-
--
76 | rs socte.L wrrHDRAwAr, a lrsEess?
no paternal authority. One can only see it as a
ps1'chologicaldisease. Where did they come from? They only depend
on otherpeople and do not act olr their own. I have never seen any
articleson them in France. We have only just arrived at the
beginning ofthe problem.
When we put together these opinions, we see that the majority of
thecases that I have been cllling "social withdrawal" are
classified eitheras "social phobia' or "avoidant pelsonalitv
disorder." If we set up thepresupposition that this might be
something else, then certainly wemay probably begin to see new
possibilities for treatment. Throughthese comparisons with
different countries, I came to the conclusionthat the problem of
social r'vithdrawal is a multifaceted issue that can-not be
explained away as simply a problem of individual
pathology'Certainly, if we were to take up individual cases, there
is no reasonwe cannot treat them as "social phobia' or "avoidant
personality dis-order." Nonetheless, r,vhat makes this problem so
diflbrent is that weare not able to complete\' account lbr it with
those diagnoses alone'In that sense, the comment from the French
psychologist is very irn-portant. In Europe, if people with this
severe psychiatric problem donot get treatment and become adults,
they will certainly end up on thestreets. The notion that when the
withdrawn person is in his or hertwenties and thirties, his or her
parents will continue to take care ofhim or her as long as
possible-perhaps that is the part of the wholestory, in other
words, that kirld of familial relationship and all of theconflict
it continually produces, u'hich is the part o{ the story that
isuniquely Japanese.
HIKIKOMORI SYSTEMS
Withdrawal Is Not ApathyIn this chapter, I would like to think
about why social withdrawalhappens and u,hat its mechanisms are.
Why do people 'withdraw"?The reasons certainly are not simple. I
myself am not sure I can an-swer the question adequately; however,
I do think that it is worth-while to try to move lbrrvard by
inquiring into the issue and comingup with different
hypotheses.
I would like to emphasize once again that what I have been
call-ing 'withdrawal" does not necessarily mean the same thing as
apathy.It is true that people who are in social withdrawal might
look "in-active" or "idle," but they are not "apathetic." I am sure
ofthat,
I have done a fair amount of research on the mechanisms of
apa-thy. In general, there are two general patterns having to do
with ill-ness :tnd apathy. In the first, patients become apathetic
as their illnessdevelops into a chronic state. For instance, it is
commonly believedthat when schizophrenia or-depression continues
over a long periodof time, the patient loses all sense of
initiative; however, in workingwith patients who receive treatment
early on, I have rarely seen thepatients become apathetic and
listless. One finds many cases of apa-thy and listlessness in
patients u,ho have been hospitalized for a longperiod of time in a
psychiatric clinic. It is sometimes said that thisapathy comes {iom
living for a long period of time in an environmentcut off from
society or comes fi:om the side effects of the pharmaceu-ticals
being used to treat them. I think that there is a good
possibility
I)
177
-
78 | urntnolroRl SYSTEMS
that this is true. What I am trying to say is that apathy often
seemsto be the by-product of hurnan actions and that it is not
necessarilythe outcome of the natural progression of illness. That
being said, itis also known that certain patients may fall into a
state of apathy as aresult o{ mental retardation or brain trauma,
and in recent years therehas been a good deal ofattention paid to
personality changes broughtabout as the lingering results (or
"sequelae," in medical terms) of ex-ternal trauma to the head. It
is possible that in cases such as those, apatient might experience
a pathological state of apathy.
The other state of apathy is what we might call "learned
apathy"This, ofcourse, refers to a kind ofapathy that is neither
the result ofa rnental illness nor a problem with the brain;
instead, it arises as theresult of some psychological cause'
Relatively early on, experimen-tal psychology advanced a number of
theories about the mechanismsof apathy. For instance, the following
experiment r'l'as conducted' Adog that was kept in a cage was given
random, repeated electricalshocks without any warning. At first,
the dog showed signs of beingupset, barking and writhing, but it
gradually became increasingly"apathetic," showing less and less of
a reaction. In ot]rer words, eventhough it was repeatedly receiving
unpleasant stimuli, it learned thatit was unable to control them,
and that was when the apathy set in'Similar kinds of experiments
with human beings have proved that wealso become apathetic in
similar situations.
But does that explain the mechanisms of apathy one flnds incases
of social withdrawal? Actually, there is a book that
explains"withdrawal" and "apathy" from this point of view; however,
I thinkthat that model is too oversimplified to be of much use, If
anything,I think that model explains only one of the manv different
types of"apathy" that do exist. As human beings, we do not want to
engagein wasted effort; however, are we always acting with a
purpose inmind? The idea of "learned apathy" is not helpful in
explaining caseswhere people know that if'they just put forth a
little blt of effort theycan achieve good results, but they still
loaf around and do not putin the effort. We are contr:idictory
creatures who will do things (ornot do things) that we know not to
be in our best interests. Peoplein withdrawal are also like this.
It is not the case that they do not doanything because they think
it will be a waste of time. If anything, it
r-rrKrKoMoRr svsrnus | 79
is beca.use they know that it is in their best interests to do
somethingthat they flnd themselves paralyzed. I do not feel that
this kind ofsituation can be adequately explained by simply
describing the pa-tient as "apathetic."
Withdrawal Cannot Be Explained Simply asIndividual PathologyIn
the previous chapter, there was a discussion about student apa-thy.
