The earthquake in the Campi Flegrei put people “to the test”. This was stated by Armando Cozzuto, president of the Order of Psychologists of Campania, speaking to Adnkronos Salute. “A roar, very loud, something really difficult to describe. The sensation that the ground is rising under your feet. It is precisely the metaphor of instability, while we seek certainty in life“. The latest events, culminating in yesterday’s strong tremor, have obviously added tension, “concern”. “Although, at least in the area where I was – he reports – I did not see any scenes of uncontrolled panic. The response of the population seemed exemplary to me.” Even Cozzuto, who lives in Pozzuoli and has “two young children”, was on the street yesterday. And he knows how to live with a supervolcano under his feet: “Bradyseism is a phenomenon with which we have been living with for several months now. The population here is partly used to it, but these latest events have really put everyone to the test. The first question people ask is: when does it end?“.
Yesterday, he says, “on the Pertini seafront practically everyone was spilled out into the street. Right where I live, a pole carrying electricity to the Cumana railway fell and blocked any possibility of cars leaving the car park. But I have to admit that the intervention of the Civil Protection technicians was immediate. In less than half an hour the pole was removed and it was possible to leave. The municipal police, firefighters, civil protection and above all there were psychologists to support the population first stages of emergency. On the seafront alone I counted 4. The associations registered in the Civil Protection registers, specialized in emergency psychology, the Psychologists for Peoples association and Sipem (Italian Society of Emergency Psychology) intervened. They have a series of intervention protocols that allow you to contain traumatic experiences and to avoid the onset of subsequent disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.”
“As a citizen, parent, psychologist, I must say however – adds Cozzuto – that I have seen a reaction of concern and apprehension, obviously, but balanced. I expected there to be more confusion, not to be able to walk with cars. Instead, there was mutual help, people stopped, no one ran. There were also many children, I didn’t see people screaming. Obviously a lot depends on the resources that everyone has, so there were those who perhaps worried more and those who remained more calm. Certainly seeing the institutions present in the area reassured. And the presence of psychologists, immediately in the field, was important. Because, in any case, you experience trauma and being able to share it helps, seeing the professionals present, in uniform, ready to manage the emergency was already reassuring. Psychologists were actually stopped by people, even for talking to children.”
The techniques that are used in these contexts by emergency psychologists are “‘defusing’ and ‘debriefing’ protocols, with which the aim is to contain the emotional experience and defuse any disturbances that could arise subsequently“, illustrates Cozzuto. “With adequate support, even fear finds its meaning.” Living with bradyseism can be exhausting, explains the psychologist. “On the one hand it is true that”, since it is not something sudden, “it metabolises in a small way part of what you are experiencing, but the big problem is unpredictability. We will never know for sure when this may happen and this can raise anxiety levels. The outcome also depends on the services that are activated in the area and on the resources citizens have at their disposal. Because there are people who have perhaps been accustomed to facing moments of difficulty over time and others who instead may see their daily life compromised and it is necessary that they turn to the public service, to psychological specialists to deal with what is happening.”
“Living a few hundred meters from the epicenter of the earthquake obviously puts a strain on you, it’s inevitable – continues Cozzuto -. In the area, from what I could see, everyone spent the night outside. Tents have been installed on the basketball courts along the seafront, and there are even those who have slept in their cars. I personally was there until late at night, then with my two children I moved to some relatives who live a little further away and returned here because the activities are being coordinated together with the Municipality and the Civil Protection. Now we are waiting for the Region to give us directives, they are all gathered, all the mayors of the areas involved are connected via streaming. We join together in this coordination phase and from these meetings it will emerge how we can manage the situation, hoping to soon be able to define it as post-emergency. In any case, all forces are currently deployed in the area.”
“Of this night – the president of the Campania psychologists continues – I was especially struck by the elderlyin addition to the general response of the population: they were there on the seafront, they had this ability to calm people down, they stopped to smile at the children. Many were born and raised here, they will have experienced the bradyseismic crisis of the 1980s, and with their experience and expertise they have partly managed to reassure adults who, in turn, have the sense of responsibility of having young children” to be protected. “What we hope now – he concludes – is that this phase of land raising will be followed by a lowering phase, that volcanic activity will be reduced and we can return to regular daily life. Obviously always with this unknown that comes from living in a volcanic territory, but we hope that this phenomenon can regress, as has happened in recent decades.”
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