48.1% feel healthier due to coronavirus outbreak

Good for them. Silver lining I guess.

I now have to spend 1500$ a month to see a therapist twice a week and take insanely strong medication that makes me a zombie just to keep from offing myself due to the social isolation.

Physically they might feel better, but mentally?

Its been a double edged sword for me. My martial arts has been hampered due to closure of my dojos but my time has been freed up for more bodybuilding.

I now have to spend 1500$ a month to see a therapist twice a week and take insanely strong medication that makes me a zombie just to keep from offing myself due to the social isolation.

Hang in there. by the way, I as well as many others use our real names here, so you can find us on facebook and chat with us anytime

@Aly,

What a great gesture..

@savethegaijin.....my thoughts are with you.

I have noticed many more people exercising since Covid19 hit.

Especially after the state of emergency was announced there were a lot more women exercising than before and,of course,some people who looked like they hadn’t,t been outside in years and had piled on the weight only to realize they were in a now high risk category.

Amazing what washing your hands and have soap in public toilets can do.

I have been way healthier. My kid usually brings colds home from school, last year everyone in my family was coming down with something once a month or so. With the school either closed or enforcing social distancing measures this year though we haven’t gotten sick once.

I'm hitting the gym a lot more, going out less, hence spending less money. The downside is as I'm working from home now, I tend to lay on the couch the whole day with my laptop which is certainly not ideal.

Far less people will die this year in Japan thanks to Covid. The elderly especially taking much more care.

Maybe the Japanese realized life isn't just all work. Also, no forced overtime because of telework (I hope so).

The survey scope is all married though; I wonder how all others' stances are since the single people are probably the most affected right now.

@wraither

Your question is an interesting one and oddly enough I was recently talking about that with a friend who is a Japanese mental health professional.

He receives regular reports and data.

Though the numbers of suicides has remained relatively the same the numbers have dramatically changed demographics.

Calls to mental help lines are up in the younger age categories from late teens to mid 30s and suicides in those categories are up.

On the flip side the mental health and suicide rates of married men over the age of 40 has dramatically changed.

Married men over 40 are feeling far less stressed and mental health seems to have improved and suicides in these categories has dropped significantly, which is interesting as the 40 to 60 was once the highest suicide category.

Now his view which is just a theory on his part is that the younger unmarried are feeling more isolated and having a hard time dealing with loneliness.

As for the older married men are finding more self or family time, eating better and on a more regular daily schedule, meaning working less in the office, more at home work with time for breakfast a real lunch and dinner at a reasonable hour often with the family or at least with their wife.

He also pointed out a recent study shows that these same 40 to 60s are getting more sleep.

Again the theory is because they are working from home they sleep in longer because they do not have to commute to the office.

I will be honest that if I was single today I would find it very hard to handle despite not being a very outwardly social person spending day after day without any real social contract would drive even the most socially awkward person to depression.

@Antiquesaving

Amazing insight on the topic. I'd treat you a pint if you asked for it.

Then again, it makes sense for a Life Insurance company to survey on married individuals since single people are not really the target demographic for insurances.

It really is a devastating blow and an opportunity all wrapped up in one. Japan will never get another chance like this to realize and correct many flawed, unproductive and draining practices it had been forced into and until now had resigned itself to as fate and ‘ Shikata ain’t . If you really make a go of working from home on your own terms find a bit of personal grit through fitness and hit the ball out of the ballpark, results will speak for themselves. I truly believe we could flip this thing in the right direction and as my good mate Ally says , anyone struggling drop us a line. We may even have a JT community worth capitalizing on. Darwinism!

Shikata NAI!

shikata aru, if you have a bit of creativity and mettle. Rock on good people.

Yeah, I feel the best I have felt in many years.

Its just a matter of taking advantage of the free time that we now have that we used to have to spend commuting or physically attending events we dont even really want to go to.

@Reckless

I have 2 adult children living at home and working from home now.

My daughter is high functioning autistic and not very social but even she found it difficult.

She has only about 5 real friends all in the ASD (autistic) so they made their little group an exclusive thing for the moment avoiding others ( not really unusual for them) and meeting up regularly, in the west they call this a social bubble.

My son was far more socially active, he remained in contact with friends via games, video chat, etc...

But even that was not really a replacement for actual social contact.

Now he has done like his sister and form a small social bubble of 5 or 6 friends.

As a recent university graduate the members of his social bubble are mostly university friends and co-workers that are not from Tokyo living here alone and very isolated.

My children are 25 and 23.

Now seeing I have a home business with what was supposed to be an atelier with store and small customer private lounge/cafe for them to have a coffee or tea while making selection or having something evaluated for repair.

I let my 2 children use the space ( when I am not working) as a meeting place for their respective social bubble group.

