Metal-kun's 'Psychiatry Trivia of the Day!' (921)-(925)

Hello, everyone.

I am Hosuke Kaya.☺️

I recently made the following post on X.

↓

As I wrote in the post, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey, it is stated that among those who hold a Mental Disability Health and Welfare Handbook, only 17.8% of those aged 19-64 are married.

On the other hand, it is said that over 60% of the general population is married by the age of 40, and this fact suggests that the marriage rate for those with mental illnesses is significantly lower.

■ Why does marriage become difficult?

There are various reasons why people with mental disabilities 'do not/cannot' get married, but as I see it, the following factors are mainly involved.

1. Psychiatric symptoms: Many mental illnesses involve 'decreased motivation' or 'lethargy.' Therefore, there is often not enough remaining energy to focus on 'marriage.'

2. Low self-esteem: There are cases where people withdraw before building a relationship due to thoughts like 'someone like me...'

3. Economic issues: This is a practical problem where one cannot take the step toward marriage due to instability in employment.

4. Lack of opportunities to meet people: As outings and social participation decrease, the total number of opportunities to meet people decreases in the first place.

5. Prejudice (stigma): There are hurdles such as family opposing the marriage or the difficulty of disclosing the illness to a partner.

6. Anxiety about the future: There is a tendency to be cautious about marriage itself due to concerns about relapse or becoming a burden to the other person.

When listed like this, it is clear that the hurdles to marriage are by no means low for those living with mental illness.

Of course, marriage is not everything. Even so, it is also a fact that there is a certain number of patients who wish to 'get married.'

■ Proposals for marriage hunting for those with mental illness

So, how can one get closer to marriage? I would like to propose a few practical points from my perspective.

Recommendation 1: Prioritize symptom stabilization

Continuing outpatient visits and medication to stabilize your symptoms is the most important foundation. Establishing a regular daily rhythm is also crucial.

Recommendation 2: Don't aim for 100%

A 'perfectionist' mindset, such as 'only after becoming a full-time employee' or 'only after being completely cured,' will actually push opportunities further away. If you can manage your daily life to some extent, that is already a sufficient starting line.

Recommendation 3: Increase the number of encounters

Encounters are not something you 'wait for,' but something you 'increase.'

• Workplace

• Day care

• Employment support

• Hobby communities

• Matching apps

• Introductions from friends or acquaintances

It is important to have multiple routes.

Recommendation 4: Timing for self-disclosure (coming out)

You don't need to tell everything upon first meeting. It is more realistic to share it in a natural way once a relationship has been established to some degree.

Recommendation 5: Prioritize 'stability' in financial matters

You don't need a high income. It is important that you can sustain your life continuously.

Utilizing public systems such as disability pensions or employment for people with disabilities is also an option.

■ In conclusion

I have listed points for marriage hunting so far, but there may be voices saying, 'I'm struggling because I can't do that.'

However, you do not need to fulfill all of recommendations 1 through 5.

Please try starting with just one thing that you feel you can do.

Even small changes, when accumulated, can become the catalyst for changing the flow of your life.

Marriage is not the goal.

However, the feeling of "wanting to live with someone" is also natural and deserves to be respected.

Please, do not force yourself to let go of that thought.

Metal-kun's "Psychiatry Trivia of the Day!" is uploaded every morning at 8:00 AM on X (formerly Twitter).

For all you X (formerly Twitter) users, there is also [Metal's Bonus Content] that couldn't be fully covered on X (formerly Twitter), so if you are interested, please read this article!

Also, if you don't mind, please support my Instagram as well (please follow me🙏)!

[Today's Psychiatry Trivia Collection! (Part 185)]

[Metal's Bonus Content]
As the symptoms of schizophrenia progress in patients, the original meaning of language begins to crumble, and discrepancies arise in communication with healthy individuals. Eventually, language collapses further and disintegrates into incoherent speech and behavior. However, I feel that the term "language crisis" itself is not used much anymore.

↓ By the way, endangered languages refer to languages spoken by ethnic minorities that are on the verge of extinction.

[Metal's Bonus]
Because this neologism is often seen in schizophrenia, it was also called Schizophasie (schizophasia) in German-speaking countries. This is one of the speech abnormalities caused by thought disorders, but actually, Japanese yankees (delinquents) also seem to use neologisms, don't they? They speak words that make absolutely no sense, like 'hakui,' 'mappo,' and 'shabai'... Perhaps there is a similar mechanism regarding language ability between schizophrenia and yankees?

↓Speaking of manga full of yankee slang, this is the one!

[Metal's Bonus]
In short, auditory hallucinations where you hear things you aren't actually thinking as your own voice fall under verbal psychomotor hallucinations. Because the patient has a kind of awareness of illness, feeling that 'this is not me,' it becomes a 'pseudo-hallucination (a hallucination that is not a hallucination in the true sense).' Surprisingly, this verbal psychomotor hallucination is a phenomenon observed in many patients, but it is epidemiologically unknown.

↓A book by Oliver Sacks, famous for 'Awakenings'.

[Metal's Bonus]
A 'late talker' is a finding that suggests the possibility of developmental or intellectual disabilities, so it is no wonder parents worry, but there is actually a possibility that they are a 'genius (gifted).' A good example of this is Einstein, who reportedly barely spoke until he was 5 or 6 years old. An acquaintance of Mr. Kaji also had a child with a speech delay, but after entering elementary school, the child demonstrated explosive ability and entered a super-prestigious private N junior high school in the Kansai region with top-class grades.

↓In short, this is that junior high school.

[Metal's Bonus]
To be specific, paragrammatism or agrammatism is characterized by the omission of particles like 'ga' or 'o' and short sentences. For example, instead of 'I eat rice,' it becomes something like 'Me, rice.' --Come to think of it, SPYxFAMILY's Anya also uses a lot of telegraphic phrasing. It's called 'Anya-speak' on the internet, but does Anya have a defect in her brain...?

↓My note 'SPYxFAMILY and Psychiatry' is well-received!

[Metal-kun's Analysis]

This time, I posted psychiatry trivia related to 'Language and Psychiatry'!

As you all know, "language" is the most powerful communication tool given to humanity.

It is likely that language (and the use of tools) is the reason humanity has flourished more than any other species on Earth.

I believe that in psychiatry, "language" is extremely important... or rather, it is a one-of-a-kind diagnostic tool.

The reason is that "language" is absolutely essential for evaluating a patient's mental state.

Patients convey their symptoms and experiences to the doctor through words, and the doctor makes a "diagnosis" based on those words.

Conversely, psychiatry is a field where nothing can be understood without language.

Therefore, "verbalizing" symptoms is a very important skill, and I hope doctors aiming to become psychiatrists will learn this skill thoroughly.

If you are aiming to improve your "verbalization" skills, I think it is best to acquire knowledge of psychopathology.

My series, "Metal-kun's Psychiatry Trivia of the Day!", is almost coming to an end, but

I will continue to introduce maniacal psychiatry topics with all my might until the very end 😆

↓ This is cute!

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