Per Sarah Lazarus 2023 has been a rewarding, but also complex, year. Four projects, four characters, filmed almost simultaneously: on the Rai set of Doc – In your hands she wore the coat of the health director Agnese Tiberi, for Sky she took on the bon ton role of the secretary and aspiring entertainment manager Monica Ferri, who we will see again in the spring in the second season of Call My Agent – Italiaon Netflix she will return to wearing Teresa Barberis’ nineteenth-century clothes, in the new chapter of The law of Lidia Poetand on Prime Video those of Lillo’s wife in the comedy series I am Lillo 2.
And so as not to miss anything, in March he will bring Franco Parenti to the theater in Milan Scenes from a wedding, a show based on a film by Ingmar Bergman. «Sometimes I spent until two in the morning in Turin and at six I had a flight to Rome», says the actress, born in Veneto but with a childhood divided between Italy and America, where her mother is originally from her. «It was tiring, but in a constructive way, because it put me to the test: both mentally, since I had to assimilate four different scripts; both physically, because I wasn’t always able to sleep enough, rest and eat well. You can imagine my stomach, it was a bit like riding a roller coaster…”.
Sara Lazzaro thus introduces the delicate and very fluctuating relationship with her second brain, which since adolescence has given her a hard time with a gastritis.
When did you realize you had a “weak” stomach?
«I always have been: my mother told me that when I was a baby I cried for months because of colitis. However, the first time I was told about gastritis was when I was 11 years old and had an endoscopy following constant stomach pain. I had tried medicinal treatments, but the pangs returned cyclically, especially in conjunction with school exams or particularly stressful periods.”
Has the onset of symptoms always been linked to the emotions experienced?
«The belly is a catalyst for all our emotions. And I I somatise moods a lot, both negative and positive ones. It has always been a characteristic of mine, which I don’t like to call a flaw. As a child, the episodes of stress were certain school or university tests, or when I juggled study and work there was anxiety about making it to the end of the month. With my work as an actress, there has never been a shortage of moments of uncertainty.”
«I’ve been doing this job for 15 years now and my body has gotten used to this callus, but the first auditions and the first sets were a great source of emotions, especially adrenaline, which in some moments gave me the energy, in others a sensation of tightness in the chest. In short, there have always been various switches that triggered a decompensation, which often reached the stomach level. But it wasn’t always just emotions that influenced.”
What other factors influence your well-being?
«My gastritis fluctuates and also depends a lot on mine immune systemdai season changesespecially if I take theinfluenza. The last time I had an important episode, in which I was diagnosed with erosive gastritis, was close to Covid, but then fortunately the situation resolved thanks to drugs and an intervention on the diet.”
And then how did it go during the pandemic?
«There was no shortage of worries, because I was distant from my family and therefore apprehensive. But luckily I had a pretty positive quarantine. Every day I managed to do physical activity, eat well, read, watch films. This slow, calm lifestyle had a balm effect, even on my belly; in that period I chose to be constructive and put myself at the center.”
You have been living with gastritis for almost twenty years, so you have now learned to know and understand it: how do you manage it when you start to notice the first symptoms?
«To limit irritation as much as possible, I have no longer drunk coffee since my diagnosis. Nobody on set ever remembers it, and it’s offered to me all the time, but I bring my herbal teas with me. Then I have to be careful – even if I loved them – with juices, and with tomatoes, which I should only eat cooked, but every now and then I make a mistake. As far as management is concerned, when I feel pain or some spasm, precisely because I know I will have to live with it for the rest of my life and I don’t like taking too many drugs, I try to understand what the trigger was and try natural ways to make it go away. . For example, a moment of relaxation, a walk, a hot water bottle, a relaxing herbal tea.”
«A remedy that I love very much isaloe vera, the evening. I take a teaspoon dissolved in water. Or ginger. However, when I wake up with a lot of acidity, or with reflux, I know that it would be better to take gastroprotectors, so I consult my doctor, who most of the time suggests that I follow a therapy for two-three weeks. Furthermore, during periods of reflux, I sleep a little inclined, with two pillows under my head. It’s not very comfortable, because sometimes I get neck pain, but for gastritis it’s a panacea.”
She often talked about when she played football as a child. Are you still a sporty person and are there any activities or exercises that you do to feel better?
«Diaphragmatic breathing is fundamental, which as an actress I was lucky enough to learn right away, and from which I benefited. As well as it yoga and above all the Tai chi, which struck me with its effectiveness. I followed a Russian master for two years and the benefit was incredible, I felt abdominal relaxation that I had never had, since I am always very contracted. I perceived calm breathing and also mental clarity which then made me work with greater concentration. Even my emotions towards what was happening in my life were much more controlled, as was my appetite: I ate better and naturally looked for healthier foods.”
«Unfortunately I no longer practice it now, but I try to make time for yoga, especially in the morning, which has very similar effects to Tai chi. For a while, however, I tried the kick boxingwhich made me let off steam a lot, while for a year I have also been doing meditation, via a smartphone app, and for two I have been following a psychotherapy course. They are all elements that interact with each other and contribute to my well-being.”
How does talking to a psychologist help you?
«I realized that knowing one’s emotions is fundamental, also because it gives the possibility of preventing crises or starting to understand what is triggered in certain moments of panic or stress. The first time I knocked on the door of a psychotherapist was around 19-20 years old, but it was a first attempt that I didn’t continue. Then I approached psychotherapy again at 28, and now I’ve started again.”
«I see therapy as that hour in which I dedicate myself to myself, which goes beyond what you can do with friends or relatives, who you are still very fond of and confide in. Therapy is like a mirror, it is made to look yourself in the face and bring yourself out. Her effects were not immediate: little by little the emotional and stress levels dropped, but I think there is still a lot to do and for this reason I will continue to follow her. It’s still an ongoing journey.”
What do you hope for in your future work?
«On the one hand I would like to try my hand at directing, while in terms of new roles I would like to return to the cinema and experiment with the role of a bad character. It’s not an obvious choice, especially given my face and features, so it would be a very curious and challenging experience.”