The discussion in the hall, moderated by journalist Diana Alessandrini, featured Dr Laura Dalla Ragione, psychiatrist and expert in eating disorders, who focused her speech on providing concrete tools for decoding the complexity of the contemporary youth world.

Fragility masked by confidence

One of the key points that emerged during the evening was the paradox surrounding modern adolescents: young people appear extremely independent and self-confident, but in reality they hide a deep inner fragility. According to Dr Dalla Ragione, the prevailing feeling today is not the desire to excel, but shame and fear of not living up to expectations. In today’s society, the support of a shared value system that was once guaranteed by family, school and the Church has disappeared. This is why educational communities, such as Villa Sora, have a crucial task and an urgent mission in accompanying young people.

The power of words and mirroring

The meeting emphasised how human beings are made up of words: those received or denied can mark a child for life. Adults are asked not to shy away from their children’s pain, not to deny it, but to live with it together with them. ‘Pain is not an objection to life, it is part of it,’ explained the expert, inviting parents to practise emotional mirroring. It is necessary not to minimise young people’s fears with clichés, but to show that adults also experience similar emotions, helping them to decode and regulate their inner chaos.

Risky behaviours as a cry for help

From self-harm to eating disorders, to the use of synthetic substances and alcohol, risky behaviours are attempts at ‘self-care’ or desperate cries for attention. Phenomena such as superficial self-harm, which is on the rise due in part to the emulative influence of social media, are often a way of alleviating unbearable psychological pain through physical pain.

Prevention starts with the “big questions”

The educational challenge cannot be limited to censorship or prohibition. True prevention consists of helping young people ask themselves the big questions about the meaning of existence: what is freedom? What is responsibility? In a world dominated by digital noise, the task of adults is to reopen doors and horizons, reassuring young people about the possibility of realising their dreams despite the uncertainties of the future.

A community that accompanies

The meeting ended with a message of hope: the ‘treasure trove’ of love and intimacy built up in the early years of life is never lost and forms the basis on which children, after the necessary phase of detachment and rebellion, can return to rest their identity.

Meanwhile, Villa Sora can accompany young people not only as a school, but as a true ‘family home’ where, to quote Hannah Arendt, ‘a safe world’ can be created among people.

Laura Ferrante