Many researchers have conducted investigations in that
subject,including Kasahara Yomishi. Because some people in
withdrawal fitthat profile, I rvould like to say a few more words
about that here.trirst, it is worth noting that the words student
apathy, which we oftenuse in Japanese transliteration (sucltudento
apashT), :rre sometimesliterally translated into Japanese as
gakusei mukiryokusho (lit. "stu-dent apathy-syndrome") using the
same word mukiryoku ("apathy") Ihave been using throughout this
section ofthe book. As I stated ear-lier, this affliction cannot be
boiled down to simple apathy; instead,I treat it in general terms
as meaning that the person does not showany desire {br what their
main task should be-in most cases, theirschoolwork. I would like to
add that Dr. Inamura Hiroshi did not usethe word ui,thdrawal to
describe it, although he frequently used thetransliteration of the
Enghsh wordapatltg (apasht).
P:rul A. Walters, who made the first studies of student apa-thy,
saw the causes as linked to a {brmative disorder in
"masculineidentification'-in other words, people see themselves as
failing "tobe masculine" and hate to fail, so they avoid
competitive situations asa form ofself-protection. Kasahara has
also noticed that in addition,there are elements that seem to have
much in commor with border-line personality disorder, especially
anhedonia (feelings of ernptiness)and splitting (extreme opinions
and attitudes tor'vard other peopleand things).
If one thinks of "withdrawal" as a kind of "social phobia'
or"avoidant personality disorder," then it might be possible to
explainthe behavior of certain patients a little more clearly. In
other words,the former would explain withdrawal as a kind of f'ear,
whereas thelatter would explain it based on a pattern ofbehaviors
that recurs over
-
78 | urntnolroRl SYSTEMS
that this is true. What I am trying to say is that apathy often
seemsto be the by-product of hurnan actions and that it is not
necessarilythe outcome of the natural progression of illness. That
being said, itis also known that certain patients may fall into a
state of apathy as aresult o{ mental retardation or brain trauma,
and in recent years therehas been a good deal ofattention paid to
personality changes broughtabout as the lingering results (or
"sequelae," in medical terms) of ex-ternal trauma to the head. It
is possible that in cases such as those, apatient might experience
a pathological state of apathy.
The other state of apathy is what we might call "learned
apathy"This, ofcourse, refers to a kind ofapathy that is neither
the result ofa rnental illness nor a problem with the brain;
instead, it arises as theresult of some psychological cause'
Relatively early on, experimen-tal psychology advanced a number of
theories about the mechanismsof apathy. For instance, the following
experiment r'l'as conducted' Adog that was kept in a cage was given
random, repeated electricalshocks without any warning. At first,
the dog showed signs of beingupset, barking and writhing, but it
gradually became increasingly"apathetic," showing less and less of
a reaction. In ot]rer words, eventhough it was repeatedly receiving
unpleasant stimuli, it learned thatit was unable to control them,
and that was when the apathy set in'Similar kinds of experiments
with human beings have proved that wealso become apathetic in
similar situations.
But does that explain the mechanisms of apathy one flnds incases
of social withdrawal? Actually, there is a book that
explains"withdrawal" and "apathy" from this point of view; however,
I thinkthat that model is too oversimplified to be of much use, If
anything,I think that model explains only one of the manv different
types of"apathy" that do exist. As human beings, we do not want to
engagein wasted effort; however, are we always acting with a
purpose inmind? The idea of "learned apathy" is not helpful in
explaining caseswhere people know that if'they just put forth a
little blt of effort theycan achieve good results, but they still
loaf around and do not putin the effort. We are contr:idictory
creatures who will do things (ornot do things) that we know not to
be in our best interests. Peoplein withdrawal are also like this.
It is not the case that they do not doanything because they think
it will be a waste of time. If anything, it
r-rrKrKoMoRr svsrnus | 79
is beca.use they know that it is in their best interests to do
somethingthat they flnd themselves paralyzed. I do not feel that
this kind ofsituation can be adequately explained by simply
describing the pa-tient as "apathetic."
Withdrawal Cannot Be Explained Simply asIndividual PathologyIn
the previous chapter, there was a discussion about student apa-thy.
Many researchers have conducted investigations in that
subject,including Kasahara Yomishi. Because some people in
withdrawal fitthat profile, I rvould like to say a few more words
about that here.trirst, it is worth noting that the words student
apathy, which we oftenuse in Japanese transliteration (sucltudento
apashT), :rre sometimesliterally translated into Japanese as
gakusei mukiryokusho (lit. "stu-dent apathy-syndrome") using the
same word mukiryoku ("apathy") Ihave been using throughout this
section ofthe book. As I stated ear-lier, this affliction cannot be
boiled down to simple apathy; instead,I treat it in general terms
as meaning that the person does not showany desire {br what their
main task should be-in most cases, theirschoolwork. I would like to
add that Dr. Inamura Hiroshi did not usethe word ui,thdrawal to
describe it, although he frequently used thetransliteration of the
Enghsh wordapatltg (apasht).
P:rul A. Walters, who made the first studies of student apa-thy,
saw the causes as linked to a {brmative disorder in
"masculineidentification'-in other words, people see themselves as
failing "tobe masculine" and hate to fail, so they avoid
competitive situations asa form ofself-protection. Kasahara has
also noticed that in addition,there are elements that seem to have
much in commor with border-line personality disorder, especially
anhedonia (feelings of ernptiness)and splitting (extreme opinions
and attitudes tor'vard other peopleand things).
If one thinks of "withdrawal" as a kind of "social phobia'
or"avoidant personality disorder," then it might be possible to
explainthe behavior of certain patients a little more clearly. In
other words,the former would explain withdrawal as a kind of f'ear,
whereas thelatter would explain it based on a pattern ofbehaviors
that recurs over
-
80 | urnrrouoRr SYSTEMS
the course ofthe patient's life. Indeed, these explanations do
apply toa certain portion of patients in withdrawal. If we look at
the problemthis way, it is possible to explain the pathology of
certain withdrawalpatients as having to do with external traumatic
experience or as aproblem in developmcnl.
