The lack of non-virtual relationships, the absence from school and a prolonged stressful situation have heavily affected a psychological balance that, for some, was precarious. In the second lockdown the boys were often alone, more than in the first. The role of parents
The Time.news of the first day of school in Lombardy (13 September) returned the tragic news of three cases of suicide among children, with two 15-year-olds dead and a 12-year-old very serious. Just three days earlier, on 10 September, the “World Day for Suicide Prevention” was remembered with an alarming fact in the foreground: the pandemic has seen a doubling of suicide attempts among teenagers.
Self-harm and suicide attempts doubled
The suicide constitutes the second cause of death in young people between the ages of 15 and 24 (the first being road accidents) andautolesionismo affects about 1 out of 5 adolescents in Europe. The arrival of Covid-19 and the related restrictions on freedom, movement and face-to-face teaching for children have heavily affected a psychological balance which, for some, was precarious. At the observatory of the Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital, the number of specialist consultations for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt is almost doubled, as well as hospitalizations for these reasons: which went from 17% in January 2020 to 45% of the total in January 2021. For this reason, the hospital has set up a “Service for the management of self-harm and the prevention of suicide in childhood »Which offers itself as a reference center, with the aim of quickly taking care of children and adolescents who arrive in the emergency room, starting as soon as possible a diagnostic framework and an integrated pharmacological treatment for the patient and psychotherapeutic for the entire family unit . The Child Jesus Service is integrated with a telephone line for urgent psychological counseling, active 24/7.
Boys who cut themselves
«L’self-harm it has always existed among young people – he explains Stefano Vicari, head of Infancy and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry of the Child Jesus -: statistics tell us that at least 20% of adolescents in Italy and over 25% in Northern European countries engage in self-harm activities, that is bodily harm ( even not for suicidal purposes) because this behavior, according to them, would be able to “contain” their inner anguish. It is a very widespread and underestimated phenomenon, often associated with a depressive-type mental disorder».
Loneliness
The pandemic has worsened the phenomenon: to the Bambino Gesù, in April 2020, 61% of neuropsychiatric consultations concerned suicidal ideation phenomena and suicide attempts (compared to 36% in April 2019). In January 2021, during the second pandemic wave, 63% of consultations were carried out for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt (compared to 39% in January 2020). Self-injurious behaviors (especially cut injuries) were detected in 52% of hospitalizations in January 2021, up from 29% the previous year.
“This period of the pandemic has generally brought with it one individual and collective stress which lasted a very long time. Prolonged stressors can promote the appearance of mental disorders, even those that underlie self-injurious behaviors – illustrates Vicari -. There are no specific causes directly linked to the pandemic, but, looking at the differences between the first and second lockdowns, we can hazard a few hypotheses to explain the increase in requests for help. During the first lockdown we had a reduction in hospitalizations and access to the emergency room. In the second lockdown we had a 30% increase in them. The fear of going to the hospital certainly played a role in the first lockdown, but not only that. With the first lockdown, the families remained locked in the house together: the parents did not go to work and the children did not go to school. In the second lockdown, the parents returned to work, but the schools (obviously not all) remained closed. The boys are left alone and that’s what they tell us in the emergency room: they show us their loneliness. During the second lockdown a network of relationships has been lacking that allowed to amortize the stress perceived so strongly by adolescents; positive and valid relationships both in the family, both at school and in the peer group », says the expert.
Wasn’t it enough to call your cell phone every day with friends?
«The relationships mediated by the mobile phone are not concrete and real: the boys are not themselves on social networks, they embellish themselves, they“ hide ”- observes Vicari -. Kids learn who they are in real comparison with others. They understand if they are nice, unpleasant, selfless or selfish by being around others, thanks to the comments of the peer group. The real relationship is made up of non-verbal communications, bodily manifestations and these are lost in the virtual relationship “.
And the relationships in DAD (Distance Learning) with the professors?
«At school the adult is not only, as in the DAD, the dispenser of skills, but also the one who establishes an empathic relationship with the children. This was missing. Missed the professor who sees you in the morning with a dark face and asks you what you have. The school is increasingly an employment agency for future unemployed people, that is, we are increasingly concerned with promoting specific skills in the world of work rather than the pleasure of learning, the pleasure of knowing things, the training of man and citizen . The environment, however, is a fundamental modulator of mental disorders»Declares the professor.
In what sense?
«In 80% of cases there is one depression or a mood disorder behind mental illnesses – clarifies the specialist -. In general there is a strong genetic basis, a familiarity, which is the first risk factor, but there are also protective factors, Environmental “modulators”, as we call them, which may or may not favor the manifestation of biological risk. For example, repeated traumas in childhood, the inability and difficulty in building valid relationships, the difficulty in managing our emotions: these are all the risk factors that can favor the onset of mental disorder “.
How does a teenager cope with stress?
«In some studies it is shown that the way in which children respond to a stress is related to as parents they experience stress, that is the parents can be towards a minor anxiety restraint or not. If the parents contain emotions, that is, they are an emotional support for the children, the children live much better, if the parents are not, everything multiplies, is amplified », says Vicari.
What are the red flags?
“Definitely the changes. A parent has to worry if a kid was sunny, did well in school, had lots of friends, played sports, enjoyed life and suddenly becomes gloomy, sad, taciturn, doesn’t want to leave the house anymore, doesn’t see anyone, he does not sleep, he does not eat anymore. Changes that last for months, ”explains the expert.
What should parents do (or not do)?
«As mentioned, they can amplify or contain the discomfort of the children. A parent can be an element that reinforces the abilities of the children, or not. There are judging or non-judgmental parents. We have to be there, accepting the idea that they don’t want to talk to us, because teenagers are like that, they have to live with them as a counterpart, learning who they are thanks to quarrels with us, it’s normal. And you have to be a model for your children, not be friends and confidants. This requires a great balance: the parents are the first to be frightened of the reactions of their children, so much so that they satisfy them in everything; instead they must rediscover their educational role ”, observes the specialist.
How much does this excessive use of cell phones contribute to the stressors we talked about?
“It is not the tool itself, but, for example, to explain the great increase in mental disorders that we are observing, we can hypothesize sleep deprivation as a contributing cause: many children sleep less, losing hours of sleep increases irritability and brings with it a series of risk factors for mental disorders », concludes Vicari.
September 16, 2021 (change September 17, 2021 | 16:57)
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