Fukushima a chance to reform Japan's mental health care system: WHO

Mental illness is a very, very touchy, sensitive issue, not easy at all. One of my crazy Japanese neighbors here in Tokyo, real nut case, is smiling one second, the other she is fighting, yelling, screaming with all of her enemies up inside of her little head! She also imagined fires! She would call the fire department at 2 am! But thank god no fire, just in her messed up head, but the idiot, the other day, doused her apartment with KEROSENE set if afire and took her disgusting little dog out for a walk while her room, rooms were on FIRE! She then was arrested for a few minutes, taken to a insane asylum for a few days and now the sick, twisted off the wall obachan is BACK in here apartment, right across the street from my house!!! No body in our neighborhood likes her, nobody says hello nothing to her or to her stupid husband who should know better and lock her up in a mental hospital. IMHO.

As things tighten up in the States, the pharmaceuticals are trying to hawk their quack cure-alls over here

Would that they did. Perhaps then I wouldnt have had to suffer needlessly for over a year (which meant by default my family suffered too) and then had to return home for treatment needing stronger drugs than I would otherwise have had to have taken because I had spiralled down so low.

For people who really need them, these are life-saving drugs, not quack cure-alls. I agree they are over-prescribed, but that doesnt mean for a second they are unnecessary.

It is only recently that urban areas of Japan have begun to tackle the taboo surrounding depression, a condition euphemistically known as “heart flu” in the country

My word they even have a cute expression for mental illness/depression. Puts it in the same class as "groping" and "comfort women". Will Japan ever grow up and be able to face its issues in a muture way, rather than relying on euphemisms and cute campaign characters to make everything so childish?

As things tighten up in the States, the pharmaceuticals are trying to hawk their quack cure-alls over here.

No, thank you.

"Japan should use a higher rate of mental health problems ...." what kind of lead-in topic sentence is that? Use them for what, dice? More lunacy? More business politicians making decisions? What? Or was this just poor translation and editing...possibly by a depressed translator and editor...?

What would improve the mental depression? How about The Real Story in Real Time from those depressing b'tards at TEPCO and Jpns government...?????????? Oh, and puleeze, some real solutions at TEPCO? That video this morning of bunny suited temps outside the plant fire hosing some small percentage of the daily input of, oh, some 450 daily tonnes of ground water leaking in....by spraying it all over the local forest grounds....on a windy day? That depresses me mightily! Anyway, I am sure you all get my point here. :-o

most people in Japan keep everything so bottled up. It's like they KNOW that by actually putting your problems out there, it will spew a deluge of emotion that, once unleashed usually ends in carnage.

There are no outlets for people here to acceptably express depression, sadness, feelings of crushing futility and despair....

Dubious substitutions exist to mask the constant feelings of inadaquices. However,To me, it's like people here are afraid to BE people.

most of the country could use a good therapy session. It's about 100 years overdue........

Japan's answer to calls for improving it's mental health care system will be answered at the end of the year when record high suicide statistics are announced!

Japan: antonym of a word "change".

@JapanGal - Most Americans? Really? And is it just Americans? How about Canadians? British?

GG2141

You hit the nail on the head. Most Americans seem so drugged up, that they do not live in reality. Quite the opposite of the Japanese.

I know some depressed Japanese people and it is sad.

All good sentiments from the WHO, something needs to be done, but nothing will be done.

japanese people are messed up.

Fukushima a chance to reform Japan's mental health care system: WHO

Is 'reform' the best verb for this statement? I would have gone for something like, 'create'.

I saw the word "Change" somewhere in this story.

Japan? Change???

Let me give you a dose of reality. A message from Japan. To Whom It May Concern: Thanks you for you eloquent speech about mental health in Japan. It was moving. You suggested that Japan should use this opportunity to "Change". We just wanted to let you know this. The only thing we change around here is Prime Ministers. Thanks for the pep talk though.

Mr. Suzuki

NNP = NPP

Fukushima a chance to reform Japan's mental health care system: WHO

In plain words, does it mean that helps them Japanese to come to their senses? So simple, then let's explode all their NNPs and they will be fit as a fiddle. Bright logic. I always knew that the cogwheels are squeaking and jamming in their heads of the Japanese but after such a bright statement from the WHO and their precious Shekhar Saxena it's them who needs some medical checkup.

