"Psychiatric oblivion": considerations on the hypothesis of a law.

Abstract

The introduction of a law on psychiatric oblivion, similar to the recent one for oncological oblivion, presents numerous complexities due to the differences between the two areas of illness, especially in terms of recovery and clinical stability. While a definitive cure is often achievable in oncological diseases, in severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, complete remission in the absence of therapies is rare. Even in cases of effective treatment response, patients may exhibit subclinical symptoms or cognitive and functional deficits, making the concept of psychiatric oblivion particularly problematic. Some diagnostic categories, such as brief psychotic disorder or postpartum depression, could theoretically benefit from oblivion legislation, given the potentially limited course and frequent absence of relapses. However, for the majority of psychiatric conditions the requirement of a long period of remission without therapy appears difficult to achieve. An alternative could be the introduction of criteria based on the stabilization of maintenance therapy, but this would require a more complex and less easily standardized clinical judgment. Other limitations are the residual vulnerability to relapses, the difficulty in determining a precise medical history and the influence of persistent social stigmatization, which could undermine the effects of oblivion. Therefore, the creation of a law on psychiatric oblivion would require a restrictive and selective approach, focused on specific diagnoses and long-term clinical remission criteria, tailored to the clinical and adaptive peculiarities of mental illness.