OBESITY

Is it an illness or simply a lack of willpower? Should it be a deciding factor in the treatment of patients in the NHS?

 

It is a fact that the way we feel can have consequences on the amount of food we eat. Alimentation is the first thing that changes when people start having psychological problems, so a variation of the "regular" diet can be a symptom of something more.

 

We should treat obesity, bulimia and anorexia in the same way because they're all psychological diseases that have concrete effects on alimentation.

 

When we talk about obesity, we should ask ourselves "Why do these people eat so much?", instead of judging people who are evidently fat. There must be a reason if someone starts overeating: maybe he doesn't feel satisfied with himself and his own life. The point is: why is he so disappointed? This is the question we may start from when we want to understand an obese person.

 

Obesity can be the consequence of a psychological trauma - the loss of someone important, sex abuse or a traumatic event in the past, for example. It is known that people who have been sexually abused may develop alimentary disorders (probably because the want to "punish" their own body and turn it unattractive).

 

A possible way to treat obesity is psychotherapy. Talking with a therapist, the obese person can understand when and why the problem started. In this way, the patient and the psychologist may find a solution.

 

Of course, a healthy lifestyle (healthy alimentation and physical activity) is very important, but only after the true trauma has been recognised.

 

Surgery is not the solution: if fat people don't understand the origins of their problem, surgery is useless (after the operation, they will continue to eat a lot).

 

The NHS (National Health Service) should not punish obese people: it is a national service and should offer everyone the same opportunities. Fat people deserve the same attention as thin people. Fat people pay taxes exactly like the other citizens, so they have the right to be treated. But, in my own opinion, before being operated (I'm talking about gastric surgery) obese patients should be given the possibility to speak with a psychotherapist and find the motivation to lose weight.

 

To sum up, obesity is an illness that is becoming more and more dangerous in our society. Punishments are not the cure; talking with someone is the best way to get rid of obesity.

Is the Roman Church more a political institution than a religious one?

The Roman Catholic Church is one of the oldest institutions of the world. It has played a very important role in history and has provided support for the sick and the poor, education and medical services.  al services in the the world.  in the world. Although the Church has done a lot of good, it has also made some compromises that turned it into a political institution.

First of all, during the Holy Roman Empire, it was the Pope who crowned the emperor. The Pope used to choose a Christian sovereign whose responsibility was to rule over the Empire, but also to protect the Roman Catholic Church. This meant that it was the Church that selected the ruler of Europe’s largest political entity of that time.

During the XX century, the Church came to a compromise both with Nazism and Fascism. Pope Pius XII never condemned the Nazi Holocaust: millions of Jews were exterminated and the Church didn’t do anything.

Nowadays, in Italy, there are some political parties that support the Church or are Church-oriented (UdC, for example). Some parties even alter their programs to obtain the votes of the Christians. This happens because the majority of the Italian population is Catholic and for a political party having the approval of the Catholic Church can “make the difference”.

Moreover, in Italy the Church has evidently influenced legislation: the reason why the State can’t legalize gay marriage is that the Church is too powerful an institution to fight against. The Church can express itself through many means of communication: the radio, the television, the social networks (in fact, the ex-Pope Ratzinger opened an account on twitter and now Pope Francis is continuing “tweeting” on the same platform). In addition to this, in Italy not only the political parties, but also the Church has its own press (let’s think about the magazine “Famiglia cristiana” and the newspapers “Avvenire” and “L’osservatore romano”).

In Italy, the relationship between the Church and politics has always been on a razor's edge. In fact, last February, Padre Peppe Trifirò, an Italian priest, asked his parishioners to abstain from voting in parliamentary elections. “Let’s give our politicians a sign” Trifirò said “that we don’t feel represented by them and that we think our politics is becoming dirtier, more speculative and more inhuman everyday.”. It is not the first time the Church “has advised” the worshippers not to vote. The point is that the Church uses its political influence even if it is supposed to be a religious institution.

Some may say that the Church has become political in order to survive, that it was “forced” to be political and to make compromises, otherwise it would have disappeared. It may be so, but it seems like the Church feels comfortable in this position.

PARALISI

Un giorno, al Riker, uno schizzo di salsa di pomodoro gli finì sulla giacca di cuoio chiaro e vi lasciò una brutta macchia. Joe elaborò particolari positure e andature, destinate a nascondere questa pecca del suo abbigliamento. Concepì poi l’idea di procurarsi dell’altra salsa di pomodoro e di tracciare, attorno alla macchia, quello che avrebbe dovuto apparire un motivo ornamentale. Giunse al punto di rubarne un po’ e di portarsela appresso nel gabinetto di una caffetteria, ma non riuscì a immaginare un motivo. Trascorse gran parte del pomeriggio nell’indecisione, e anche questo era tipico di quella sorta di paralisi cui era preda il suo cervello.

 

James Leo Herlihy, "Midnight cowboy" (Un Uomo Da Marciapiede)

A BOLSA DA SOLIDÃO _ Laura Esteves

LA BORSA DELLA SOLITUDINE

 Il rossetto chiarissimo

(non mi piace attirare l’attenzione)
la spazzola per capelli
con alcuni fili bianchi
(tinti di nostalgia)
la medicina per la pressione
(in caso di crisi, metterla sotto la lingua)
una lettera per metà
sbiadita dal tempo
la carta d’identità emissione 1960
(a 39 anni ero un figurino)
il mazzo di chiavi
la boccetta con l’acqua benedetta
il fazzoletto di cambrì
(com’era più bella la vita)
la penna bic senza tappo
(l’ho scordato in drogheria)
la tessera del CIC *
e il suo numero minaccioso
la foto dell’unico figlio
(in quella visita occasionale)
le medicine inseparabili
(che ironia – assumerle solo se si sente dolore)
il programma del Municipale
(mai più dopo essere diventata vedova)
la banconota da dieci real
la custodia dell’ombrello
la pubblicità di madame Dinorá
che lancia conchiglie**
e cura tutti i mali
(domani stesso ci faccio un salto)
tutto quello che ho in questo momento
e porto sempre con me
sia dove sia
la mia vita
il mio mondo
il mio animo
la mia mancanza d’amore.

*La sigla CIC sta per Cartão de Identificação do Contribuinte, il corrispettivo del codice fiscale italiano.

**Una delle tecniche divinatorie tipiche del candomblé consiste nel consultare le conchiglie di alcuni molluschi.

 

Traduzione a opera di Letalpecospiranoumidità della poesia "A bolsa da solidão" (di Laura Esteves)

A SINGLE MAN

Waking up begins with saying am and now. That which has awoken then lies for a while staring up at the ceiling and down into itself until it has recognised I, and therefrom deducted I am, I am now. Here comes next, and is at least negatively reassuring; because here, this morning, is where it had espected to find itself; what's called at home.

But now isn't simply now. Now is also a cold reminder; one whole day later than yesterday, one year later than last year. Every now is labelled with its date, rendering all past nows obsolete, until - later or sooner - perhaps - no, not perhaps - quite certainly: It will come.

 

 

Christopher Isherwood, "A single man"