The neuropsychiatrist Stefano Vicari
Teenage crises are phenomena that cannot be more underestimated. Adults, parents and teachers are often unable to read the inner malaise of their young people. There are more and more boys and girls who show mental disorders. These problems then lead to deeds of self -harm, depressive crisis and eating disorders. But what can a parent do to prevent this phenomenon? How can you preserve and promote mental health? The child neuropsychiatrist and neuroscientist Stefano Vicarifor years on the front line in an attempt to help young people and adults to build a relationship to prevent the situation from Degeneri, he tries to give answers.
What are the signs of these disorders?
«We start with an example: a child or a child has a good school performance, makes dance, sport, comes out with friends and seems to have a serene life at home. Then progressively becomes more irritable, abandoned sport, the school results worsen. It therefore changes deeply in mood and behavior. However, these changes must be stable for weeks and months, because obviously everyone can have a crooked day. But when this becomes stable, an alarm should be triggered in adults ».
How can parents recognize disorders and do something in advance?
“You have to be willing to see and watch. Very often parents are distracted, taken from their professional activities or anything else and perhaps while sharing time with their children they do not look deeply. ”
Sometimes perhaps the signals are often evident, but those who maybe do not habit to notice them are also struggling to interpret them.
«Often parents, perhaps unconsciously, struggle to see why this recalls them to a responsibility. I try to make parents reflect on another theme. These are complex disorders, they are never the result of a single action or something wrong that parents do. A father who has an anorexic daughter, the first thing he tells me is “Where did I make a mistake?”. Not understanding that in reality they are disorders so complex and articulated that it does not be able to be the responsibility of a single subject. Mental diseases are the result of a long journey ».
The cover of the volume in the bookstore from 18 March
Professor she tackles these questions and many others also in her new book, “interrupted teenagers. Intercepting the discomfort before it is late” published Feltrinelli. Where does this volume come from?
«With my colleagues we had already noticed a great increase in mental disorders among young people for about ten years. In the emergency room, more and more boys arrive for psychiatric reasons. And after Covid’s pandemic, the phenomenon has even more exasperated. The feeling is that there is little attention to the theme of the mental health of our children. Then there is a poor sensitivity to encourage psychological well -being in our children and teenagers. So the book was created not so much to talk about ailments, but rather to talk about mental health. As parents, as teachers and as an adult community we have the responsibility to encourage the growth of the new generations. We must try to understand what are the elements behind mental health. We often talk about feeding, physical activity and anything else. And perhaps less we ask ourselves about how to promote happiness and our psychological being. Here, from here I try to give useful elements, to parents, teachers and all the adults surrounding children and teenagers, to understand the initial signals of a malaise. In order to intercept early and intervene, as they say to the subtitle, before it is too late, that is, before they arrive in the emergency room ».
So when the young man arrives in the emergency room is already in an advanced problem?
«Yes, at that point the situation is already negative, not to say compromised. The boys and girls who come to us are often in serious conditions. Starting from the self -harm that is the first factor. Many young people cut, try suicide or have a strong suicidal intentionality. Then there are also eating disorders. Anorexia, bulimia, but also the Arfid which is avoidance, restriction and selection in taking food. These situations have significantly increased. When a girl arrives in the emergency room under certain conditions we have to ask ourselves and interrogate if we could not notice before and if we did something to prevent this from happening. I tell her an anecdote that I often mention, because it struck me deeply ».
Please…
“Maybe it’s one of the reasons why I wrote this book. One day I was visiting a girl. It was summer and this girl wore a long -sleeved sweatshirt. Speaking with her I established a good level of communication. So I said “I’m sorry, but it’s so hot, take off your sweatshirt if you want to sweat”. She removed her sweatshirt and had her arms covered with scars. It was obviously a girl who had been cut regularly for a long time. The mother, who was sitting close to her, is pale. At that point the daughter looked at her and said a terrible thing: “See, you needed the doctor because you realized what I have been doing for some time.” I believe that doing something before it is too late in part is also linked to this. We should notice what happens to our children before the intervention of a neuropsychiatrist ».
How can mental health be promoted?
«Ever since children are small, actions can be performed that promote their well -being. For example, it would be necessary to work on autonomy, helping children to eat and sleep alone. Co-leeping has been widespread, that is, children sleep with parents up to 10, 11, 12 years old. But also the breast feeding or the intake of blended foods are habits that lose for years. Then during adolescence, on the other hand, it is necessary to be more attentive to the various addictions, such as that of devices ».
Once the problem has been certified, what can a parent do to help their child?
«The first thing I tell the parents is not to be afraid in asking for help. Being parents is a sometimes complex, articulated task, there are children who are more critical than others. Contacting a mental health operator, a psychologist, an infantile neuropsychiatrist, can be a first step to receive help precisely to perform his own function. Ask for help must not necessarily be an element that creates embarrassment or concern ».
Let’s talk better about addictions: how much does that affect the device on mental health?
“Much. Today parents give children the mobile phone for First Communion and ignore that the tool can represent a risk to mental health. I visited a 15 -year -old boy who spends even nine hours a day on the phone. This means that in these nine hours this young man does not see friends, he does not run on the meadows, does not play sports, does not read a book and does not speak with his parents. All time removed from growth. In addition, during those nine hours the child is clearly exposed to content often not suitable for his age. Then there is cyberbullying, one of the most linked factors to mental disorders. Many young people, especially girls, come to want to want to die because they are made fun of, massacred on the net and perhaps even in the class chat in a constant way ».
How does the school context on mental health affect instead?
«School is an educational agency that together with the family intervenes strongly on defining who we are. And it helps to understand what our skills are, our qualities but also the limits and defects. As we grow the most important relationships we have them with our classmates. And sometimes the teacher is the person that when the family is not there, it can intercept various problems. But often it is not put in the condition to do it ».