But I would think any private home with a separate living room or kitchen would do nicely.

Advantages of my place is they can use the small kitchen, make snacks, have drinks, etc... The whole time being left alone by the rest of my family

This is a long winded way of suggesting that your son should maybe look at the idea of creating his on little social bubble group until this Covid things has passed.

@savethegaijin

Please read what I wrote about how my children are coping with the situation.

I understand everyone and every situation is different.

My daughter being Autistic does not handle sudden changes well, routine is a major part of her life and the present situation has tossed a wrench into that but she found a way around it.

I will not even begin to try acting like I know what to do but in my experience the answer to feeling socially isolated us to find or meet up with a few or even one friend regularly.

I when through a long patch of isolation after my divorce and ending up a single father with very young children, no friends and no time for socialising.

The idea of creating a small group of also isolated people known as a social bubble may seem strange but it has been doing well in countries that have adopted the idea.

If you had friends before find out if they to are in your situation if not look online many people are in need of social contact, see if you can build your own social bubble that can meet up regularly for the time being.

This situation will not last forever so just hanging there and remember you are not alone many are like you so don't ever feel like it is just you.

I have been there.

“Feel healthier”. Absolutely meaningless.

@Reckless

the way he is staying at a "friend's house" some nights I wouldn't be surprised if I am a grandpa soon...

No, no, no, I am not even close to ready for that one.

Not sure about my son but my daughter hasn't been able to see her guy since the earliest beginning of this as he is an SDF member and are restricted to base.

And that is one thing eating at both of them, video chat doesn't replace being able to meet.

For anyone saying they are bored, isolated or how to get exercise, etc..

Here is a simple and actually fun tip.

I work in as a manual artisan, though my work is manual labour, I actually mostly sit in a tatami room on the floor and only really my hands get much movement.

I have lost over 10 kilo since February in a very simple fun way.

Every evening/night my wife and I go exploring.

We go walking, first we explored all the nooks and crannies of our neighbourhood, finding all the local holes in the ground, shops, artisan ateliers, etc.. making notes on places we may want to visit once things have calmed down.

Then we took the local Tram to another neighbourhood and did the same, I have a car so now we drive further two other neighborhoods, repeating the process.

Each walk is 1 to 2 ours long it is usually late so very few other people around so quite relaxing.

Even after 30 years in Japan/Tokyo it is amazing the things and places we have found.

Read the plaques on parks, temples, shrines, look into Izakayas look and not menus and specialties,

Many areas actually have walking maps on signboards denoting things to see and visit.

It was surprising how much fun this has become and how everyday we look forward to going out at night for our walk.

If you don't have a spouse to do this with find a friend that is also isolated and make it a thing to do together your body at first will hate you but after a few weeks your body will thank you in many ways.

Why am I not surprised by the down votes on people saying how they are having a hard time being isolated and one people offering them help and encouragement.

And now I remember why I avoid many in the Gaijin community.

The article is about how some people are doing quite well despite what is going on and instead of taking that good news and trying to build on it some just have to find something negative and make others feel worse than they already do.

Real humanitarians.

Good on them.

Nothing to do with Covid, but the constant rain in July and constant heat/sun in August have hit my cardio this year. I'm less healthy than a normal year as a result.

Thanks to all the people who quoted me postively. And this hand extends out to not only savethegaijin (although I seriously hope you do contact me. If you are feeling that bad, you really do need a friend to talk to )

but to anyone who feels that they need a friend.

You can find me on facebook- you know my name and I have a shaved head and am big. Some people deal with isolation better than others. When I was working from home I spent my time with the wife and kids as well as lifting lots more than even before. This was due to martial arts class cancellations, and I do have to say that not being able to train in that has left me depressed. That's really the only downside for me.

But for those who need friends, lets find each other on Facebook and give each other the support that we need.

Supporters and detractors alike, JT really is like a family, and when one of us needs help, we should band together to help.

Why am I not surprised by the down votes on people saying how they are having a hard time being isolated and one people offering them help and encouragement.

And now I remember why I avoid many in the Gaijin community.

Don't sweat it mate.... To be fair the downvotes are more likely due to the resident net uyoku / LDP fanboys that often " fly in" downvote people and " fly out"...lol.

Absolutely! And the most important thing to take from this thing is this: DOESN'T MATTER whether you get alot of up votes or down votes for your comments. Speak your mind, be honest and speak truth to power. If someone wants to downvote you for that so be it. I'm not seeking anyone's approval on this site, although I do feel happy like on this thread when many of you do appreciate what I said. But I certainly will not let ANY detractor with a personal agenda discourage me from saying what I want to nor make me feel bad about downvotes. We've got more pressing issues to worry about! LOL!