I was doing a little research to write a post comparing incentives in the Japanese and U.S. workplace. In the process, I ran across the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. I know I'm not happy here in Japan, but I thought I would take the online test just to see how bad it was.
I got a 75 out of 100. That would be "severely depressed"...which is quite an eye opener for me.
The funny thing is that, compared to the people I see on my commute, I think I seem pretty well-adjusted. I mean, Japan has some of the highest incidence rates of suicide and alcoholism amongst industrial countries. I guess I can see why. At least I have something to look forward to: I can go home and get back to a normal life. But I feel for the poor Japanese salarymen I see slumped over on the train platform nursing a beer and staring blankly off into the distance...this is as good as it gets; there is nowhere else to go.
Anyway, I'll try to get back to writing my observations on incentive systems for a future post. For now, I'll leave with the same comment I give everyone who asks about Japan: it is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here.
Ouch. Hang in there. Things will get better, especially when you apply diligence to making them better.
ReplyDeleteI find it's also helpful to try to alleviate other people's misery when you can. There are still a lot of poor in the world who would be a lot better off with some food and education, both of which are easy for people like us to afford.