ROMA – Telephone Friend Italy disseminates the annual monitoring of support requests received in 2023. Most people ask for help by calling (over 100 thousand), but contacts via Whatsapp (+14%) and via e-mail (+10%) are increasing, especially among young. The most frequent problems are those related to the area of the self, followed by those related to relationships and sexuality. To underline the importance of taking care of oneself also through creativity, the volunteer organization launches the Social Challenge #curArtiLa Sad: «Music saved our lives».
When the mental pain is overwhelming. There are therefore almost 115 thousand requests for help received by Telephone Friend Italy in 2023, over 300 per day. The listening service via Whatsapp (+14% compared to 2022) and the one via e-mail (+10%) are especially growing, although the telephone listening service remains the most used with over 100 thousand calls in the last year. Numbers that testify to a continuous increase in psychological distress, but also a greater propensity to recognize it and quickly ask for help. «If the mental pain is overwhelming, it is essential to immediately ask for help from a professional, but quickly recognizing a situation of discomfort allows you to implement “self-defense” strategies to prevent the situation from degenerating – explains the president of Telephone Friend Italy Monica Petra commenting on the annual data released by the voluntary organisation. «In these moments – she adds – to manage the daily load of difficulties and worries, it can be very helpful to dedicate ourselves to an activity that excites us or relaxes us».
Prevent uncomfortable situations. Precisely to help people find creative methods to prevent situations of discomfort, on the occasion of World Creativity Dayon April 21st, Telephone Friend Italy launch the social challenge #curArti: all users are invited to publish photos, videos and content on social channels about their personal way of taking care of themselves through creativity, art, music and free time. Next to Telephone Friend Italy, in launching this challenge there is also La Sad, at the forefront of giving voice, through music and beyond, to discomfort and fragility. The message of the punk group is to try, through one’s passions, to transform pain into an opportunity for growth.
The precious help of music. «Thanks to music we managed to exorcise suffering and overcome a very dark period in our lives. By supporting this challenge we also want to help other people to find a method in the world of creativity to face the most difficult moments and to prevent situations of discomfort and discomfort”, explain Theø, Plant and Fiks, the three members of the band. «Art and music can do a lot: they are languages through which it is often easier to recognize and give vent to one’s pain, especially for the younger ones – adds Petra – We had evidence of this during Sanremo, when, thanks to La Sad, we were able to bring issues such as mental distress and suicide to such an important stage. The response was exceptional, a sign that people, especially young people, need to discuss and give space to these issues, even through “lighter” forms of language such as music and art in general.»
The 2023 data from Telefono Amico Italia. In 2023, thanks to more than 600 volunteers, the Telefono Amico Italia telephone service (reachable on 02 2327 2327) handled over 100 thousand calls, WhatsAppAmico (number 324 011 7252) handled 11,300 chats and the email service received over 2,300 requests for help by filling out the anonymous form on the website Telephone Friend Italy. The telephone service was used mostly by men (54%) and people between 56 and 67 years (26%), between 46 and 55 years (23%), and between 36 and 45 years (18%). Over the majority (58%) called for problems related to the self area, while 19% called for problems related to relationships and 9% to sexuality.
WhatsApp services. As regards the WhatsApp and Mail services, the user profile changes considerably: those who write are mainly women (Whatsapp 64%, email 69%) and young people. Those who turn to Whatsapp are between 26 and 35 years old (22%), between 19 and 25 (20.5%) and between 15 and 18 (18%); those who write to Mail@mica are between 19 and 25 years old (20%), between 26 and 35 years old (19%), between 36 and 45 (13%). In both services, the most frequent problems are those related to the self area (Whatsapp 61%, email 64%) and those related to relationships (Whatsapp 26.5%, email 23%).
How do you take care of yourself? The #curArti social challenge is the extension of an initiative launched by Telephone Friend Italy last September, on the occasion of the Suicide Prevention Day, when in 20 Italian squares volunteers asked passers-by to leave a note in response to the question “How do you take care of yourself in a difficult moment?”. «The responses were very interesting – says the president of the voluntary organization – we discovered that the most varied activities are used to recharge and face difficult moments. We now want to involve even more people with this social activation, which also aims to be a way to suggest possible ideas to those who have not yet found their personal “healing” activity.”
Dialogue as the main method. The majority (28%) of participants in the September 2023 street event indicated dialogue with others as the main way to deal with difficult times, whether they are friends, family, partners or professionals. 24% of people seek within themselves the strength to overcome difficulties through moments of reflection and positive thoughts. In third place, both with 15% of the responses, we find the practice of sports and the search for contact with nature or one’s animals and the use of concrete, more or less daily activities (among others cooking, body care, a trip, volunteering, hobbies, work). Next, with 13% of the responses, is the world of art, among which music and reading stand out above all, followed by cinema, painting and writing. Finally, 5% of people rely on spirituality, resorting to prayer or meditation.
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– 2024-04-17 22:45:36
