Strategies for taking care of emotional health among the Mexican women population: self-care and social support

Objective. To describe what kind of self care practices a group of women use to alleviate their emotional disorders. Material and Methods. A group of 23 women living in Mexico City answered open-ended questions about self care strategies. Focused interviews were carried out using a social research interview technique designed to encourage continuous discourse on a set topic. Data was analyzed using a significant classification technique,which involves placing the contents of each interview in mutually exclusive categories. Results. Self care practices reported included self-control, home remedies, self-medication, relaxing activities and social support. Social support is mainly obtained from other women, since partners were not regarded as providing meaningful support. Conclusions. Self care practices start once the malaise begins and stop when the malaise ends. Although the strategies women use do not entirely solve their emotional disorders, they enable them to cope with such situations.