These sorts of psychiatric explanations can be used in
certaincases to understand the withdrawn state; however, that does
not nec-essarily mean that it is possible to cure the withdrawn
state throughpsychoanalysis. I say this because it is difficult to
carry out psycho-analysis with socially withdrawn patients who do
not necessarily wantto be treated in the first place. Moreover, it
is difficult to understandthe whole problem if one views social
withdrawal only as a questionof individual pathology. The family
and society are deeply implicatedin the problem as well, so it only
makes sense that psychoanalyticanalysis, which as a fundamental
rule takes the individual patient asits principal subject, will not
be able to deal with the problem entirelyon its own.
As long as one attempts to account for the problem of social
with-drawal as grounded solely in the pathology of one individual
patient,the way we understand it, as well as any therapeutic
measures wetake, will only be superficial. But there is an even
more fundamentalproblem that precedes that. If we treat withdrawal
as an individualproblem, then we shut down any communication with
the familiesof the patients, saying, "If the withdrawn person
himself or herselfdoesnt come to see me, there's nothing I can do."
Social withdrawalinevitably involves the family, too, even in those
cases where a with-drawal arises as the result of an individual,
psychological problem.The involvement of the family only makes the
problem worse, andthe pathology grows deeper. But that is not all.
The social pathologyat work in our country ends up reflected in it
as r'vell.
As I hinted in the section in the plevious chapter about
inter-national comparisons, social withdrawal is not something that
is seenonly in Japan. Nonetheless, the cases of withdrawal we do
see herein Japan proceed along a unique path. The peculiarities
ofthat pathreflect the cultural and social situation in our nation.
For that reason,the problem of "social withdrawal" goes well beyond
just being aproblem of individual pathology; it should be given
serious consid-
Hrr(rKoMoRr svsruus I B1
eration in the fields of social psychiatry and public health.
l1lat way,the issue of withdrawal will not be examined only through
psychi-atric methods that treat the individual; it will take on a
greater sig-nificance as scholars conduct casework and therapeutic
interventionsinvolving entire families. In this book, as I think
about measures tocope with the situation, I also want to emphasize
that is importantto think abotlhow to carru out ffictiae
therapeu.tic intensenti,onsrather than just how to treat the
individual most affected.
Vicious Circles in Relationships with OthersAs I mentioned
before, the very act of withdrar,ving from society isitself
traumatic. In other words, the longer the period of withdrawaland
the more serious the isolation, the more likely it is that the
patientwill fall into a vicious circle that will only make the
withdrawal worse.In ordinary diseases within the body, when
individuals grow sick,their bodies will react naturally with
various therapeutic measures,including immune responses, and if
those work, individuals begin torecuperate from the sickness. In
the case ofwithdrawal, however, theunhealthy state has the function
of making the situation even worseand even prolonging it. Why is
thatP
The first reason has to do the fact that there are multiple
causesfor "social withdrawal." As Nakai Hisao, a professor emeritus
fromKobe University, once noted, psychiatric ailments that arise
becauseof simple psychological reasons typically get better by
proceedingalong a simple path of development. Conversely, ailments
that pro-ceed along long, complicated paths usually do not have a
single cause;instead, they are caused by a combination of multiple
different {'ac-tors, and this often impedes atter-r-rpts at
treatment. F-or instance, itseems the reason the trauma of being
bullied lasts for so long has todo with the fact that the bullying
itself usually continued over a longperiod of time, and as a result
the trauma developed in complicatedways. The chain of events that
leads a person to withdraw from soci-ety is certainly not simple. I
say more about this later, but I believethe emotional situation for
many people in withdrawal is usually soknotty and confused that it
is not even effective to think about causeand effect; however,
because the situation is so knotty, the patient
-
80 | urnrrouoRr SYSTEMS
the course ofthe patient's life. Indeed, these explanations do
apply toa certain portion of patients in withdrawal. If we look at
the problemthis way, it is possible to explain the pathology of
certain withdrawalpatients as having to do with external traumatic
experience or as aproblem in developmcnl.
These sorts of psychiatric explanations can be used in
certaincases to understand the withdrawn state; however, that does
not nec-essarily mean that it is possible to cure the withdrawn
state throughpsychoanalysis. I say this because it is difficult to
carry out psycho-analysis with socially withdrawn patients who do
not necessarily wantto be treated in the first place. Moreover, it
is difficult to understandthe whole problem if one views social
withdrawal only as a questionof individual pathology. The family
and society are deeply implicatedin the problem as well, so it only
makes sense that psychoanalyticanalysis, which as a fundamental
rule takes the individual patient asits principal subject, will not
be able to deal with the problem entirelyon its own.
As long as one attempts to account for the problem of social
with-drawal as grounded solely in the pathology of one individual
patient,the way we understand it, as well as any therapeutic
measures wetake, will only be superficial. But there is an even
more fundamentalproblem that precedes that. If we treat withdrawal
as an individualproblem, then we shut down any communication with
the familiesof the patients, saying, "If the withdrawn person
himself or herselfdoesnt come to see me, there's nothing I can do."
Social withdrawalinevitably involves the family, too, even in those
cases where a with-drawal arises as the result of an individual,
psychological problem.The involvement of the family only makes the
problem worse, andthe pathology grows deeper. But that is not all.
The social pathologyat work in our country ends up reflected in it
as r'vell.
As I hinted in the section in the plevious chapter about
inter-national comparisons, social withdrawal is not something that
is seenonly in Japan. Nonetheless, the cases of withdrawal we do
see herein Japan proceed along a unique path. The peculiarities
ofthat pathreflect the cultural and social situation in our nation.
For that reason,the problem of "social withdrawal" goes well beyond
just being aproblem of individual pathology; it should be given
serious consid-
Hrr(rKoMoRr svsruus I B1
eration in the fields of social psychiatry and public health.
l1lat way,the issue of withdrawal will not be examined only through
psychi-atric methods that treat the individual; it will take on a
greater sig-nificance as scholars conduct casework and therapeutic
interventionsinvolving entire families. In this book, as I think
about measures tocope with the situation, I also want to emphasize
that is importantto think abotlhow to carru out ffictiae
therapeu.tic intensenti,onsrather than just how to treat the
individual most affected.
