* Psychiatrist, Department of Mental Health, Viterbo
The pandemic and the lockdown have deeply shaken the collective conscience of the Italians, 60% of whom feel they have experienced trauma, while one in four has seriously thought about harming themselves or even taking their own life during this year of restrictions. It is the result of a nationwide survey promoted by Soleterre Foundation, which since March 2020 is committed in many Italian regions to provide psychological assistance to people affected by Covid, their families and health workers in difficulty.
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The survey, which is available here, found that self-harming ideas during the pandemic increased sharply in intensity and frequency: more than 4% of respondents reported thinking about harming themselves very often or almost every day.
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An English research coordinated by the psychiatrist Ann John, Professor of Public Health at Swansea University Medical School, warns that this type of data must be interpreted with great caution, as it is difficult to detect in real time the effects of certain social factors on suicide rates; the problem would be more evident in developing countries e in the so-called “second wave” of contagion, associated with feelings of disappointment and despair, while in the early stages of the pandemic the sense of belonging and solidarity. Groups particularly sensitive to the psychological effects of the lockdown, such as the young and the very young, deserve particular attention.
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Effective preventive action should be psychological and social, identifying the most vulnerable people and bearing in mind that unemployment and the economic difficulties represent an important risk factor, which can add to or trigger psychological or psychiatric disorders, above all depression and post-traumatic stress, the latter particularly evident after the second wave, which in many cases had a retraumatizing effect even on those who had managed to overcome the first relatively well.
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The experiences of despair, anguish and oppression they are the most common feelings, and they are particularly intense in those who live, feeling “trapped”, in family situations of violence or emotional neglect. Health institutions have organized themselves to promptly intercept this suffering, providing listening and psychological support to people in difficulty.
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Throughout Italy, the ASLs, psychology units, mental health departments and many private organizations have activated emotional support services, easily accessible even online or by telephone, useful for dealing with feelings of abandonment and loneliness that can persist even after overcoming of the pandemic emergency.
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