Isolation at Home Syndrome (Hikikomori)

Hello friends!

How are you? These days I have been studying a Syndrome that is quite common in Japan, called Hikikomori, literally, Isolation Syndrome at Home, that is, the disease of the person who cannot leave the house. In extreme cases, there is no “face-to-face” contact with the outside world. What drew my attention to this Syndrome, described on the other side of the world, is that we haven’t paid much attention to this social isolation that has also grown around here.

How many and how many young people cannot leave the house and are only on the internet?

Therefore, in this text, I will try to share what I learned with the Japanese about this psychological framework.

A while ago I had already written about loneliness here on the site. See the text – The Psychology of Solitude – in which I talk about the topic, along with the relationship with introversion and extroversion of Jung’s psychological types.

I am quoting this previous text because it is important to note that not always wanting to be alone for a while is an illness. On the contrary, for many people, the desire not to have so much social contact does a lot of good. But what we are going to talk about today is about a much more difficult and suffering state.

Dr Tamaki Saito coined the term Hikikomori in the year 2000 to describe people who isolate themselves and stay away from social life there in Japan. The person isolates himself in such a way that it’s like he’s trapped in his house. You don’t have the freedom to come and go, but it’s not a real prison. It seems like a person’s choice to just stop going out. However, deep down, it may also not be a conscious choice, that is, the person prefers not to leave the house, but, in a sense, it may also can not leave home.

Most of these young Japanese are very shy, have no friends and have negative family relationships.

Although they don’t physically leave the house, they do go out through the virtual world, the internet and online games, which become their only contact with the outside world. To avoid face-to-face contact, they sleep during the day and stay awake at night.

Although the behavior is typical, each person with Down Syndrome will have a specific personality type. While some are depressed and barely speak, others are aggressive and anxious. And a common feature in all of them is the inability to assume responsibilities, for example, to commit to studying if you are of school age or finding a job. It is also not uncommon to completely abandon personal hygiene, going days and days without bathing.

As I said, this Syndrome was first noticed in Japan, by Dr. Tamaki Saito, but with the expansion of the internet and the social changes that have occurred in recent decades, it has been growing in other countries. For example, Spaniards also notice the same type of behavior among their young people, but they describe it as “Closed Door Syndrome”. In England and the United States it is called “Social withdrawal”, “social withdrawal” or “social withdrawal”. In France it is known as “Acute social withdrawal syndrome”.

Types of Hikikomori

1) The Pre-Hikikomori or Junhikikomori: He manages to leave the house a few times a week, either to go to school or college, but he has very little social contact.

2) The social Hikikomori: does not want to study or work, but still maintains some social relationships.

3) The Tachisukumi-gata: has a strong social phobia, feeling constantly afraid or paralyzed when in contact with other people.

4) The Netogehaijin, which means zombie, as it appears to have little vitality.

Reminding friends that these types are popular descriptions in Japan and are not classifications of psychologists or psychiatrists, ok? In another text, we can talk more about classifications regarding social phobia.

In Japan, the person who completely isolates himself at home (despite these types) is basically someone who makes no effort to have social contacts, often going to the extreme of refusing to carry out fundamental activities for survival. That is, they need to eat and they don’t eat, they need to sleep and they don’t sleep. There are frequent cases of Hikikomori there in which the person simply stops eating and starves to death.

Parents or guardians often think that the young person is eating, but – as the door is always closed – and they return the plate empty, it is assumed that the son or daughter is eating, when he or she is not.

What is important to note in this Syndrome is the most common trait: extreme social isolation. As the Spaniards say, the bedroom door is always closed. Friends do not visit the house, nor are there tours of the outside world. Often there is not even the desire to bathe or take care of yourself. The only contact is through the internet, in a fantastic and virtual world, where they end up using an avatar, a persona, a mask completely different from reality.

There is, therefore, no desire to study or work, there is no economic ambition or sufficient sexual desire to find a partner.

Causes of isolation

What draws the most attention when we study this syndrome concerns the reasons for isolation. Why would someone voluntarily decide to lock themselves in a room like a prisoner?

At the present time, there is no single cause to hypothesize. Researchers claim that the growth of this Syndrome stems from the emergence of new technologies, especially the internet, which would cause, in turn, a split between the real and the virtual, leading young people to increasingly distance themselves from reality and to keep all their perception in the virtual universe. That is, instead of playing sports and playing with friends on the street, it is increasingly noted that entertainment for children and young people is in video games, online games, social networks, etc. – which would explain the initial social isolation.

Other researchers think that the “guilt” for the Syndrome comes from social causes, that is, from a culture, from a society that encourages competitiveness, that is anxious for success and recognition of material achievements and that rejects those who do not have the same ambition. or fails to achieve what would be expected for their age and social class.

And yet, other researchers point to the individual’s own causes, such as personality traits and genetics.

Treatment

Treatment is usually delayed by parents or guardians for two reasons. First, for thinking that there is nothing wrong for many years. Second, for thinking that the subject himself will seek help or, then, will be able to get out of this situation alone.

With proper treatment, with psychologists and psychiatrists, it is possible to overcome the Isolation Syndrome. As I like to tell my patients, it’s always better to be able to do a hundred behaviors than just three, isn’t it?

I mean, it is clear that it is possible to choose to have a more reserved life, with few friends, work on the internet and enjoy online games. However, the problem lies when the person can not do other things. If you need to travel, don’t travel. If you need to go to another corner of the city, you don’t feel safe. If you need to answer a phone, you’re afraid. If an excellent job opportunity comes along, don’t go for it.

Therefore, we can think of treatment as seeking the result of expanding the person’s behavioral repertoire so that he can do more things when he needs or wants to, not being limited to a very few behaviors.

Related