The book by Dr. Tiziana Corteccioni will be presented on June 22 (5 pm) at the Libreria Grande in Perugia.
In a period in which mental disorders seem to have increased considerably, increasingly affecting even the youngest, the release of a book that sheds light on these topics in a simple and accessible way for all has attracted our attention. The book is entitled Ho bisogno di una pillole? (Ed. Vallardi), and its author is Dr. Tiziana Corteccioni, a surgeon and specialist in psychiatry, a psychotherapist with a cognitive-behavioral clinical orientation who practices her profession in Rome as well as in Perugia.
Since 2014, Dr. Corteccioni has been running a blog in which she discusses topics related to her profession, which has become a very popular space where she offers a word of comfort to those who are going through a difficult time; now dedicates to these topics a book born from the idea of shedding light on mental illnesses and the use of psychotropic drugs, topics still surrounded by prejudices, stigmas and false beliefs. On Saturday 22 June at 5:00 pm the book will be presented at the Libreria Grande in Ponte San Giovanni (Perugia); in the meantime we had a chat with the author to get some previews.
Dr. Corteccioni, who is this book for?
The book is aimed at all patients who have had a prescription for drugs but are afraid to start therapy because they do not know the complex world of psychotropic drugs; it is also aimed at those who do not know who to turn to because they have psychological distress and do not know exactly whether they need a psychiatrist, a psychologist or a psychotherapist. Finally, it is aimed at fellow psychologists and psychotherapists who obviously cannot prescribe drugs, but who still want to delve deeper into the topic.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in people suffering from mental illnesses. Why, is it possible to give a reason?
Covid has certainly increased the number of patients accessing services, because social isolation, which has also entailed the obligation to live together in very small spaces (I am speaking specifically of large families), has accentuated the manifestation of pre-existing disorders. It has favored the onset, for example, of sleep disorders, because obviously by not getting tired, you can’t sleep well. All this exploded already during the pandemic, but especially at the end of the pandemic itself, when the world then asked us to resume normal activities. There had already been a prediction in the past of an increase in mental illnesses, but Covid made this phenomenon explode and no one expected it.
Unfortunately, even today we are ashamed of suffering from a mental disorder. Why and how can we combat this tendency?
Surely not being ashamed of asking for help is the first step: just as we go to any other specialist for any type of disorder, we can go to a psychiatrist. For example, the book mentions the orthopedist or even the dentist: none of us have difficulty turning to these professionals if we need it, but when it comes to going to a psychiatrist we try not to do so by also denying the presence of the disorder. Not only that: we don’t talk about it, we don’t talk about it, for fear of other people’s judgments.
Similarly, there is a lot of reticence towards psychotropic drugs. How are they explained in your book to dispel these taboos?
Psychotropic drugs are first described briefly but quite scientifically based on their chemical effects, also indicating the most frequent side effects. Immediately after, in contrast, there is a chapter concerning the false myths related to psychotropic drugs: they are bad for the liver, they are bad for the kidneys, these drugs are taken by crazy people, and so on… In short, all prejudices that are useless. I always use the example of insulin: if an individual has diabetes, he goes to the endocrinologist who gives him insulin, a potentially deadly drug because it requires blood sugar control and the consequent correct dosage. If you get the dosage wrong, it can also be lethal. Yet the diabetic takes insulin without objections: the pancreas does not produce insulin and therefore knows that he must take it from outside. If, for example, your brain doesn’t produce enough serotonin, why does the idea of taking it from the outside scare you so much?
Can reading the book also be useful for family members and friends of people with a mental disorder?
Yes, for the issue of false myths that we were talking about before, because unfortunately these prejudices often come from family members. If a person has a depressive disorder, before understanding who to turn to, they confide in their family members who often don’t understand, they say that it’s nothing but just laziness. Telling a depressed person that they’re lazy is incredibly violent because depression is an illness, it’s not laziness. Often this sort of battle is created with family members who tell you not to take the drugs but to think about working or studying. Especially when it affects young people, depression is mistaken for immaturity without realizing that it is actually an illness and as such must be treated.
In conclusion, why buy your book?
First of all, because it is a fairly easy-to-read text that can be read in 4-5 hours. It uses clear, simple, but at the same time scientific language. Therefore, it is suitable for both professionals and ordinary people. And this is something that was missing, because it is very difficult to find a manual that is quite usable but can still provide a lot of information in just a few pages (160). Furthermore, it should be purchased because it also enriches the knowledge of both patients – who when they talk to their psychiatrist already know certain things and can relate more easily – and psychologist colleagues who often find themselves in front of a patient undergoing pharmacological treatment and do not know what it is. The book: “Do I need a pill?” represents an important tool for patients who need to start treatment and want to rely on scientific information and not on false beliefs and prejudices.
Where can we buy it?
In bookstores, online stores like Amazon and also on my website – www.tizianacorteccioni.it – where there is a section that links to an online store.
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