In his latest book *, neuropsychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik, who popularized the principle of resilience, shows the decisive influence of our natural environment on our growth and our lives. He takes stock of the current crisis and believes that “the virus is forcing us to change civilization.”
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This virus, which is now part of our environment, will it leave traces in the longer term on our way of life?
Like all viruses, it will eventually be controlled. But the catastrophe it causes will induce a change in terms of living together and in relationships. We will have to learn a new way of living together. A virus is almost nothing biologically. Viruses exist in nature, and when there are no humans, no civilization, they disappear within days. It is therefore we who promote the creation of viruses, through excessive consumption, our methods of intensive breeding and agriculture. We have allowed the virus to proliferate and we promote its circulation with our modes of transport as well as with world trade. The virus is less a biological phenomenon than a phenomenon of civilization. It is our civilization that produced the virus. So we have created an environment that destroys us. This current catastrophe forces us to change civilization.
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“If we put the same civilization back in place, that is to say this limitless production which promotes the emergence of viruses, we must expect a new epidemic within two years.”
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But how ?
We can avoid repeating the same mistakes. Living in a culture that makes fewer viruses and carries fewer viruses is possible. For two generations, we had not experienced a major epidemic. We mistakenly believed that we were safe. If we put the same civilization back in place, that is to say this limitless production which promotes the emergence of viruses, we can expect a new epidemic within two years. And we will have to start all over again: clinical and vaccine research, therapy, etc. We are therefore forced to change, as is the case after every epidemic.
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“The psychiatrists pointed out from the start that the confinement was a physical protection, but also a great psychological assault.”
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The psychological exhaustion within the population following the measures of confinement and restriction of freedoms is increasingly felt. Is that your observation as well?
Psychiatrists signaled from the start that confinement was physical protection, but also great psychic aggression. Did our rulers take this into account? I think yes. Did they make the right decisions? Probably not.
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Why ?
Because they found themselves faced with an impossible choice. Continuing the confinement means avoiding the spread of the virus, but it is also increasing mental disorders within the population. These troubles are due to confinement of course, but also to everything caused by this virus: personal, financial, commercial ruins, etc. Governments have taken the most urgent decisions and in doing so they are causing an increase in depressive and anxiety disorders.
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Especially among young people… These are currently the most affected, according to you?
Adolescence is a sensitive and decisive period in the life of an individual. It’s time to leave your family to become independent. But today, young people cannot achieve this. They therefore live in a framework of oppression. The first psychic manifestation of confinement was moreover the domestic violence and conjugal. In addition, given that this situation continues, we also observe the relapse of psychotics, which can no longer be followed correctly. In general, mental disorders appear in all layers of the population, but the most affected age group is adolescence. The situation is very serious. Young people have a few years to get into a social, emotional and friendly orbit. Containment prevents them. It therefore represents a social barrier which psychologically damages the socialization of young people. Children will be able to catch up, adolescents will not.
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“Today, studies show that 40% of young people suffer from depression and anxiety. It’s a disaster. If confinement lasts, we will massacre this age group.”
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In concrete terms, how long do you think we can hold out under these conditions?
We don’t hold on anymore, especially young people. In a country at peace and in a healthy family environment, it is estimated that 12% of young people are usually depressed. Today, studies show that 40% of young people suffer from depression and anxiety. It’s a catastrophe. If the confinement lasts, we will massacre this age category. The longer this situation persists, the higher the percentage will be. We will exceed this figure by 40%. Some teens will drop out for life.
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“It is believed that life is worth more than money. Previously, it was said exactly the opposite.”
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Has our relationship to death changed?
Today, in France, we are approaching the figure of 85,000 deaths due to Covid, that is to say the equivalent of the number of deaths linked to tobacco consumption. We have not ruined the planet to put an end to the harmful effects of smoking, just as we accept 12,000 deaths per year and many injured in road accidents. We tolerate this situation on the pretext that it is about the vagaries of modern life.
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Today, in the context of this pandemic, we no longer accept death, the death of the elderly in particular. It is proof of an ethical shift in our culture. It wasn’t that long ago that old people were just left to die. When there were epidemics, we didn’t hesitate to kill people to limit the spread. Now we shut down the planet to delay death, because life is believed to be worth more than money. Previously, we said exactly the opposite. Unfortunately, this ethical shift has not yet been achieved for adolescents and young people …
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Are we also experiencing a hygienist shift?
Yes, but it is not new. The first time that humanity took a hygienist turn was in the 19th century. At that time, doctors treated little, but a hygienic logic was put in place and increased life expectancy. Before, one in two babies would die in the first year. Until the middle of the 19th century, women died in childbirth. Their life expectancy was very low. When there was more hygiene in the maternity hospitals, maternal mortality decreased considerably. It’s the same with diet: when food was better controlled, life expectancy also increased. Vaccines have of course also contributed to further increase life expectancy. This hygienism has turned the human condition upside down.
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“People who talk about a health dictatorship are the first, when they are sick, to submit to medicine to heal.”
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But what do you say to them who believe that we are living in a health dictatorship?
You can always refuse to treat yourself, of course. But people who speak of a health dictatorship are the first, when they are sick, to submit to medicine to heal. Today, some would like to be in good health without being strained. It is the attitude of a spoiled child. In the current pandemic, refusing to seek treatment and protection is almost tantamount to manslaughter.
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“We are now discovering that excess freedom leads to pathology.”
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We’re going to have to somehow relearn freedom when we’re out of this crisis? Are we going to have to learn to live while limiting our freedoms?
Until now, we thought that our freedoms had no limit. Today we are discovering that excess freedom leads to pathology. It is the excess consumption and travel that have led to the current situation. In the future, we will no longer spend a weekend in Thailand. Travel will be restricted. After a natural disaster, an earthquake or an epidemic, usually comes a cultural revolution. A new hierarchy of values will be put in place following this pandemic.
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* Souls and seasons. Psycho-ecology, Boris Cyrulnik, Éditions Odile Jacob, 304 p., € 22.90
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