Message from this organization

After I became ill, my neighbors and even my parents, who were supposed to help me,

I withdrew like closing the lid of a shell and I came to have jealousy and distorted society.

However, the only people I could trust were those who had the same disease.

By talking with various people little by little, my sense of distrust towards society has disappeared, and the number of people I can trust has increased.

Now, when I have a problem, I immediately contact a friend of the person concerned to meet and talk with him or make a phone call to have him listen to what I have to say to try to solve the problem.

I have come to believe that if I ask for help from those around me, they will definitely help me,though It took time to do so..

VOICE

• Mr. M

  I developed schizophrenia when I was 20 years old, and when I was 40 I went to visit a PC Type B establishment. At that time, the female staff member who helped me was kind and easy to talk to, and I decided to go to this centre. When I was 42, I underwent a psychological examination and found that I had a developmental disorder. The name of the illness is autistic spectrum disorder. When I told the staff at the office, they treated me the same as before, which was a relief.

• Mr. I

  The difficulty I feel in living with this illness is that it is invisible. Even when I felt the difficulties inherent in the illness, people around me rarely noticed and gave me consideration, unless they were staff or nurses at a welfare facility. Especially in workplaces, it can be very damaging because there is not enough room for both parties.

• Mr. K

  I am a mentally ill person who developed the illness eight year ago.   The medication makes me sleepy. As a result, my car has become a paper driver.     The inconvenience of not having a car was fatal in the countryside. I feel that it is necessary to improve the internet environment for people with disabilities as an alternative means of communication to the car. In addition, I am always grateful for the discounted fares on city buses, as I use public transport such as buses and trains.It would be so much easier to live if basic internet prices were a little lower, and if discounts for installing wi fi everywhere were maintained. The less mobile we are, the more we benefit from the internet.

• Mr. H

  Would you like to contribute to the Shimane Mental Party Liaison Group?Please feel free to contact the editorial office for further information.Help with anything you can!We value the desire to change something.

• Mr. K

  I have been unable to talk to people for a number of years because I was not good at socializing since I stopped going to school in junior high school, but I am grateful that I have been able to meet and connect with people, and that I have been able to grow little by little in society and by participating in the activities of Liaison Association for Persons with Disabilities.Now, due to Corona, I have even fewer connections with people, and the world has become even harder to live in, but I would like to continue to work step by step towards a society where people can live with hope even if they have a disease.

• Mr. S

  One of the main purposes of joining the association was to get the JR train fares halved. I thought that if I joined the prefectural association, it would be a shorter way. The membership fee would be cheaper and it was reasonable. At the UN, the Japanese state had promised to protect human rights, including unfair discrimination against people with disabilities. So why not expand services for people with disabilities? I would like to tell young people to broaden their horizons. By all means, while you are young, it is important to go to national conventions and other events, create opportunities to talk to people from other prefectures and look at yourself.

• Mr. M

  When I was participating in SST, one of the talk topics was “Is it possible to have a kind of loose salon that is not limited to treatment but is more like an extension of SST?” When I  asked, “Is it possible to have a kind of loose salon that is not limited to treatment, but is an extension of SST?”, one of the occupational therapists said, “There is a liaison group for mental patients in Shimane Prefecture, and a person called Ms. H who works at the secretariat said she wanted to do something similar, so why don’t you contact her? I was given a copy of Mr. H’s business card with his photograph on it. The most memorable part of our activities was when we presented our experiences at the general meeting in Masuda.

• Mr. M

  I developed schizoaffective disorder due to stress when I changed workplaces due to personnel changes. I was not convinced about seeing a doctor or taking medication. I had a training course, where I also felt stress in my relationships, attempted suicide, jumped from the fourth floor, was hospitalised for 10 months, returned to work and was hospitalised again soon after. I became a peer supporter and started working. I was nervous at first, but I got to know the people on the ward by playing light sports with them and listening to their stories, and now it has become my life’s work.

• Mr. Y

  I retired as a hotel cleaner on 15 September 2022, having worked there for 11 years and 5½ months. It seemed like a long time, but it all happened in the blink of an eye. It was the first time I had a job where I was paid a monthly salary. It was a good and rewarding job. I contributed a lot for a small salary. All my colleagues stopped me from quitting. But I quit gracefully. I had a knee injury, but more than that, I had had enough and decided that this was enough and quit. I am now a freelancer and in a world where there is quite a lot of criticism. I thought I had to quit in order to be able to move on to the next stage. My future is undecided. I still have some time left. I want to digest it meaningfully. Thank you very much.

• Ms. O

  A life that was hard to live.I developed schizophrenia in my early twenties and have been working on recovery for over thirty years. Recently, my medication has decreased and the symptoms of my illness have subsided. But I think, as I struggle, time slips away and I am haunted by regrets: “I wish I had done more of this when I was younger.” I sometimes feel a sense of regret. However, I have come to think that my life is worth it because I have met my ‘friends’ through the activities and have been able to know ‘kindness’ and ‘pain’ towards others.

• Ms. B

  Diagnosed with autism spectrum and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 35. I did not last long at work and my parents blamed me for not being worthwhile. I changed psychotherapists three times. At my current psychotherapist, I was diagnosed and received a disability pension. I think that if I get what I can get, it will be much less difficult to live.

• Mr. T

  Your own doctor should read specialist books on medicine (e.g. “Restoration of Medicine”, “Nursing Science and Medicine, Upper and Lower Volumes”, “The Original Theory of Medicine, Upper Volume”, “New Brain Science” co-authored by Chifumi Sego and Yukiko Sugano, “New Science of Brain” co-authored by Chifumi Sego and Yukiko Sugano. I can’t read ‘The Story of the History of Life for Nursing’ by Katsuya Honda et al, ‘Nursing Memorandum for Beginners’ Volumes 1-4′ by Junko Kaminiwa, etc. What is going to happen to the live of patients who have been treated for nearly 40 years by doctors who say, “I don’t understand” and “It’s too difficult to read” even specialist medical books? I feel like I’m not a good doctor.