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There is still such a stigma when it comes to mental illness, especially in Japan. A co-worker (Japanese) was suffering from severe anxiety attacks because she was being constantly berated by one particular lady in management (Long story, won't go into it). She was put on meds for it otherwise she wouldn't be able to handle the work. When the boss found out his reaction was 'What's anxiety or depression got to do with work? We never had these things when I was in my 20s." He's barely 40 but so out of touch with reality. I guess in his mind, if you haven't personally suffered from it, it doesn't exist.
More recently, one of my Canadian co-workers took a strong stance against suicide in that he thought it was just a selfish act by a selfish person that's simply given up when the solution is 'there', you just have to put a 'little effort' into it. About 5 minutes into the conversation I had to leave. The absolute lack of life experience and total ignorance had me at a boiling point where I'd just be preaching to him while he laughed...so I walked away.
My co-worker who WAS on meds is now off. We've been able to talk quite a bit. She's able to handle the pressure and has a good support system in place with other co-workers. But I still find it sick that people don't recognize these issues. Only until recently, the number of suicides was over 30,000 per year in Japan. In the last couple of years it's dropped to just over 27,000. Still a long way to go. Most suicides happen around March, the end of the financial year in Japan.
Suicide is terrible, but it's not as simple as people think. That's why I thought this video was well done. It's not an answer to those suffering but maybe a wake up call to those who don't understand it. |