Vicious Circles in Relationships with OthersAs I mentioned
before, the very act of withdrar,ving from society isitself
traumatic. In other words, the longer the period of withdrawaland
the more serious the isolation, the more likely it is that the
patientwill fall into a vicious circle that will only make the
withdrawal worse.In ordinary diseases within the body, when
individuals grow sick,their bodies will react naturally with
various therapeutic measures,including immune responses, and if
those work, individuals begin torecuperate from the sickness. In
the case ofwithdrawal, however, theunhealthy state has the function
of making the situation even worseand even prolonging it. Why is
thatP
The first reason has to do the fact that there are multiple
causesfor "social withdrawal." As Nakai Hisao, a professor emeritus
fromKobe University, once noted, psychiatric ailments that arise
becauseof simple psychological reasons typically get better by
proceedingalong a simple path of development. Conversely, ailments
that pro-ceed along long, complicated paths usually do not have a
single cause;instead, they are caused by a combination of multiple
different {'ac-tors, and this often impedes atter-r-rpts at
treatment. F-or instance, itseems the reason the trauma of being
bullied lasts for so long has todo with the fact that the bullying
itself usually continued over a longperiod of time, and as a result
the trauma developed in complicatedways. The chain of events that
leads a person to withdraw from soci-ety is certainly not simple. I
say more about this later, but I believethe emotional situation for
many people in withdrawal is usually soknotty and confused that it
is not even effective to think about causeand effect; however,
because the situation is so knotty, the patient
-
82 | nrnrnonroRr sYSTEMS
falls into a vicious circle, and that only makes the situ:rtion
that muchmore unclear. I try to explain what I mean in a slightly
easier wayusing schematics.
When one looks closely at the probleln of soci:rl withdr:awal,
onesees it has to do with problems in relating to other people. I
wouldlike to try thinking about the multiple causes for withdrawal
by di-viding them into three areras, bzrsed on who is involved. The
threealenas are (1) the individual, (2) the family, and (3) society
in general.
I suspect that with withdrar.val, there is some kind of
viciouscircle going ot in each o{'these t}rree arenas, and tl-rat
is the reasonthat the withdrawn state ends up prolonged over a long
period oftime. To a greater or lesser degree, these vicious circles
can occurwith almost all mental illnesses. What is so conspicuous
about with-drawal, however, is that these three arenas have a
tendency to affecteach other negatively and shut one another
down.
With other mental illnesses, it is often the case that even
whenpeople {bll into a vicious circle at the individual level, the
{bmily workswith them and helps them break free from the problem.
Even whenthe family has unhealthy dynamics that make it hard to
escape avicious circle, it is sometimes possible for individuals to
make contactwith society and fbrm interpersonal relationships that
will help themsolve the problem. It is not uncommon that through
temporary hos-pitalization, the patient gets away from the family,
undergoes treat-ment, and becomes better. It is often the case,
however, that patientsr,vho have recovered fr-om withdrawal during
hospitalizatioli go homeand slip back into their old patterns of
behavior:. The reason simplyhas to do with the fact that the family
fails to treat them in a way thatercourages their mental
well-being.
For people in a state of withdrawal, the routes between the
"in-dividual and family" and the "individual and society" are
completelyshut down. As a result, the only thread of hope lies in
getting thefamily to cooperate. In reality, it is often the case
that treatment thatinvolves earning the understanding and
cooper:rtion of the family canallow the person to recover. In most
cases, however, there is a viciouscircle at wor* in the
relationship with the family, and the situationjust gets worse and
worse.
Unfbrtunately, the more these vicious circles go wrong, the
more
r{rKrKoMoRr svsrolrs I B5likely they are to stabilize, almost as
if they were functioning as asingle, independent system. And once
these begin to {unction as astabilized system, then it becomes
drfficult to stop the cycres throughsmall doses of treatment.
I call these vicious circles "hikikomori systems," and I
believethe fund:rmental principle for any kind of treatment
involves think-ing about how to disengage those systems. of course,
the ideas that Iam presenting are only one possible hypothesis, and
I might be goingtoo {'ar by simplifying the reasons for withdrawal
this much; nonethe-less, I believe that thinking about withdrawal
as a system is signifi-cant precisely because it is so simple and
straightforward. At the veryleast, it becomes easier to explain the
various different situations ofpeople in withdrawal through this
model, and I believe it will proveeffective in helping us devise
better plans {br treatment.
The Three Systems of Individual, Family, and SocietyIn Figure 1,
I have provided two diagrams of what I call a "healthysystem" and a
"hikikomori system." In a healthy system, all three sys_tems have a
point of contact and are working. By point of contact, Imean to say
that there is an open and functioning channel of commu_nication.
The individrral is communicating with his or her family inthe
course ofeveryday existence, and they continue their lives,
eachaffecting one another. The individ,al also communicates with
societyin places such as the school and in the workplace, and
through them,society af{bcts him or her. Through their lives and
activities in variousarenas, the family also has an open route of
communication with so-ciety, and the fan'iily and the surrounding
society affect one another.Of course, this is an idealized model,
and in real life, cornmunicationdoes not always go smoothly. In
most cases, however, they do not losetheir 'point of contact"
entirely-in other words, they clo not findthemselves in situations
where all channels for communication arecut off completely.
In the hikikomori system, howevel the points of contact havebeen
cut off from one another and no longer function. Now somereaders
may find themselves thinking, "No, that can't be. The indi_vidual
talks to his or her family frequently, and the family has
plenty
-
82 | nrnrnonroRr sYSTEMS
falls into a vicious circle, and that only makes the situ:rtion
that muchmore unclear. I try to explain what I mean in a slightly
easier wayusing schematics.
