Bangkok: The government advises against letting love damage mental health. It's crucial to be mindful and not allow toxic relationships to harm your heart. Pay attention to warning signs, including control, threats, or repeated emotional abuse.
According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Airin Panthurit, Deputy Spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office, highlighted the significance of Valentine's Day as a moment to care for mental health through various forms of love, not just romantic but also self-love, and love for family, friends, and society. Good, appropriate, and safe relationships can significantly boost morale, reduce stress, and decrease mental health risks.
Ms. Airin elaborated that supportive relationships are vital in alleviating loneliness and lowering depression and anxiety risks, especially amidst modern societal pressures. These relationships should be grounded in understanding, respectful communication, mutual respect, and acceptance of differences, free from control, coercion, threats, or violence.
Furthermore, Ms. Airin emphasized the importance of self-love and love for others. Self-love involves acknowledging and understanding one's emotions, setting boundaries to protect mental well-being, while love for others requires relationships based on understanding, open communication, and respect for personal space and differences, fostering balanced and sustainable growth in relationships.
'The most important thing is to be mindful of relationships. We must be observant of warning signs of toxic relationships, whether it's being controlled, threatened, or repeatedly hurt emotionally to the point of losing our sense of self. If love begins to damage our mental health, because the greatest self-love is not allowing that love to hurt us, on this Valentine's Day, the government recommends that people reflect on their roles in relationships to strengthen nurturing bonds and work together to create a safe, warm, and mentally healthy environment in families, communities, and society as a whole,' Ms. Airin emphasized.