psychology of japan
03.01.06 • comment (1) • trackback
I’ve been sitting on these links for a while, and I hate it when things clog my toolbar. Do you like anime? Well, this has to do with Japan, so, you know, close enough.
Did Antidepressants Depress Japan?
This article takes a look at the rise of mass-marketed antidepressants that started in the mid-90s, as well as the concurrent rise in the diagnosis, and to a lesser extent, acceptance, of mild depression as a cultural reality. The key to success? Reframing mild depression as a disease, a cold that your energy can catch.
Shutting Themselves In
Along the same lines, this article examines the social (or anti-social) phenomenon of hikikomori, a bizzare reaction to Japanese cultural pressure that causes young men to sequester themselves in their bedrooms for years on end.
This, people, is what happens when modernity slams into your entrenched culture like an aluminium bat.
03.02.06 #
Wow. Some rather disturbing information in those articles. It really highlights the difference between the culture of Japan and that of western society. Especially that second article, the idea of such a massive number of shut in adolescents (so much so that it becomes a common occurrence) is frightening.