“After Covid we have seen a 30% increase in cases of depression. Unfortunately it happens” – today the tragedy of the mother from Rimini and her baby, but in January in Ravenna a similar case, with a mother who threw herself into the void with her daughter and dog – “that people who suffer from it commit suicide or murder. There is a desire to take their own life, a constant anxiety and a deep anguish. This state of mind leads people who suffer from depression to involve even their loved ones, such as their children, so as not to leave them alone in a life that they now consider only one of suffering. Depression does not arrive overnight, but is a continuous state of mind that can last for years and also has physical signs. But it is still a stigma, people do not ask for help and it is like always wearing a pair of black glasses that prevent them from seeing the colors of life”. Emi Bondi, president of Sip, the Italian Society of Psychiatry, explains this to Adnkronos Salute.
“Those who are depressed have an alteration of time, that is, they are convinced that the state in which they live will last forever – continues the president of the psychiatrists – and they can no longer see themselves ‘outside’ of the illness. We evaluate situations with our brain, but if we are not well we lose the ability to evaluate what is happening, it is not easy to understand this state of mind”. Can the family intercept some alarm signals? “It is not always easy, there are many factors that have an impact – answers Bondi – but those who are close to these people who are suffering must try to understand them and help them”.
What does the National Health Service offer to people suffering from depression? “There are centers dedicated to mental health – Bondi recalls – where people can find specialized personnel. Sometimes it is true that those who are sick close themselves in, see no hope for the future and do not knock on the door of a center. Help – he concludes – can also come from the family doctor who can intercept some signals and perhaps direct his patient to a specialist”.