Competent people with superior mind and willpower, strong economy, wealth, effective education, the well working self cleaning mechanism of the society, high moral that's what need to fix things and make people healthier and stronger but not disasters, pain, and suffering. Or does Shekhar Saxena want to create a huge disaster in his own country to make things better? What's next, bidding a huge medical business and medicine import for Japan? One more mad businessman doctor.

@Nicky:

There seems to be some kind of aversion to being happy in this country, I sometimes feel. Like, if you are not "Gaman"ing, then you are definitely not working hard enough, and as I read someone say on here once and totally agreed with people wear misery like a badge of honor here.

I agree with you 100%. As I have said many times in the past, the whole 'gambatte' mindset is evil genius. i.e. how do you suppress an entire nation when everything around them is either corrupt, outdated, neglected, anally retentive, ignored or forgotten? Tell them that shutting up (gambatte) is a sign of being a good citizen. So be proud at being secretively miserable and depressed, you are truly Japanese.

With 99% of the population deluding themselves that this is what makes a good person, it is no wonder that people do not genuinely recognize depression. After all, isn't this how their taught they should feel at all times? If not, then they should work harder and suffer more to be part of the community.

It appears to me that the general consensus is that depression is not a problem, because everyone has it. And therefore it is natural to feel this way, and if you can't handle feeling normal (like everyone else) then that is your problem. What you need to do is even more 'gambatte' otherwise no one will respect you for not acting Japanese (hence most are afraid to seek mental support).

BlueWitch! Glad I made your day. :)))

Saxena, "Some neglect occured" now thats I call a gross underestimation. When the powers that be keep moving the goalposts in relation to safe contamination, when you have lost loved ones, your home, your work, and in some cases hope , people are not going to be dancing at the crossroads, no, they will be in dispair, grieving and depression following what was a major disaster It does not go away in a matter of days weeks or even months in many cases, People need help and most of all they need hope

Well said Nicky. I think the lack of communication here between friends, family members... is a large part of the problem. Get rid of the stigma of being "depressed" in many cases and the person will work through it. Suffering in silence only makes it worse. Like you, I end up playing the role of shrink because Japanese friends speak to me about thing and not others. I often wonder if they think it is because I won't judge them whereas their Japanese counterparts will.

Maybe Japan could take this opportunity to level with everyone about what is really happening in Fukushima and the extent of the contamination. Then they could evacuate all those who should be.

Mentally affected individuals who should be in an institution are walking among us.

Agreed, and also conversely a lot of people who should be walking among us are in institutions.

There seems to be some kind of aversion to being happy in this country, I sometimes feel. Like, if you are not "Gaman"ing, then you are definitely not working hard enough, and as I read someone say on here once and totally agred with people wear misery like a badge of honour here.

I have "counselled" so many people over the years, and most of the time, their problems boil down to one of a few distinct categories. If only Japanese would actually learn to talk to each other, then they would realise they are not so alone in the way they are feeling. I am regularly spoken to "in confidence" by my Japanese school-friends, who all know each other, and all have the same problems, but all talk to me and not each other, I guess because I am the only Japanese-speaking foreigner at the school. I never tell them who else I have spoken to, but I wish I could because for the most part they all come to me with the same issues!

Maybe Japan could become like the US where EVERYONE is taking anti-depressants because the TV doctor told them to?

Balance in everything.

@Sherman

There is the right way and the Japanese way. You will never change the system here. Mentally affected individuals who should be in an institution are walking among us. You can spot them all the time, if you are not Japanese of course

ROFL!!! You do realize you made my morning, don't you? (^_^)

That is so TRUE>>>

@some14some

“We recommend for Japan to utilize the opportunity presented by the disaster to actually change the system to make it more community-oriented.”

give up or wait until next century.

LOL With the pathetic way the old geezers run this country, I have to agree!! It would take at least one century before something REALLY changes around here...sadly.

to which the Japanese gov't collectively replied; "mental health problems? ewww, gross!"

There is the right way and the Japanese way. You will never change the system here. Mentally affected individuals who should be in an institution are walking among us. You can spot them all the time, if you are not Japanese of course.

“We recommend for Japan to utilize the opportunity presented by the disaster to actually change the system to make it more community-oriented.”

give up or wait until next century.