When one looks closely at the probleln of soci:rl withdr:awal,
onesees it has to do with problems in relating to other people. I
wouldlike to try thinking about the multiple causes for withdrawal
by di-viding them into three areras, bzrsed on who is involved. The
threealenas are (1) the individual, (2) the family, and (3) society
in general.
I suspect that with withdrar.val, there is some kind of
viciouscircle going ot in each o{'these t}rree arenas, and tl-rat
is the reasonthat the withdrawn state ends up prolonged over a long
period oftime. To a greater or lesser degree, these vicious circles
can occurwith almost all mental illnesses. What is so conspicuous
about with-drawal, however, is that these three arenas have a
tendency to affecteach other negatively and shut one another
down.
With other mental illnesses, it is often the case that even
whenpeople {bll into a vicious circle at the individual level, the
{bmily workswith them and helps them break free from the problem.
Even whenthe family has unhealthy dynamics that make it hard to
escape avicious circle, it is sometimes possible for individuals to
make contactwith society and fbrm interpersonal relationships that
will help themsolve the problem. It is not uncommon that through
temporary hos-pitalization, the patient gets away from the family,
undergoes treat-ment, and becomes better. It is often the case,
however, that patientsr,vho have recovered fr-om withdrawal during
hospitalizatioli go homeand slip back into their old patterns of
behavior:. The reason simplyhas to do with the fact that the family
fails to treat them in a way thatercourages their mental
well-being.
For people in a state of withdrawal, the routes between the
"in-dividual and family" and the "individual and society" are
completelyshut down. As a result, the only thread of hope lies in
getting thefamily to cooperate. In reality, it is often the case
that treatment thatinvolves earning the understanding and
cooper:rtion of the family canallow the person to recover. In most
cases, however, there is a viciouscircle at wor* in the
relationship with the family, and the situationjust gets worse and
worse.
Unfbrtunately, the more these vicious circles go wrong, the
more
r{rKrKoMoRr svsrolrs I B5likely they are to stabilize, almost as
if they were functioning as asingle, independent system. And once
these begin to {unction as astabilized system, then it becomes
drfficult to stop the cycres throughsmall doses of treatment.
I call these vicious circles "hikikomori systems," and I
believethe fund:rmental principle for any kind of treatment
involves think-ing about how to disengage those systems. of course,
the ideas that Iam presenting are only one possible hypothesis, and
I might be goingtoo {'ar by simplifying the reasons for withdrawal
this much; nonethe-less, I believe that thinking about withdrawal
as a system is signifi-cant precisely because it is so simple and
straightforward. At the veryleast, it becomes easier to explain the
various different situations ofpeople in withdrawal through this
model, and I believe it will proveeffective in helping us devise
better plans {br treatment.
The Three Systems of Individual, Family, and SocietyIn Figure 1,
I have provided two diagrams of what I call a "healthysystem" and a
"hikikomori system." In a healthy system, all three sys_tems have a
point of contact and are working. By point of contact, Imean to say
that there is an open and functioning channel of commu_nication.
The individrral is communicating with his or her family inthe
course ofeveryday existence, and they continue their lives,
eachaffecting one another. The individ,al also communicates with
societyin places such as the school and in the workplace, and
through them,society af{bcts him or her. Through their lives and
activities in variousarenas, the family also has an open route of
communication with so-ciety, and the fan'iily and the surrounding
society affect one another.Of course, this is an idealized model,
and in real life, cornmunicationdoes not always go smoothly. In
most cases, however, they do not losetheir 'point of contact"
entirely-in other words, they clo not findthemselves in situations
where all channels for communication arecut off completely.
In the hikikomori system, howevel the points of contact havebeen
cut off from one another and no longer function. Now somereaders
may find themselves thinking, "No, that can't be. The indi_vidual
talks to his or her family frequently, and the family has
plenty
-
84 | urnrnolroRr sysrEMS
Model of a Healthy SystemThe circles represent the
boundariesofthe three systems, and the placervhere the circles
overlap indicates thecommunication between the three. Thethree
systems are all in contact with oneanother and are Iunctioning
together,but they are each able to maintain theirown
boundaries.
Model of the Hikikomori SystemThe systems are not in contact
with oneanolher anrl are nof moving in urrisun.Power operates on
each layer of thesystem, but for the inner systems thatpower is
perceived as stress, and thatstress simply prolongs the vicious
cycle.
Figre 1. Aheahhtl sllstem and ahikikomori sAstem.
of contact with the outside society through work, school, and so
forth.Isn't what is missing the connection between the individual
and thesurrounding society?" The question that I would ask in
return is this:does the 'point of contact" involve real
communication? If there werereal communication between the
individual and the family, then thatwould just make the situation
all the more difficult.
For real communication to be possible, it cannot be a
one-waystreet, where one of the two parties is just talking to the
other. Recip-rocation is an essential element of communication.
Communication isrrot real communication if the individual does not
listen to what hisor her family has to say and just delivers an
unbroken litany of his or
HIKIKOMORI SYSTEMS J 85
her own complaints. It is surprisingly easy to overlook this
point. Thepoint is that "simple conversation" and "communication'
are quitedifferent things.
For the remainder of this chapter, I explain how the
hikikomorisystem functions in each ofthe three arenas.
The Inability to Accept the Intervention of OthersLet's start
with what the hikikomori system means for the individual,
As I have explained previously, the person who is in a state
ofsocial withdrawal typically feels a strong sense of conflict. As
I havealready shown, this conflict frequently leads to a variety
ofpsycho-logical symptoms. From those symptoms, it is possible to
fall into avicious circle. A fear ofothers, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, and de-lusions of persecution all make it that much
harder for the individualto participate in society. To make matters
worse, the majority of thesesymptoms will not get better without
participating in society or re-ceiving some sort of treatment. The
worst misfortune to befall peoplein withdrawal is that even though
their symptoms are progressivelygetting worse, they find themselves
in situations where they feel theneed to withdraw even further.
