Para cada mal há um remédio? A medicalização do luto relacionada à pandemia da Covid-19

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7213/psicolargum.44.124.AO06

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the experiences of women assisted by Primary Health Care (PHC) regarding grief and the use of psychotropic drugs during the Covid-19 pandemic. To this end, it includes a brief overview of the medicalization movement and its expression prior to the pandemic period, in order to explore how psychiatric medication became part of people’s realities and the role it came to play—whether as a strategy for mental health care and management, or as a means of understanding and experiencing the suffering that stems from grief. Based on the first author's master's thesis and grounded in participatory research, the article includes testimonies from the women interviewed for the study. Fieldwork was conducted through Primary Health Care (PHC), alongside home visits with Community Health Agents (CHAs), discussion circles, field diary entries, and community walks, all of which provided insight into the life stories of the women invited to participate in the study. After analyzing the testimonies, it is possible to understand the role psychotropic medication plays as a strategy for managing suffering—including grief—and how the experience of loss during the health crisis is still undergoing a process of assimilation and understanding.
Keywords: Pandemic, Covid-19, Psychotropic Drugs, Gender, Grief.

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Author Biography

Fernando Santana de Paiva, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF)

Professor de graduação e pós-graduação (mestrado e doutorado) do Departamento de Psicologia da UFJF, residente em Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil.

Published

2026-03-30

How to Cite

Maria Batista, T., & Santana de Paiva, F. (2026). Para cada mal há um remédio? A medicalização do luto relacionada à pandemia da Covid-19. Psicologia Argumento, 44(124), 1431–1447. https://doi.org/10.7213/psicolargum.44.124.AO06