Levitas et gravitas 
I have always admired, ever since high school capacity, rare gift, the Latin language, to be able to synthesize, in a word, a concept often complex in translation that we had to do, in Italian, in the class hated versions, it required a long and difficult circumlocution, for the most part the concept is not quite so clear in the language of the Romans.
I've always been fascinated by words and
levitas gravitas, that the literal translation would correspond to the terms of
lightness and heaviness
, but that, when applied to life, expressing concepts and contain far more profound, according precedence to ways of interpreting the very life and live it with
lightness, does not mean that superficiality, and the second to seriousness, depth, who does not want say pessimism.
I've always identified with the second hearing more congenial to me.
But outside and above personal considerations, the Romans had obviously a very clear difference between the two concepts and consequently between the two areas of allocation and mutual interest. We
that Latin did not speak any more and perhaps because of it, or even for that, we live in a permanent and continuing confusion not only linguistic, but primarily conceptual, we naturally lose the sense of these two concepts and the meaning associated with them treacherously by mixing together elements belonging to the right of "gravitas" with elements instead be attributed to "Levitas."
This long preamble to mark and note once again, as with imperishable, slavish monotony, every year, exactly at the end of summer and at the end of this so-called holiday that follows, has been flooded and submerged in all media , radio, television, print media, by a relentless avalanche of tips, recipes and remedies to overcome the stress of reentry and the horrible trauma of the "end holidays," disease that is repeated every time and again, with staggering precision and timely each year, these days, like the outbreak of chicken pox in the spring.
This year, however, in the texts of psychiatry in the USA appeared for the first time and has been clinically identified a very specific condition called
vacation blues that could be translated into Italian with the less romantic and evocative term "holiday depression" .
With great, great satisfaction was finally given a name and a scientific cause, an illness, an existential condition, that we all have lived and suffered for us, within us, the days of school, when on October 1 with cruel punctuality and school began again with this date marks the end of summer vacation.
The school is over, but the holidays and remain with them the pain, despair, depression related to their end.
Ierimattina the radio transmission in a well-attended and listened, a prominent psychiatrist colleague has provided, for the first time the result of extensive studies on the subject and modern, which have identified a biological cause, the biological substrate of this syndrome in order Holidays so far described only clinically, biological substrate that would head, looks the combination, the so-called "stress hormones" secreted by the adrenal glands and already well known at other times of stress.
Now that we know the biology, this dangerous disease strikes us a little less fear, but with all due respect to these scientific studies and to the seriousness of those who took them and carried out, it seems, always with respect, "the discovery of hot water, "otherwise known as" the roundness of the ball "or" of water moisture.
But luckily the identification, finally, the disease and its biological cause, there is also a possibility of treatment, which is not always possible for other illnesses easier. The same studies suggest
scientific fact, by the mouth of the same psychiatrist, as a sovereign remedy for this "vacation blues", we like hours call it that because more exotic and reminiscent of holiday depression, a unique and definitive therapy, effective in a good 90% of cases of patients, consisting of a complex method of gradual, slow, gradual recovery and the pace of work habits, in ways that vary from case to case, but always united by this common denominator of gradual and slow progression in a return to the "labor used" to put Leopardi.
We are grateful, as ever, to Science for giving us this remedy, and for letting us have this means to get rid of suffering is so widespread and that has always plagued humanity, since I was born the holidays. But without
detracting from the validity of modern studies, I am reminded, with gratitude and nostalgia, as usual, better said that ritual, carried out by my mother when I was out of a heated house in winter and I saw myself forced to brutally and suddenly expose myself to the rigors of the cold outside, consisting of the ritual practice of an essential stop for at least five minutes inside the atrium facing the outside, with the wool scarf wrapped well in front of the mouth, to take the so-called "mid-air .
as useless, but what a sweet nostalgia in these Proustian memories.
But since we're on the subject of nostalgic memories, allow me to recall another incident from my past, in terms of holidays and inevitably end up covering, refers to my Master, a surgeon who taught me essential things in life, as only a father can do.
of August was the day many years ago and he was not on vacation, she was not ever.
the bed of a sick in hospital, then a student to me, was teaching and showing, with your hands that guided my own, I am still moved in recalling, palpate the abdomen of a patient.
In this case it was, unfortunately, a patient with colon cancer that was operated by him the next day.
A little further behind two young doctors in the ward, cheerfully and proudly tanned and handsome at all attentive and affected by what was happening not far from them, they trusted the experience of mutual accommodation.
After the visit of Medicine and the lesson, my teacher gave me an equally, if not more important life lesson, I'll never forget: with a gentle air, but with the detachment that, for me that I knew him well, was the deeper meaning of annoyance and disappointment, addressing the two young doctors told them calmly: "Gentlemen, here are people who have not gone on vacation and probably will not ever again. If you must talk about your vacation, maybe you should that you sit out. " And then turned to me and me alone continued, with a gloomy, "and this is why I do not go on vacation, never. "
Perhaps Dr. Summa, so he called my teacher, long before the most recent studies on the subject of" vacation blues "and its connotations had been produced and biological therapy, including appropriate for this devastating disease. And this therapy has taught me too.
Domenico Mazzullo
d.mazzullo @ tiscali.it www.studiomazzullo.com
September 20, 1870 September 19, 2010 
