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The expectation of something invisible always creates a state of anxiety, if there is no way to compare with others. And, in the long run, it makes you close in on yourself, makes you more irritable, takes away the desire to do things, makes it difficult to fall asleep and rest, in a vicious circle that is difficult to break.
Thus anxiety and depression often go hand in hand, with one of the two pictures still predominating over the other, especially in those who already have the “stigmata” of psychological malaise. Covid-19 with consequent lockdowns, for many people who were already predisposed to developing psychological conditions of this type, acted as a detonator, a drop that broke the camel’s back. Result? More than four out of ten Italians reported a worsening of their mental condition in the period of “closure” of 2020. To say this is a research that appeared in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
The impact on life and sleep
According to the research, conducted by scholars from Milan, Genoa and Rome, over 40% of Italians reported a worsening of anxious and depressive symptoms during last year’s national lockdown, with a reduction in the quality of life in more than 60% of subjects and repercussions on the sleep-wake rhythm in more than 30%.
In particular, the research is the result of the work of a multidisciplinary consortium involving psychiatrists, public health experts and biostatisticians from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the Universities of Genoa and Pavia, the Mario Negri IRCCS Institute of Pharmacological Research.
“The data in our possession are very solid and speak for themselves – comments Andrea Amerio, psychiatrist researcher at the University of Genoa and first author of the study,”the use of psychotropic drugs – predominantly anxiolytics – increased by 20% compared to the pre-lock down period and all mental health indicators worsened. This is a trend that we also find in daily clinical practice, where our departments have been taking on an increased need for assistance for many months ”.
Women were certainly more vulnerable to this situation: about half of Italian women reported a worsening of mental well-being with a risk of worsening of depressive symptoms and alteration of sleep quality, respectively 32% and 63% greater than the men.
“Our analyzes are based on a representative sample of over 6000 subjects that we have been following over time – specifies Silvano Gallus, researcher at Mario Negri and coordinator of the consortium – which will allow us to analyze how the lifestyles and mental health of Italians are modified and are changing over time, following the restrictions imposed for the control of the pandemic by Covid-19 “.
What will happen in the future?
Faced with data of this type, with pictures that in addition to the lock down have also seen the “suffering” imposed on the psyche by the incessant repetition of information often in contrast with the infodemic that certainly did not help the serenity of the soul, there is what to worry about in the future. Once the emergency situation has passed, there is the “new normal” made up of aggregation and travel to be experienced in a different way than before.
Probably there will be more space and time for everyone to spend at home, the social dynamic that will be created will also require more time to devote to life at home than our “pre-Covid-19” habits, as well as a greater sharing of their data, at least in terms of health and travel. These situations, for those who are more sensitive, can certainly worsen the situation even in the months to come.
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