Also, as I explained earlier, the very fact that a person is in
awithdrawn state inflicts more psychological damage. Physically,
theperson might begin to stay up nights and sleep during the day,
or heor she might develop insomnia, and those things just spur on
the re-versal even further. In this way, the withdrawn state is
rather like anaddiction. I say this because with addictions, there
are various viciouscircles that operate as a single system, and
these just make the addic-tion that much worse. For instance,
alcoholics often feel extremelyguilty about their drinking. Still,
even though they feel guilty-or toput it more precisely, because
they feel so guilty-they end up drink-ing all the more and sink
deeper into the quagmire. It is rather like thestory of the
drunkard in Antoine de Saint-Exup6ryk book The LittlePrince. The
Little Prince asks the drunkard why he drinks, and heresponds that
he drinks because he is ashamed. When asked why heis so ashamed, he
says that he is ashamed that he drinks. Pathologicalbehaviors give
rise to new conflict, and that merely strengthens the
IrL-
-
84 | urnrnolroRr sysrEMS
Model of a Healthy SystemThe circles represent the
boundariesofthe three systems, and the placervhere the circles
overlap indicates thecommunication between the three. Thethree
systems are all in contact with oneanother and are Iunctioning
together,but they are each able to maintain theirown
boundaries.
Model of the Hikikomori SystemThe systems are not in contact
with oneanolher anrl are nof moving in urrisun.Power operates on
each layer of thesystem, but for the inner systems thatpower is
perceived as stress, and thatstress simply prolongs the vicious
cycle.
Figre 1. Aheahhtl sllstem and ahikikomori sAstem.
of contact with the outside society through work, school, and so
forth.Isn't what is missing the connection between the individual
and thesurrounding society?" The question that I would ask in
return is this:does the 'point of contact" involve real
communication? If there werereal communication between the
individual and the family, then thatwould just make the situation
all the more difficult.
For real communication to be possible, it cannot be a
one-waystreet, where one of the two parties is just talking to the
other. Recip-rocation is an essential element of communication.
Communication isrrot real communication if the individual does not
listen to what hisor her family has to say and just delivers an
unbroken litany of his or
HIKIKOMORI SYSTEMS J 85
her own complaints. It is surprisingly easy to overlook this
point. Thepoint is that "simple conversation" and "communication'
are quitedifferent things.
For the remainder of this chapter, I explain how the
hikikomorisystem functions in each ofthe three arenas.
The Inability to Accept the Intervention of OthersLet's start
with what the hikikomori system means for the individual,
As I have explained previously, the person who is in a state
ofsocial withdrawal typically feels a strong sense of conflict. As
I havealready shown, this conflict frequently leads to a variety
ofpsycho-logical symptoms. From those symptoms, it is possible to
fall into avicious circle. A fear ofothers, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, and de-lusions of persecution all make it that much
harder for the individualto participate in society. To make matters
worse, the majority of thesesymptoms will not get better without
participating in society or re-ceiving some sort of treatment. The
worst misfortune to befall peoplein withdrawal is that even though
their symptoms are progressivelygetting worse, they find themselves
in situations where they feel theneed to withdraw even further.
Also, as I explained earlier, the very fact that a person is in
awithdrawn state inflicts more psychological damage. Physically,
theperson might begin to stay up nights and sleep during the day,
or heor she might develop insomnia, and those things just spur on
the re-versal even further. In this way, the withdrawn state is
rather like anaddiction. I say this because with addictions, there
are various viciouscircles that operate as a single system, and
these just make the addic-tion that much worse. For instance,
alcoholics often feel extremelyguilty about their drinking. Still,
even though they feel guilty-or toput it more precisely, because
they feel so guilty-they end up drink-ing all the more and sink
deeper into the quagmire. It is rather like thestory of the
drunkard in Antoine de Saint-Exup6ryk book The LittlePrince. The
Little Prince asks the drunkard why he drinks, and heresponds that
he drinks because he is ashamed. When asked why heis so ashamed, he
says that he is ashamed that he drinks. Pathologicalbehaviors give
rise to new conflict, and that merely strengthens the
IrL-
-
86 | nrnrnouoRr sysrEMS
behaviors-it is this particular process that is a characteristic
of ad-dictive behavior. One sees a similar kind of vicious circle
in the be-havior of people in withdrawal. Individuals see their
withdrawal asthe "behavior of a loser," and this makes their
feelings of self-hatredall the worse, leading to a deeper
withdrawal-a vicious circle.
In ordinary circumstances, relationships with the family
andother people are what stop the cycle from getting worse. These
days,most people believe it is almost meaningless for an alcoholic
to tryto stop drinking on his own. Gregory Bateson has said that
tryingto do so is like trying to lift yourselfup in the air by
pulling on yourown shoestrings. The most common treatment for
addiction today isto enlist the help and guidance of the family
while having the addictparticipate in a self-help group. In other
words, it is important to havethe family and other people
participate in the process. If the source ofthe vicious circle is
oneself, then it is absolutely necessary to let othersintervene and
proceed to treatment.
We can apply this httle bit of common sense to the treatment
ofpeople in social withdrawal, too. The reason people cannot
extractthemselves from their state of withdrawal is that they hate
this kindof intervention from other people more than anything. On
the otherhand, however, people who have steeled themselves and made
uptheir mind that they are going to accept the help of others are
able toreturn to society, almost without exception. I have observed
this inworking with patients, so I knorv that it is not possible to
deal withwithdrawal if we try to deal with it only from the
standpoint of indi-vidual pathology.
