In Italy, every year, 1 in 4 people suffer from a mental disorder but, despite the impact on the population is quite high, people living with mental disorders and their loved ones are frequently victims of isolation and prejudice. Prejudices that impact the lives of these people, their social, educational opportunities and current and future job prospects. To overcome these disparities and to ensure that those suffering from mental disorders and their loved ones are fully integrated into all aspects of life, it is first and foremost necessary to ‘break prejudices’: phrases, behaviors and preconceptions dictated by the lack of knowledge of these pathologies. This is the objective of the second edition of the ‘Together for Mental Health’ campaign, promoted by Lundbeck Italy with the patronage of the main scientific societies, foundations and patient associations.
On the occasion of the World Mental Health Day, Sunday 10 October in collaboration with Bam, the Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano, a project of the Riccardo Catella Foundation, an event was held open to all citizens, and broadcast in live streaming, with the aim to turn the spotlight on the need to focus on people living with these disorders, promoting their integration, respect and social inclusion. During the day, a popular scientific talk was held to listen – from the hands of the experts – to reflections and their direct professional experiences, a workshop dedicated to children to face together with them a path of awareness with a handbook of behaviors that simplify the meanings of mental health distributed throughout the area of the city park, the representation of soap bubbles, a metaphor for the prejudice to be broken, and finally, the performance of Billy Bolla, an Italian artist who uses soap bubbles as a tool expressive.
“Giving a voice to such important public health initiatives is one of Bam’s missions in the #wellness section of the cultural program. We do this by adding value, bringing them to a public place, inclusive and accessible to all, and using our Bam format that supports to the scientific debate the powerful language of culture, with performative and educational moments for all. We are committed to ensuring that the community is engaged on these issues, then bringing with it knowledge and emotions “said Francesca Colombo, cultural director general of the Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano, Riccardo Catella Foundation.
“In recent years, some progress has been made in overcoming prejudices towards those living with a mental disorder, but there is still a long way to go. World Mental Health Day is an ideal time to turn the spotlight on these issues. , but attention must not be exhausted only on these occasions. It is necessary to understand the bias associated with mental disorders it has an important bearing on the lives of these people, especially the young. The stigma feeds the fear of not being understood and accepted, while adolescents need models of reference that also make the pathology a strength “, explained Massimo Recalcati, Italian psychoanalyst, essayist and academic.
Furthermore, still today there is still a disparity in treatment and in the quality of care provided between those suffering from mental illness and those with other pathologies. These are in fact the theme of the 2021 campaign, ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’, as recalled by Alberto Siracusano, Full Professor of Psychiatry at the Tor Vergata University of Rome and President of the Academy of Psychiatric Sciences: “Access to care is not uniform and this disparity, combined with stigma, risks fueling a vicious circle, worsening even more the social condition of a person living with a mental disorder. There are several factors that generate these inequalities – adds Siracusano – for example the economic condition or vital poverty and in this sense the stigma and prejudice do nothing but further negatively affect the quality of life of people living with mental disorders and their loved ones”.
“Mental disorders in our country still tend to be too underestimated by public opinion, despite the numbers telling us that one in four people every year experiences a problem with one of these problems and that in a year the specialist services of the national health services assist more than 850 thousand people. Just like mental disorders, neurological pathologies are also shrouded in a stigma that it is important to counter by helping citizens to be increasingly aware of it “, recalled Alessandro Padovani, full professor of Neurology at the University of Brescia.
The pandemic has also further highlighted in recent months the need to pay the right attention to mental health, also from a point of view of public commitment. “It is important that the institutions also play their part in the fight against prejudice and overcoming stigma. It is essential – remarked Pierfrancesco Majorino, MEP, former councilor for social services at the municipality of Milan – that we begin to integrate more and more the health and social aspects, when it comes to the management of these pathologies with increasing attention to patients and their relational sphere “.
To support the initiative, this year too, in addition to the main scientific societies, foundations and patient associations, associations and bodies close to the world of health and actors operating in different and complementary fields have joined and have wanted to give their aegis , testifying to a joint commitment that involves everyone. “It was a great source of pride for us to promote this second edition of the ‘Together for Mental Health’ campaign and celebrate 10 October with a cultural event in collaboration with the Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano, Riccardo Catella Foundation – explained Tiziana Mele, CEO of Lundbeck Italy – We share with the Foundation the inclusive spirit and the commitment to carry out activities inspired by the sustainability objectives of the United Nations and we are confident that this event is the first appointment of many others that we will carry out together to talk about such important issues , and equally sensitive, through different languages and capable of bringing everyone closer to a reality that is still, unfortunately, often taboo today. We believe – he concluded – in these ways of raising awareness and for this reason also this year we are promoting the third edition of the art competition People In Mind, an initiative that wants to give light and color to people who suffer of mental disorders and their loved ones through art and social commitment “.