From the school desk to the workplace: talking about mental health is essential

Bring the theme of mental health on every occasion appropriate to every level of society: this is, by extension, the mission of Francesco Baglionidirector of Ithaca Projectthe Foundation that promotes information, prevention, support and rehabilitation programs aimed at people suffering from mental health disorders and their families.

We met him as a guest of InVisible Festival, the first review of the Near Onlus Foundation, dedicated to the needs, desires and fragilities of the young generations. This event will be held in Isola neighborhood of Milan at the IBM Studios from 20 to 22 October.

«As a foundation, we seek alliances and partnerships with everyone; and we try to go beyond the idea that mental health is a health or clinical issue, which only professionals and professionals can talk about”, says the director of Progetto Itaca. “Obviously, it doesn’t mean that everyone can treat everyone: this is the specific task of the clinic which must be guaranteed and assured to those who need it.” The point, rather, is that we can build a stronger, more entrenched mental health culture with diverse stakeholders to provide answers and assistance to those who need it.

Since 2000 the foundation has led in middle school classes the psychiatrist to talk about mental health, protective factors and risk factors. In 2005 the ClubItaca project, the center for the development of socio-work autonomy for people with a history of mental distress. They have been active since 2012 Job Stations: a network of centers smart working for disability, which sees various partners, more than 25 large companies at an Italian level. A bridge with companies that has paved the way for talking about mental health in work environments through webinar and industry experts.

«There are no places in people’s lives dedicated to talking about this, but there is a great need to talk about it; we really see people feeling better after having addressed this issue and having brought out fears, fears, uncertainties and even lack of knowledge regarding crucial problems” analyzes Francesco Baglioni. Itaca also pays a lot of attention to parents to help them manage and if possible prevent the onset of the disease. «They must not transform themselves into lookouts; remote observers of their children’s lives in search of something worthy of attention from a clinical point of view. They have the task of being close to their children, create fertile soil for communication and sending the message that our mental health is the most important asset.»

How? «Giving very clear and very definitive messages regarding the abuse of certain substances, regarding behaviors that lead young people to sleep little, not sleep or jump and confuse day with night; but also to eat badly, to binge. Have a regular life it is the first protective factor for mental health” recalls the director of Progetto Itaca. Some of our cultural barriers lead us to immediately look for an analytical-psychological cause in a boy’s discomfort. The latest approaches to the topic tend to keep mental health and physical health together: not feeling well physically causes mental suffering, which can also be expressed in physical symptoms. Now the concept of health is holistic and takes in the whole person in all his parts and in all his attitudes.

Mens sana in corpore sano Juvenal said in his Satires: mind and body that can be strengthened or destabilized by relationships with others; another big factor that can be protective or of risk with respect to mental health. If in the first case we have respectful relationships with others, and we have the ability to surround ourselves with people who make us feel good, on the other there is the risk of indulging in spoiled attitudes as in the case of bullying. «Mental health comes from the relationships I receive and give to others» the manager of Itaca likes to remember. He is always the one to point out that there has been a decrease in the age of people affected by mental disorders.

Lately the foundation has been very busy with somatizations of anxiety, which affected young people between 15-20 years of age with a wide range of emergence of mental suffering. These are mainly physical symptoms which primarily affect nutrition and sleep, but can also affect other organs of the body, manifesting themselves with skin rashes and other felt physical ailments. These can also be non-serious self-harming acts, which however can be very alarming for families. Given the variety of cases, there may be difficulty in recognizing the psychic nature of the manifestation of the disorder, but the family tends to realize that something is wrong.

The advent of a mental psychological problem creates a certain alarm for families and a certain insecurity. The parents’ reaction is sometimes to minimize the problem, while other times it tends to exaggerate it. Among other things, explains Baglioni, “it is not necessarily the case that it is a real onset of a major mental disorder”. The family has the task of giving young people who show suffering an open, controlled, safe and serene attitude because they can respond to the suffering and also resolve it. «The great obstacle to treating a mental disorder is that it does not emerge, that the person who suffers from it does not say it, that he keeps it hidden, because he experiences it as a fault, as being wrong» explains the director of Progetto Itaca. “This shame over one’s suffering mental health is precisely the first obstacle to intervention and treatment which in most cases is decisive.”

It is true that the Public Service it has few resources allocated to mental health, and has long waiting lists, although the director has observed that there is a high average quality in the service provided by neuropsychiatrists. The foundation underlines how there was a planning problem on the part of politicians which led to high retirement rates without adequate replacement of psychiatrists and neuropsychiatrists. A deficient health planning which in recent years has been taking action by increasing scholarships. Although the resources allocated to mental health in the overall health budget are very few, because they vary between 3.4 and 3.5% compared to 10% recommended by the World Health Organization and already adopted by countries such as France, Germany , England.

It must be said that several Italian companies, after the mass resignations that occurred post-Covid, have adopted programs well-being and mental health to try to stem a certain malaise among employees. And so here are the meditation courses, mindfulness, yoga and gym: additional services within the work experience to compensate for work stress. «This perspective is deceptive, obviously, because you cannot accelerate at one hundred an hour on one side and apply the handbrake on the other» analyzes Francesco Baglioni. If you want to increase the level of well-being of people in companies, you have to resolve the toxicity of certain behaviors, habits, habits and internal customs of companies, especially in relationships. We need to intervene at the heart of companies, in their relational and basic functioning. «There’s no need to offer something extra that risks being different to-do on the endless list of things to do in a day.»

Anyone who wants can help the Itaca Project becoming a volunteer. In Italy, there are around 700 volunteers and 40 operators who collaborate to promote mental health. Volunteers are trained through a course from September to mid-December, also offered online, to acquire skills in psychopathology, communication, listening and social skills. This training is enriched by specific preparation on the project of interest. Volunteers can run a mental health services information hotline, coordinate projects in schools where students meet with specialists to discuss mental health, or work with people who have experienced mental disorders, facilitating self-help groups. Some volunteers dedicate themselves to raising public awareness through banquets and events, while others collaborate with the Itaca Clubs, the 11 active centers in Italy of the Itaca project.

The director of Ithaca Project will speak at inVisibile Festival Saturday 21 October at 9.30am on the topic Listening to each other: new meanings of work. We see them!