It’s about cultivating a resilient mindset that sees setbacks as temporary hurdles rather than permanent defeats, and failure as a stepping stone to success. If we knew the power our minds have over us and how to work on it from a young age, many obstacles would be overcome sooner and with less suffering than they usually entail.

Resilient individuals possess a set of key characteristics that enable them to navigate life’s challenges with grace and resilience. They exhibit unwavering determination, refusing to be defeated by setbacks or obstacles. They are adaptable and able to adjust their approach in response to changing circumstances. They possess a sense of optimism, seeing challenges as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable barriers. And, perhaps most importantly, they have a strong support network – friends, family, and community – that provides encouragement and guidance during difficult times, but we don’t always have the luxury of having this support network, depending on ourselves, on a higher power that I call faith. When I think of optimism, I don’t see myself as a Pollyanna, but rather as a person who has the choice to surrender to what makes me sad or fight to change my perception of what it taught me and how I am better and happier today, and that what happened was just part of my learning process. I learned to be grateful even for that, because the person I am today is the sum of all the things I have experienced, and many of them were not so good.

But resilience is not just an individual characteristic; it is also a collective strength that binds communities together in times of crisis. Faced with adversity, communities come together to support each other, sharing resources and knowledge to overcome common challenges. It is this collective resilience that allows communities not only to survive but to thrive in the face of adversity.

In the end, resilience is a skill that can be cultivated and developed over time. By embracing life’s challenges with courage and perseverance, by reframing setbacks as opportunities for growth, and by building a strong support network, we can cultivate resilience and emerge from life’s challenges stronger, wiser, and more resilient than ever.

And I leave you with the “grace” of how to deal with life’s challenges, a word that evokes the light and seemingly simple way of movement of the ballerinas, remembering that we will leave the aspect of lightness for our next article.

Thais Conte is a Brazilian who has lived in five countries and ten cities and had to learn at a very young age the meaning of the word resilience. Recently, she was one of the idealizers of the Women Talk Network event and one of the creators of the Brazilian Expo in Atlanta. Thais is a mom, an author, a proud Rotarian, and has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Get to know more about Thais Conte.