In Japan there is a group of people known as ”hikikomori” who are young and mostly male who stay in their rooms and who have voluntarily retreated from society. I read the other day that there may be as many as one million of such people, from teenagers to those in their 40s who keep themselves in their rooms for years on end.
It is unclear to me why this is happening — perhaps one reason is because of the terrible economic difficulties Japan is now experiencing which makes people feel very insecure. For example, there is no longer job security which used to be guaranteed. It seems to be getting harder to find work, and people may just lose confidence in their abilities to work and make a contribution to society. I don’t know for sure.
Can you put yourself in the place of a hikikomori who is shuttered in his room all day? What is causing him to be this way? What fears must be lurking in his mind to make him stay in his room? What can be done to help that person leave the room and get on with his life?
Any thoughts on this? Can you write from the point of view of a hikikomori?
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MY SON HAS BEEN IN THIS SITUATION FOR 3 MONTHS. HE 20 YEARS OLD, 6.2, GOOD ATHLETE, INTELLIGENT YOUNG.
HE WILL NOT LEAVE HIS ROOM BECAUSE HE IS AFRAID OF HAVING PANIC ATTACKS. HISTORY OF VERTIGO AND PANIC ATTACKS FROM WHERE WE DO NOT KNOW- SPORTS, ANISTHETIC FROM 2 HERNIA OPERATIONS POSSIBLE. DOCTOR SAYS POSSIBLE MENIERES DISEASE, BUT WILL NOT GET HELP WITH SHAKING THERAPY OR MEDICINES. HE IS RECEIVING COUNSELING BY TELEPHONE, BUT IS NOT TRYING TO HELP HIMSELF.
THANKS
I am a shut in, except I’m not a male living in Japan. I’m an 18 year old female living in PA of the United States. For me it’s a fear of something outside. I can’t exactly pinpoint what this fear is, it’s just there. Like a presence that only exists outside my front door. I’ve tried to go outside but I don’t make it very far without going back in. On the occasion that someone I feel comfortable with takes me somewhere, I feel extremely afraid and paranoid. I always feel like peoples negative intentions are being directed towards me. It’s strange because I was once an extrovert. I used to have a lot of friends and did very well in school. But I guess something inside my brain changed. and its just really hard to get by out there. It’s a social anxiety I suppose. I think I’ve read the article you mention here. My situation has little to do with monetary concerns or fear of losing a job. To me, temporary income is better than no income. It’s something greater than that. Something about the world outside that makes me stay away from it. It’s something I hope I can someday overcome.
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