This article is published in number 21 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until May 23, 2023
Giulio Costa is a psychotherapist who edited the podcast Stories that are yours too For Vanity Fair. He recently published a book, The discipline of imperfection – Navigating among the new contemporary fragilities (Sperling & Kupfer). Costa is an expert in psychological support for adolescents and students. He very often hears about the mental health of the new generations, the importance that is given to the symptoms of discomfort, the possibility of speaking about it openly, the replacement of shame or denial with acceptance and knowledge.
There are two passages in the book that got me thinking. The first reads: «Since the second post-war period we have gradually stifled any discourse on fragility. Willing is power is one of the biggest lies that man has ever created… it is the denial of reality, of limits».
In the second passage, however, he writes: «When will we return to normal? As far as I’m concerned, I’ve always cultivated a curiosity towards what deviates from normality: diversity, imprecision, fragility and chaos are the realities that fascinate me and which I deal with every day».
In this issue of Vanity Fair you will find many stories that talk about fragility, the impossibility of returning to normal and how openness to the new and the different are the keys to mental health.
A health that doesn’t just concern the new generations, students and adolescents, but everyone. Just everyone. The post-pandemic era is a long, dilated time, something that continues to put us to the test and that always presents us with new challenges. And at a pace perhaps never seen before.
One of the new and perhaps unexpected weapons that we have at our disposal to face all of this is precisely the culture, the discipline of imperfection. Because when the perfect storm of imperfection arrives (and lately it always arrives), Costa’s advice is not to look for the coast, but to aim straight towards the unknown of fragility.
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Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
