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12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JULY 2019 NEWS MINISTRY FOR EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT THE designer behind the popular bag brand Gabe has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Maltese platform Zaar that will allow her to turn quality fabric remnants of all kinds into uniquely designed bags. The so-called 'walking foot one-arm' industrial sewing machine will allow her to use even the thickest leftover leathers, fabrics and remnants used by the furniture, fashion or any other industry, to pro- duce higher-quality products. "So many recyclable ma- terials may be used to make unique, quality products, this may also inspire a move- ment that educates about the alternatives to fast fashion, while promoting a new way of thinking that celebrates indi- viduality," says Gabe. "We can create a new 'wave' experience in our time and make quality and mindfulness come back into fashion," Gabe, who already has the support of CamilleriParisMode which supplies her with off-cuts and leftover materials, says. Since 2009, Gabe's 'slow fashion' line has counteracted the throw-away culture of the dominant fast fashion indus- try by using 'dead stock' mate- rials discarded by many major brands – often discarded un- necessarily into landfills – to turn them into high quality fashion products. "I hope to inspire everyone to be unique, to be themselves, to dare to be different and to buy consciously, with an eye for quality instead of always trying to 'fit in' by following every passing trend. Changing our culture and attitudes to- wards fast fashion could have a deeper effect on our own lives and mindsets as well as having a tremendous environ- mental impact." Fashion on the 'slow' lane DAVID HUDSON OVERDEVELOPMENT, traffic congestion, overpopulation and the lack of open spaces are having a toll on the nation's well-being, according to psychologists. These modern-day ills are being cited as constant stressors in the daily life of clients who resort to counselling sessions. Psychologists who spoke to MaltaToday said the construction and population booms Malta is expe- riencing are perennial topics of conversation cho- sen by patients. "My clinical experience has always shown me that one can never talk about cause and effect when talking about anxiety and depression but rather about multiple stressors that overwhelm the person's capacity to deal with life," Roberta Farru- gia Debono said. She is the president of the Malta Chamber of Psy- chologists and Family Therapists, which last week raised the importance of green spaces to mental well-being. "I cannot say that any person has pinpointed the cause of their stress to be solely environmental degradation but yes, clients are more and more talking about the impact that the increased urbani- sation and traffic are having on their stress levels," she said. Farrugia Debono said that more often than not, she suggests walking as an antidote to increasing stress but patients tend to come back with the re- tort: "Walking? It's hardly relaxing with the traffic and noise pollution in my area." Other clients who are able to travel abroad men- tion that they realise what a difference it makes to their stress levels to be able to travel to places where there is more greenery. Instead of a respite, walking in Malta might be contributing to the increased probability of psy- chosis. A study carried out in 2010 on population density risk factors for psychosis found that urban stress such as noise, pollution, environmental degrada- tion, a small genetic pool, social fragmentation and immigration — all endemic ingredients in current Malta — contribute to urban stress. The study, conducted by Malta Association of Psychiatry President Nigel Camilleri and others, found that the number of newly-admitted patients with psychosis was larger in overpopulated and overdeveloped areas in Malta. Back then, Senglea, situated in the Southern Har- bour area, was the most densely populated town in Malta with 22,744 persons per sq.km. The study found that the number of patients newly-admitted to hospitals with psychosis was higher in that area. The number of new patients there was 32 in 2010, compared to the less populated and greener West- ern area with just eight newly-admitted patients. Other studies across Europe found similar results — a UK epidemiological study in 2006 concluded that the incidence of psychotic disorders in Lon- don was double that of Nottingham and Bristol. A 1999 Swedish study found that urbanisation is associated with a 68–77% greater risk of develop- ing psychosis. "Malta's rate is not as bad as London's but it's higher than that of Bristol. While it's important to note that 50% of depression and anxiety is caused by genetic conditions, the other 50% is attributed to the environment. But the correlation is there — the higher the population, the urbanisation, the noise, the congestion, the higher the stressors; there is a causal pattern between urbanisation and mental disorder," Camilleri said. He added that immigration also contributes to increased psychosis and that the same 2010 study he conducted found that an approximate inci- dence of psychosis in irregular immigrants is 400 per 100,000 persons. Camilleri cites risks of integration and trauma in their home country as exacerbating factors. The Malta Chamber of Psychologists came out publicly extolling the importance of planting new trees and the preservation of green spaces. "A quick look at anyone's Facebook feed will give you a clear indication that people are becoming in- creasingly frustrated with the ongoing construction works and traffic problems. Not a day passes that someone doesn't post something about this. In ad- dition, we are witnessing an increased awareness of the impact that certain proposed developments would have on our already debilitated natural her- itage," Farrugia Debono said. She believes this new interest in environmental issues is significant and might lead to changes in our environmental con- sciousness in the long term. "I do believe that urban planning should also factor in the psychological impact of the develop- ments being proposed. A new psychology disci- pline is that of traffic psychology which studies the relationship between psychological processes and traffic behaviour," Farrugia Debono said. She added that studies by Cohen-Cline in 2015 and Wood in 2017 have said that there is a clear link between access to green spaces and increased depression, and that the number and size of green spaces had a positive impact on the mental well- being of the population. With a 2018 survey revealing that youth mental health services in Malta lack continuity of care, with an absent 24/7 crisis intervention team and with stressful overpopulation and over-construc- tion as risk factors, trees and the protection of the environment might be the only irreproachable measure. Traffic, construction, loss of open spaces… it is becoming stressful