Have we become crazier, or is madness simply more visible today? How do young and old people approach mental health issues? What is happening with the cocaine epidemic – are the numbers of addicts rising? What is the stance of psychiatrists and psychologists on self-help? Psychologist and psychotherapist Maja Vučić, along with psychiatrist Hrvoje Handl, provide answers to these questions.
If it seems to you that there are more and more “crazy” people around us, you’re not wrong, says psychologist Maja Vučić. “Due to the changes that have taken place, it’s as if people’s masks have fallen – there are no longer those defense mechanisms behind which they could hide. On the other hand, we have social media platforms that have become a great stage. Many of my colleagues can tell from a distance, just by looking at certain people, that they have a serious diagnosis. But today, you can’t say anything because you’re immediately labeled as some kind of phobe,” she said on Špica s Macanom.
Psychiatrist Hrvoje Handl notes that one good thing happened during the pandemic—people became aware of anxiety, and mental health issues were normalized. “Everything we call madness exists within us, but in micro-quantities,” he explains. We are particularly sensitive to this in the early morning or late at night when we are sleepy and, therefore, at our most childlike.
Children and young people have become a major focus when discussing mental health lately. The number of referrals to child psychiatrists has increased by 300%, and every tenth high school student has considered self-harm. Schools are struggling with students who bully entire classes. Handl emphasizes that children with personality disorders must not be abandoned to administrative neglect but instead need to be treated with empathy.
Vučić highlights examples from her own practice – parents are overprotecting their children, depriving them of experiences, and making them unprepared for life. “Some children develop a false self; they have to present themselves as much better than they actually are. ‘Every day, for every little thing I do, you must praise me, and if you dare to oppose me, you become my mortal enemy. And I’m smarter and better than you because my parents have told me for 20 years that I’m a genius.’ Then you have another group—the chronically inconsistent ones. They are the ones who, when faced with criticism, go cry in the bathroom, call their mom, or quit their job during their lunch break,” she explains.
This is part of a broader narcissistic culture that, according to Handl, permeates all aspects of life. “Everything is about appearances, about how things look on the outside. It’s not important whether I’m intelligent, but whether I look good, whether I have enough titles before my name, or whether I’m popular enough. A narcissistic man doesn’t care whether he is satisfied in sex, but rather how many orgasms the woman has had,” he clarifies.
To relieve themselves of the burdens of modern life, people turn to self-help literature, constantly striving for happiness, which is impossible. As Vučić puts it, “The only way to always be high is with cocaine.” This isn’t a foreign solution for many, and the number of addicts is growing. “Some people need at least half a liter of whiskey just to feel like themselves – they are functional alcoholics. Functional cocaine users need a little hit to perform better. Over time, addiction symptoms become part of their personality, and they stop being self-aware. We see that they are drinking, but they don’t. I think that’s the biggest problem,” concludes the psychiatrist.
