I pass by the old lady who lives downstairs.
“Dottoré, yesterday I wanted to knock on your door because I wasn’t feeling well”.
“What was wrong?”
“I don’t know. I felt a strange sadness, like a void inside, then started having palpitations! So, to distract myself, I prepared a nice parmigiana.”
“Well done! And how did it turn out?”.
“To tell you the truth. *M’agge arricreat! And I’ve felt better ever since.”
“You did well. I tell my patients that true depression is rare, and it doesn’t take much sometimes to understand what you need to feel better. Just like you did: You felt sad and empty, so you started cooking, and then ate what you made. You practically diagnosed and treated yourself.”
“So, dottoré, it wasn’t a panic attack?”
“No, signó. You were hungry!”
*M’agge arricreat is a Neapolitan expression to say “I really enjoyed myself”. The verb “arricrearsi” literally means to recreate oneself: When you are so satisfied by something that your body feels like it’s reborn.
Learn more about Worldcrunch’s exclusive Dottoré! series here.
