by ahris on 7/31/14, 3:12 PM with 176 comments
by Estragon on 7/31/14, 7:56 PM
He had spent seven years sacrificing himself, driving himself to the
point of breakdown, nearly to death, trying to help these people,
and they didn’t care about him at all. What was the point? He knew
that if you were suicidal it was difficult to understand other
people’s problems, but still—he had been talking to some of these
people for years, and now here he was dying and nobody cared.
The hotline didn't ban them unless they became sexually aggressive towards female volunteers, I think because they helped keep the call numbers up, which was important for funding.
by cphuntington97 on 7/31/14, 9:11 PM
This is extreme, however, it strikes me as a mild version of operating a steam locomotive. While undertaking this activity, my brain is occupied with 3 things: How's the water? How's the fire? Are there any hazards ahead? Repeat ad nauseum.
The water level is very critical. Too much, and you'll be piping water through the steam plumbing, which has the potential to be very destructive to the locomotive. Too little, and the structural integrity of the boiler could be compromised.
The fire is the life of the locomotive. Too much coal can snuff out the fire. Too little coal and you may run out of fuel. Too much fire wastes fuel and water; too little, and there will not be enough power to move the train. With the small models I operate, there is always a hand pump to put water into the boiler, but on a full size locomotive, it's possible to be in a situation where you don't have enough steam power to put more water into the boiler, and as I mentioned before, if the water level gets too low, the structural integrity of the boiler could be compromised.
A brain busy with the above tasks may fail to notice a train stalled on the tracks ahead, which could cause a collision.
I often think of operating a model steam locomotive as a state of nirvana. This is an exaggerated notion, but who could be troubled when the fire's too hot, the water's running low, see anything of concern up ahead? And by the way, how's that water level?
My point is that I think the monks might be on to something.
by themodelplumber on 7/31/14, 5:37 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/world/asia/18japan.html?_r...
by milesf on 7/31/14, 10:03 PM
Although I wanted to die, my fear of death and an eternity in the Lake of Fire was a far greater fear (Revelation 21:8). I'm not asking you to believe what I do. I'm just relaying what I went through, and the mindset I had at the time. As terrible as it was, that fear I had kept me alive.
Finally found a doctor who was able to diagnose what I had. Got treatment, suicidal thoughts went away, and am doing much better now.
I don't like to think back on that ordeal, but when I do meet people who are contemplating suicide, I absolutely can relate and empathize with the anguish they are experiencing.
by Loughla on 7/31/14, 5:17 PM
This article is phrased as if the entire Japanese culture is based on a disproportionate work-life balance to the extreme.
by mililani on 7/31/14, 7:56 PM
by dragontamer on 7/31/14, 4:54 PM
This last spring, there were at least three major animes revolving around the concept. "Nanana's burried treasure", "No Game No Life", and "Mekakucity actors" all have title characters who are Hikikomoris.
Hikikomori (shut-ins / NEETs) seem to be a real problem... real enough that they've entered Japanese Anime culture as a new character archetype.
I don't have much Japanese exposure outside of anime, so I'm not going to draw conclusions based on this alone. But I thought I'd give my perspective. Everything seems to tie together: an economic downturn that prevents many young people from getting a job, the uptick in shut-in culture, and finally an uptick in the suicide rate... (which seem to only cause more Hikikomoris as their loved ones disappear and make life more difficult for those left behind...)
by chaostheory on 7/31/14, 9:16 PM
Apprentice monks are treated like slaves on a brutal plantation. They must follow orders and never say no. They sleep very little. They rise at four. Most of the time they eat only a small amount of rice and, occasionally, pickles (fresh vegetables and meat are forbidden). There is no heat, even though it can be very cold on the mountain, and the monks wear sandals and cotton robes.
I often wondered where Chuck Palahniuk got some of his ideas for Fight Club
by MarkPNeyer on 7/31/14, 7:00 PM
what helped me finally move past this was repeatedly trying and failing to kill myself. always someone would come by, or i'd change my mind, at the last minute. i internalized the idea that it's not possible for a person to experience their own death. i see it in terms of the multiverse; if someone dies in my timeline, their world track has diverged so far from mine that we cannot meaningfully exchange information. i see things like war and the holocaust as being more akin to network partitions than destroyed hardware. the big bang was the network splitting for the first time, and portions of it have been trying to reconnect ever since.
i have no idea whether this is true or not, but it's .. being free from those thoughts immediately forces me to think "well if i'm stuck here, i have to make things work better for myself, since leaving apparently isn't an option."
sometimes i think i DID successfully kill myself - years ago, on my first attempt in 2006 - and i'm in a purgatory now.
i see stories of "life extension technology" being developed, and i think it's entirely plausible according to "mainstream science" that people my age will be able to live indefinitely. everyone else tells themselves "well its because of this new technology" and in the back of my mind, i keep thinking that i won't have a choice - i'll be alive forever because you can only die once.
i'm sure this all sounds ridiculous to anyone hearing it, but honestly being able to put aside suicidal thoughts, and focus on improving my life, has been really, extremely helpful. it sounds like this guy has found another way (i.e. not involving believing immortality is the default state, or that you are already dead) to make it happen.
by oldspiceman on 7/31/14, 4:37 PM
by rdtsc on 8/1/14, 2:27 AM
Not sure if cultural relativism here should take precedence and just say "ok it is their culture, who am I to judge it". On the other hand, it is kind of dreadful that this was so common, it got to be a cultural tradition.
There is something dreadful about it. You know "you bow before the elders", "take your shoes before you enter someone's home", "slaughter your children before you kill yourself".
I guess, like the article says, suicide is one of those "unknown knowns" that is ingrained in the social subconsciousness. They mention samurai and sepuku and how certain people were "praised" in a way for committing an honorable suicide.
by apozem on 7/31/14, 6:18 PM
by th0br0 on 7/31/14, 3:53 PM
by hardmath123 on 7/31/14, 5:11 PM
by kinotech on 7/31/14, 5:09 PM
by walruscop on 8/1/14, 5:12 PM
by thisjepisje on 7/31/14, 7:16 PM
Why would that be?
by unlimit on 7/31/14, 7:15 PM
by namDa on 7/31/14, 4:58 PM
by josephjrobison on 7/31/14, 6:18 PM
by Kiro on 8/1/14, 7:20 AM
by bsaul on 7/31/14, 3:58 PM
by xrd on 7/31/14, 4:22 PM
by jessaustin on 7/31/14, 4:41 PM
In this respect I feel Japan's culture is superior to ours in the USA. For example, I felt Mark Madoff's suicide was entirely appropriate, a final act that put the rest of his life in a more dignified context. Yet every article one reads about it treats the suicide as an additional disgrace, yet another horrible thing we can blame on Mark and his father.