While for many
\nof us winter celebrations are times of joy, for many others, they are a reason
\nto fall deeper into depression. A psychological disease that people have
\nsuffered from since times immemorial, depression seems to have gained significant
\nground in the modern times, probably because of the many challenges we are
\nfaced with these days. The situation is rather serious, because, according to
\nthe WHO, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting one
\nin every six people. In Romania, one million cases of depression were reported
\nin 2015 alone. As there are no other, more recent, statistics, we can only
\nimagine its incidence. Still, although for many years Romanians were reluctant
\nto talk openly about depression and to seek treatment, the situation seems to
\nhave changed lately, according to psychologist Flori-Ana Buzila:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
There
\nis still reluctance in relation to this matter, but, at the same time, I have
\nnoticed that the psychologist has started to be more accepted as a social
\nfigure. People seem to be more open
\ntowards psychiatrists, but even in such cases there is a lack of understanding,
\nbecause many believe that only crazy individuals should resort to a psychiatrist.
\nBut it may happen that our brain gets into a state of unbalance that upsets our
\nnormal functioning, and proper medication may be the only way to come back to
\nnormal. Otherwise, we may just carry on our shoulders a disease that is
\nperfectly curable, but which will get worse unless treated, affecting the
\nquality of our life too.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Depression is characterized
\nby symptoms that are common to other diseases as well, such as sadness,
\ntherefore a physician’s diagnosis is of utmost importance. Still, it often happens
\nthat the very people who are affected by depression are not aware of what is
\nhappening to them. They just feel tired and unable to focus for a long period
\nof time, and may also experience sleep disorders and loss of appetite. Here is
\nFlori-Ana Buzila again:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
These
\nsymptoms may not disappear for more than two months. When reaching this point,
\nwe need to be responsible and ask for an assessment, for our own benefit, to
\nsee if depression is the cause, or to intervene and help a person dear to us
\nwho may experience such problems. Other symptoms include lack of
\nconcentration and inability to make
\ndecisions that were easy to make before. Feelings of worthlessness,
\nself-disparagement and guilt (I feel guilty for everything) may expand to contemplation
\nof death and suicide, as a solution to escape this painful state. And this is
\nwhere specialized intervention is needed, because it is quite clear that the
\nperson experiencing such feelings cannot help themselves. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In order to help
\nthose affected by depression understand what is happening to them, and
\nespecially for the healthy ones to empathize with those who suffer, theatre can be of help. Inspired from the
\nexperiment known as ‘Schrodinger’s Cat’, conducted by the physicist Erwin
\nSchrodinger to demonstrate the paradoxes of quantum mechanics, Alexa Bacanu
\nwrote a play, with the same title, staged at Unteatru by Alexandru Berceanu. A
\ncat is put into a box, together with a closed poison vial. If there is
\nradiation in the box, the vial gets
\nbroken and releases the poison that will kill the cat. According to quantum
\nmechanics, if the box is sealed, until it is opened, the cat is both dead and
\nalive. Here is Alexa Bacanu about the paradox of her own text:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I have
\nused Schrodinger’s anecdote as a metaphor: when you’re affected by depression
\nor anxiety you are both alive and dead. We’ve tried to do something to bring this
\ntopic into the spotlight. It has also been sort of therapeutic for the artists
\ninvolved in the project to get to understand these problems better.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In Romania,
\nmental health problems are overlooked more than in other countries, says Alexa
\nBacanu. This reality has also been highlighted during the meetings of the focus
\ngroups used in the documentation stage. A theatre play can bring into the
\nspotlight not only a topic that has been neglected, but also the sufferance
\nthat people around you or even yourself may experience, without being able to understand
\nit very well. That is why, Schrodinger’s cat is an invitation to empathy.
\nAlexa Bacanu explains:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Sometimes, healthy people have the tendency to minimize other people’s suffering,
\nif it’s not obvious. Depression and anxiety are not obvious. They can have
\nphysical symptoms, but not necessarily in every case. The play is, indeed, an
\nappeal to empathy. We hope it works. Also, it is important for the people fighting
\ndepression to understand that they are not alone and that it’s not the end of
\nthe world, although it may seem like it. Truth is, the situation can be
\nimproved provided that people experiencing it ask for help.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The idea that
\ntheatre can be of help has proven to be correct, as Alexa Bacanu told us:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
I was
\nhappy to see the play stirs laughter among the audience. We did not want to
\nmake spectators feel depressive, even though we talk about depression. We
\nwanted the performance to be funny too. A number of people in the audience told
\nme at the end of the play that they had lived some of the experiences
\npresented. People think they are the only ones to experience certain things and
\nthey are ashamed to discuss them or to ask for help. So it’s been a relief for
\nmany spectators to see that other people are going through the same thing and
\nto understand that this condition can be cured.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Of course,
\ntheatre cannot replace treatment, but it can help us understand ourselves
\nbetter, psychologist Flori-Ana Buzila says:<\/p>\n
Speaking strictly about theatre, its contribution to depression-related
\nproblems consist in raising awareness about it. If I see a play in which the
\ncharacters behave or say things that are very familiar to me, if I know that
\ncertain characters suffer from depression or have symptoms of depression, then
\nI understand I’ve been going through the same thing for quite some time. For
\nthis reason, theatre as an instrument of raising awareness about this problem
\nhas its role, but it does not treat the disease. So I must act responsibly and
\nfind the best treatment for myself.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Theater-going may be an effective therapy in the fight against depression<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":142964,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42997],"tags":[43733,43730,43731,43732,35620],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-142963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-today","tag-alexa-bacanu","tag-depression","tag-psychologist-flori-ana-buzila","tag-schrodingers-cat","tag-theater"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n