We can talk about endometriosis at school

A Interactive and engaging lesson To have greater awareness of one’s body and inquire about endometriosis, a disease that affects many women (about 3 million in Italy), sometimes since adolescence, but which is still difficult to diagnose. And the Project “ Underson ” Dedicated to the girls of the third, fourth and upper fifth of schools throughout Italy by the volunteers from the.P.AND. Endometriosis Project Association, association of national patients, who organize training moments to make known the pathology and allow young women of help friends and prevent. Numerous schools from Senigallia to Rimini, from Iglesias to Assisi, from Cagliari to Caltanissetta, from Vicenza to Parma and Verona, to name a few, have already joined the Information meetings online (the next ones will be held January 27, 12th and 26th and 12th and 26 of March 2022) and others, from all over Italy, can join, filling in the Online Module made available by the.P.AND.

Laura Letizia is one of the psychotherapist of the project understanding

Laura Letizia is one of the psychotherapist of the project understanding that in collaboration with doctors, gynecologists, experts and volunteers of.P.AND. enters schools to explain to girls what endometriosis is and how to approach the disease.

«For two hours in which a change takes place – explains the psychotherapist -. The girls at the beginning are ignored, they think they take away a few hours of lessons, but then they intrigue and their attention becomes total “. After a first information moment, the girls are invited to fill in an anonymous questionnaire and ask questions. «Through the proposals of the students and the suggestions of the volunteers of the.P.AND., who know the disease firsthand, a serene climate is built, in which girls manage to understand what the symptoms of the disease are -explains Laura Letizia -, but also How to contact parents if you have pain during the menstrual cycle, how to relate to the boy. Most of the questions that girls ask are related to communication and relationship.

They understand that if they have pains it is not normal and therefore it is good to make a gynecological visit. Often the stigma that the woman has to suffer persists, A stigma that must be cut down “. Having useful information on endometriosis can help you recognize the disease and not feel sun for that pain that makes them feel different and for which sometimes they have to skip school. «When we come into contact with the girls in schools – adds the psychotherapist – we note immediately the immediate effect of prevention.

For example, a girl who discovered thanks to one of our information encounters of having endometriosis then promoted information on the disease in the other classes “.

A chronic pathology

A chronic pathology whose diagnostic delay varies from 8 to 12 years If it is teenagers. «It is complicated for patients to be understood -underlines Dr. Letizia -, to explain to the family, to the partner, to the doctor himself, what is he felt. And it is very ugly for girls not to be believed for pain or sensations that you cannot identify “. Hence the psychological support of the project understanding that allows you to prevent, to be aware, and then accept the disease later. “When women discover they have endometriosis – explains the psychotherapist – they can be afraid, The idea of having a chronic disease frightens.

Each imagine what he will do in life and how the disease will impact on his own future. Knowing the disease allows you to manage it. We must not identify with it, but to accept it“.

A path that takes place with the support of other women, such as the volunteers of.P.AND. that through their experiences and collaboration with endometriosis specialists help women since adolescence to understand and coexist positively with the pathology.

«By addressing the girls attending high schools, young women of tomorrow open to the stimuli and training proposals involving their female part – he adds Annalisa Frassineti, president of.P.AND. – We intend to lay the foundations for a awareness of society in delicate and fundamental subjects such as understanding and solidarity towards people with a pathology, their active participation in the dynamics of social life, the importance of sharing in suffering, the value of trust and positivity towards life “.

What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects about 10% of the female population in Italy in Italy, even if the data is extremely partial and probably underestimated. The most common symptoms are: severe menstrual pain and in conjunction with ovulation, recurrent cystitis, intestinal irregularities, heaviness on the lower abdomen, pains to sexual intercourse, infertility in 35% of cases. For a disease whose causes are not yet known, for which there are no definitive care or medical prevention paths, to limit the damage that endometriosis causes, it is essential to make information to create awareness!