Mental health: summer can be hard for vulnerable people

The sun is shining. Similarly, the banks of the lake are crowded and the queues mental health: summer can hard lie down in front of the ice merchants. Nevertheless, It is summer in French -speaking Switzerland. Therefore, to the delight of those for whom the season rhymes with holidays, festivals and barbecues.

But for a fringe of the population, more vulnerable on the psychological level, the summer period can turn into ordeal.

“In summer. Therefore, many social injunctions suggest that, as the weather is nice, we must perform socially and be happy,” notes Professor Philippe Conus, head of the General Psychiatry Service at the CHUV. However. Consequently, for people who do not get there, it is like an even more brutal confrontation to the fact that they are extraordinary. Moreover, ”

Risk of isolation – Mental health: summer can hard

As this CHUV teacher points out. Meanwhile, the feeling of isolation can be increased by mental health: summer can hard vacation departures or the social activities of others. Meanwhile, Responsible for the Malatavie unit, Anne Edan notes that this situation can also concern adolescents. However, “The population that remains in Geneva during the summer is sometimes more vulnerable. They can be young people who isolate themselves. because their friends left and their parents work, or because they have few means. ”

The crisis unit for adolescentsfrom a public-private partnership between the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG). the Children Action Foundation, notes a drop in activity during the summer period. “Overall, young people are doing well in summer,” admits Anne Edan. They are not at school. which can be a source of a lot of anxiety, and the possibilities of going out or doing sports are more numerous. ”

But for those who feel discomfort, summer can be a mental health: summer can hard difficult period. “When you cannot mobilize positive factors for mental health. like going out, surrounding yourself, moving, it can be very hard to see others get there.”

Complexes related to physical injunctions can also be heavy to wear for teens. “I also think of young people who are in gender transition for whom their relationship to the body is undermined during the summer. ” adds the doctor. They are faced with a body envelope which is not in line with that which they represent. ”

The dangers of heat

Heat also has its share of responsibility. And it can have dramatic effects. Philippe Conus recalls that a American study revealed. in 2021, that people suffering from schizophrenia are three times more likely to die during a heat wave. “It is partly due to medication,” mental health: summer can hard explains the professor. Certain treatments alter the body’s ability to regulate its temperature and dehydration increases the risks of side effects. ”

In the case of certain pathologies, patients are unable to perceive heat or involuntarily put themselves in danger. “This is why we sometimes see individuals carrying large coats by more than 30 degrees,” explains Philippe Conus. In addition. people with paranoid disorder can tend to lock themselves in them and isolate themselves, at the risk of increasing the temperature in their homes. ” Apartments. which can prove to be unhealthy or poorly isolated due to the precarious economic and social situation of these people.

Doctors on vacation

To support this marginalized population, CHUV mental health professionals strengthen their vigilance towards fragile patients during heat waves. They use, if necessary, their mobile teams, who mental health: summer can hard move at home or in public space. “For patients who come to consultation. they are told to have a lot and be careful to refresh themselves well,” says Philippe Conus.

Anne Edan, she recalls that, when specialists go on vacation, devices remain accessible all summer. “We have the right to go badly when the sun shines and do not hesitate to call for help.” In particular, it cites emergencies of public hospitals, the Teen line (022 372 42 42) or the Number 147.

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