Ristrutturare la percezione della malattia: l’importanza dello humor nelle malattie croniche

Elena Ricci
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa 

Keywords: umorismo, malattie croniche, etica delle virtù, educazione del carattere

I progressi della medicina hanno rivoluzionato la gestione di molte condizioni, trasformando malattie un tempo fatali in patologie croniche. Le malattie croniche, caratterizzate da persistenza e ricorrenza ciclica, pongono una sfida multidimensionale che va oltre i sintomi fisici, influenzando gli aspetti psicologici, sociali e identitari della persona. Alterazioni nelle abitudini quotidiane, nelle relazioni e nella percezione di sé possono ridurre significativamente la qualità della vita di pazienti e famiglie. La ricerca ha evidenziato il ruolo chiave di fattori psicosociali, come supporto sociale, strategie di coping e virtù quali speranza, coraggio e saggezza pratica, nel favorire un adattamento positivo. Tuttavia, l’utilità dello humor in questo specifico contesto è ancora poco studiata, nonostante sia riconosciuta la sua importanza nella regolazione emotiva e nella ristrutturazione della percezione della malattia. Il presente lavoro si pone lo scopo di colmare questa lacuna, esplorando il valore specifico di questo tratto nell’esperienza della cronicità.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Elena Ricci
Assegnista di ricerca presso la Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, professoressa a contratto presso l’Università Europea di Roma dove insegna Antropologia e cure palliative e coordinatrice e docente nel master in Psicologia ed etica delle cure palliative della stessa Università̀. Dal 2016 collabora con il Centro di ricerca interuniversitario ARETAI e dal 2022 con il progetto PRACTICE dell’Università degli Studi di Genova. I suoi interessi di ricerca includono lo studio della virtù nell’etica nei contesti di cura, l’etica professionale, l’educazione del carattere e il nudging.

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