What I am trying to say is this. Even though there might be
sev-eral, different aspects involved in the individual sickness
that startedthe whole process of withdrawal, as long as those
reasons are psycho-genic in nature, once people enter into an
extended period of socialwithdrawal, they will end up continuing
down that path and stay ina state of withdrawal that they cannot
escape from on their own. Aslong as they are in that situation, the
best plan of action is not to con-tinue to be preoccupied with the
beginning of the illness and keeptrying to diagnose what went wrong
early on. More important thantrying to figure out what caused it is
realizing the phenomenon of "so-
Hrr(rKoMoRr svsrolrs I 87cial withdrawal" represents an entire
system, and one must providetreatment and guidance with that in
mind.
Lack of CommunicationNext, let's look at the "family system"
(see Figure 2). The family mem_bers who surround the person in
withdrawal are also caught up in avicious circle. First, the
individual goes into withdrawal, and as theperiod of withdrawal
grows longer, anxiety and irritation grow withinthe family. In
their anxiety, the fan'iily gives the individual variouskinds of
stimulation, hoping to get him or her to change his or herbehavior
somehow. Frequently, this "stimulation' involves deliveringspeeches
based on sound advice, or sometimes, it involves little morethan
yelling at the individual to get up and go. This stimulation,
how_ever, does nothing but add pressure and stress to the
individual anddoes not help him or her become more active. If
anything, the morestimulation he or she receives, the more likely
he or she is to sinkdeeper into a withdrawn state. This then just
makes the family thatmuch more anxious and irritable, and they
repeat the stimulation,although half-aware that it is not going to
do any good.
As I have made clear already, the thing that causes these
viciouscircles to form is a "lack of communication." The one-way
stimuli thefamily gives to the individual cannot be considered real
communica-tion precisely because it is so one-sided. The family's
words do notreach the person in withdrawal at all. All that happens
is that the f'am_ily's anxiety, dissatrlsfaction, and irritation
drive the individual into acorner.
In the behavior of withdrawn individuals, there is some sort
ofhidden message. That much is certain. If the family can grasp
exactlywhat that message is at an early stage, that alone can
sometimes beenough to help put the individual on the path to
recovery. Even incases when the individual has been in withdrawal
{br a long period oftime, it is possible for the family to prevent
the vicious circle from get-ting worse by sympathizing with the
individual and understandingwhere he or she is coming from.
Listening for messages, understandingwhile sympathizing-these
things are what make deep, meaning{ul
-
86 | nrnrnouoRr sysrEMS
behaviors-it is this particular process that is a characteristic
of ad-dictive behavior. One sees a similar kind of vicious circle
in the be-havior of people in withdrawal. Individuals see their
withdrawal asthe "behavior of a loser," and this makes their
feelings of self-hatredall the worse, leading to a deeper
withdrawal-a vicious circle.
In ordinary circumstances, relationships with the family
andother people are what stop the cycle from getting worse. These
days,most people believe it is almost meaningless for an alcoholic
to tryto stop drinking on his own. Gregory Bateson has said that
tryingto do so is like trying to lift yourselfup in the air by
pulling on yourown shoestrings. The most common treatment for
addiction today isto enlist the help and guidance of the family
while having the addictparticipate in a self-help group. In other
words, it is important to havethe family and other people
participate in the process. If the source ofthe vicious circle is
oneself, then it is absolutely necessary to let othersintervene and
proceed to treatment.
We can apply this httle bit of common sense to the treatment
ofpeople in social withdrawal, too. The reason people cannot
extractthemselves from their state of withdrawal is that they hate
this kindof intervention from other people more than anything. On
the otherhand, however, people who have steeled themselves and made
uptheir mind that they are going to accept the help of others are
able toreturn to society, almost without exception. I have observed
this inworking with patients, so I knorv that it is not possible to
deal withwithdrawal if we try to deal with it only from the
standpoint of indi-vidual pathology.
What I am trying to say is this. Even though there might be
sev-eral, different aspects involved in the individual sickness
that startedthe whole process of withdrawal, as long as those
reasons are psycho-genic in nature, once people enter into an
extended period of socialwithdrawal, they will end up continuing
down that path and stay ina state of withdrawal that they cannot
escape from on their own. Aslong as they are in that situation, the
best plan of action is not to con-tinue to be preoccupied with the
beginning of the illness and keeptrying to diagnose what went wrong
early on. More important thantrying to figure out what caused it is
realizing the phenomenon of "so-
Hrr(rKoMoRr svsrolrs I 87cial withdrawal" represents an entire
system, and one must providetreatment and guidance with that in
mind.
Lack of CommunicationNext, let's look at the "family system"
(see Figure 2). The family mem_bers who surround the person in
withdrawal are also caught up in avicious circle. First, the
individual goes into withdrawal, and as theperiod of withdrawal
grows longer, anxiety and irritation grow withinthe family. In
their anxiety, the fan'iily gives the individual variouskinds of
stimulation, hoping to get him or her to change his or herbehavior
somehow. Frequently, this "stimulation' involves deliveringspeeches
based on sound advice, or sometimes, it involves little morethan
yelling at the individual to get up and go. This stimulation,
how_ever, does nothing but add pressure and stress to the
individual anddoes not help him or her become more active. If
anything, the morestimulation he or she receives, the more likely
he or she is to sinkdeeper into a withdrawn state. This then just
makes the family thatmuch more anxious and irritable, and they
repeat the stimulation,although half-aware that it is not going to
do any good.
As I have made clear already, the thing that causes these
viciouscircles to form is a "lack of communication." The one-way
stimuli thefamily gives to the individual cannot be considered real
communica-tion precisely because it is so one-sided. The family's
words do notreach the person in withdrawal at all. All that happens
is that the f'am_ily's anxiety, dissatrlsfaction, and irritation
drive the individual into acorner.
