Two surveys on the mental well-being of Italians give more or less the same worrying results. The first was conducted by Ipsos for the Axa Group on a sample of 16 thousand people in 16 countries: the conclusion is that in Italy 28% of respondents say they suffer from some form of mental disorder. The most frequent ones are stress, anxiety and depression. In us, as in the rest of the world, work-related disorders are on the rise: fatigue, loss of energy and interest. And this, too, explains why 44 percent of employed people are thinking about resigning or changing jobs. In Italy, however, the habit of formulating a self-diagnosis is more widespread than elsewhere, forgoing the psychologist and turning to the Internet. The second survey deals instead with the mental health of a specific segment of the population, that of journalists, particularly freelance journalists, who are now in the majority and have seen the certainties of the past shattered. Recently Alice Facchini for IrpiMedia surveyed about 600 of them. Their psychological well-being is being undermined by instability and precariousness, but also by compensation that is too low, by staying connected and on call all the time, and by hectic schedules. The result is that 87 percent say they suffer from stress, 73 percent from anxiety, and 68 percent feel a sense of inadequacy. More than 40% of journalists report burnout syndrome, unmotivated bouts of anger, addiction to social networks. One in three explicitly mentions depression. Information does not enjoy good health.
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