In the behavior of withdrawn individuals, there is some sort
ofhidden message. That much is certain. If the family can grasp
exactlywhat that message is at an early stage, that alone can
sometimes beenough to help put the individual on the path to
recovery. Even incases when the individual has been in withdrawal
{br a long period oftime, it is possible for the family to prevent
the vicious circle from get-ting worse by sympathizing with the
individual and understandingwhere he or she is coming from.
Listening for messages, understandingwhile sympathizing-these
things are what make deep, meaning{ul
-
l88 | Hr K rKoMoRt SYSTEMS
Fi.gre 2. Vicious circles for the hikikomori.
communication possible for the first time within the family. It
is onlythis kind of deep communication that has the ability to stop
the vi-cious cycles in the family from getting worse.
The Disconnect between the Family Systemand the Social
SystemThen what about the "social system"P I mentioned earlier that
in thehikikomori system, the three systems of individual, family,
and soci-ety are all detached from one another. You might think to
yourself,"But doesn't the family at least have some point of
connection tosociety through the workplace or other
institutions?"
I should probably clarify a bit further and say that when I
em-phasize that there is a disconnect between the three systems, I
meanto say that they have lost a point of connection when it comes
to theproblem of the withdrawn person. Yes, even families who are
ex-
HTKTKOMORT SVSronaS I Bg
tremely forward-thinking and participate actively in society
tend tobe closeJipped when it comes to talking about their own
child beingin a withdrawn state. Families worry about what people
will thlnkand try to hide it, or sometimes they try to figure out
some way tosolve the problem on their own without consulting with
anyone.Psychologists have often found that in the course of
individual de-velopment, the tendency to "keep to oneself"
significantly slows apersonk ability to solve adolescent problems.
What I would like toemphasize here is that the disconnect between
the family system andthe surrounding social system is exactly the
same sort of"keeping tooneself" that inhibits progress toward
solving the problem. In a cer-tain sense, it is no exaggeration to
say that the family is also in a stateof social withdrawal.
It is this tendency to keep to oneself that causes a
disconnectbetween the "family system" and the "social system." Even
thoughthere is a separation between the two, it frequently happens
thatthe family falls into a vicious cycle of its own. The family
tries tostay independent and avoid the opinions of others, but at
the sametime, they lose the opportunity to seek out treatment or
counselingbecause that would mean getting other people involved.
That simplyreinforces the tendency to keep to themselves. It seems
to me thatthe tendency to "keep to oneself" on the part ofthe
parents is char-acteristically Japanese. Instead of the
'American-style" withdrawal inwhich everyone, including the family,
avoids society altogether, thefamily continues to desire a
connection with society-or perhaps it isbecause they want a
connection all the more that they end up keepingto themselves.
Because this setup prolongs conflict, it simply strength-ens the
hikikomori system.
That being said, how can we help the hikikomori system beginto
function in a healthier manner? I explain that in detail in the
nexthalfofthe book, which is dedicated to practical advice.
'l'reatment and counselingPressure from society
Anxiety and irritation ofthe individrral
Pressure to go outsideor to do work
Anxiety and irritation ofthe {iimily
Treatment and counseling
-
l88 | Hr K rKoMoRt SYSTEMS
Fi.gre 2. Vicious circles for the hikikomori.
communication possible for the first time within the family. It
is onlythis kind of deep communication that has the ability to stop
the vi-cious cycles in the family from getting worse.
The Disconnect between the Family Systemand the Social
SystemThen what about the "social system"P I mentioned earlier that
in thehikikomori system, the three systems of individual, family,
and soci-ety are all detached from one another. You might think to
yourself,"But doesn't the family at least have some point of
connection tosociety through the workplace or other
institutions?"
I should probably clarify a bit further and say that when I
em-phasize that there is a disconnect between the three systems, I
meanto say that they have lost a point of connection when it comes
to theproblem of the withdrawn person. Yes, even families who are
ex-
HTKTKOMORT SVSronaS I Bg
tremely forward-thinking and participate actively in society
tend tobe closeJipped when it comes to talking about their own
child beingin a withdrawn state. Families worry about what people
will thlnkand try to hide it, or sometimes they try to figure out
some way tosolve the problem on their own without consulting with
anyone.Psychologists have often found that in the course of
individual de-velopment, the tendency to "keep to oneself"
significantly slows apersonk ability to solve adolescent problems.
What I would like toemphasize here is that the disconnect between
the family system andthe surrounding social system is exactly the
same sort of"keeping tooneself" that inhibits progress toward
solving the problem. In a cer-tain sense, it is no exaggeration to
say that the family is also in a stateof social withdrawal.
It is this tendency to keep to oneself that causes a
disconnectbetween the "family system" and the "social system." Even
thoughthere is a separation between the two, it frequently happens
thatthe family falls into a vicious cycle of its own. The family
tries tostay independent and avoid the opinions of others, but at
the sametime, they lose the opportunity to seek out treatment or
counselingbecause that would mean getting other people involved.
That simplyreinforces the tendency to keep to themselves. It seems
to me thatthe tendency to "keep to oneself" on the part ofthe
parents is char-acteristically Japanese. Instead of the
'American-style" withdrawal inwhich everyone, including the family,
avoids society altogether, thefamily continues to desire a
connection with society-or perhaps it isbecause they want a
connection all the more that they end up keepingto themselves.
Because this setup prolongs conflict, it simply strength-ens the
hikikomori system.
That being said, how can we help the hikikomori system beginto
function in a healthier manner? I explain that in detail in the
nexthalfofthe book, which is dedicated to practical advice.
'l'reatment and counselingPressure from society
Anxiety and irritation ofthe individrral
Pressure to go outsideor to do work
Anxiety and irritation ofthe {iimily
Treatment and counseling