CHILDHOOD STRESSORS
One of my closest friends had a very tiring childhood. While growing up, she witnessed great violence in her home. She witnessed all types, verbal, emotional and physical abuse. Her father would always shout, degrade, insult and physically beat her mother. She said that little by little she got use to it, thinking that it was normal for males to beat up females. She grew up desensitized to violence and was even "welcoming" to the idea that her boyfriend and future husband may beat her up. Her older sister also got into a similar marriage and would often be seen with bruises all over her body. They both thought it was okay. The people who helped them the most were their family in church. Other church members took care of them when they needed some place to stay. Counsellors at church also made sure to do counselling sessions with them. My friend believes that it was God's love that helped her push on. She said that she experienced the right kind of love from Jesus and her friends at church. I met her in church and she was only able to get help when she was already a young adult. How I wish we were able to help her when she needed it most; when she was young!My friend had violence as her major stressor while growing up. Other children have other stressors. For this blog I would like to focus on a country near to home - Japan. The land of the rising sun as she is called, is very well known and respected being one of the more developed countries in the world. However, despite their economic prowess, Japan has a problem that has been sad to have been worsening the last few years - suicide. In Japan, many stressors have been identified such as unemployment, poverty, recession, natural disasters, ill health and the like that contribute to the suicidal rate. According to Curtin of Asia Times (2004) Japan holds the largest number of suicides among the developed countries in the world. In fact, Japan has almost the same number of suicides with US, which has more than twice its population.
Curtin (2004) explains that there are also cultural factors that add to the problem and help increase the suicide rate:
Some cultural factors exacerbate the problem: lack of religious prohibition against suicide, reluctance to discuss mental health and stress-related problems, a literary tradition that romanticizes suicide, a view of suicide as an honorable act, a way of taking responsibility for failure, among other issues. The breakdown of family and social networks and the increasing isolation of individuals contribute to the problem. (paragraph 5)
Youth suicide rate has also been rising in Japan (Curtin, 2004). The reasons cited are they are stressed in school and pressured for work that do not exist anymore and that they are greatly influenced by the suicides of adults around them and the publicity that those deaths get. Kuchikomi (2009) adds child depression, extra marital affairs of parents and parents with depression to the causes of the hight childhood suicide rate.
Another major stressor that I think influences the development of children in Japan is natural disaster. Japan, being in the Pacific Ring of Fire, experiences earthquakes almost everyday. To prepare children, Japan included earthquake discussion and preparedness in curriculum, even for the youngest children. Drills are often discussed and one by young children in their school settings to prepare them for earthquakes. However, no amount of drills was able to protect the Japanese when the Great Eastern Japan Quake and tsunami hit in March of 2011. They even say that this event was the "toughest crisis in Japan’s sixty-five years of postwar history” (Shorrock, 2011, p24) as multiple power plants melted, more than 20,000 individuals perished and devastated infrastructure.
To address the situation, religious activities were created like vigils, provision of solace for the victims, temples were also turned to refugee camps (McLaughlin, 2011). Physically, they were cared for by Japan Red Cross, were given food and clothing by different organizations all around the world.
Despite the great tragedy, Japan is sure to rise again as it is said to be a very resilient country (Beech,
Birmingham, Dirkse & Mahr, 2011). Beech et al (2011) also adds that "Japan's ultra-sophisticated earthquake-and-tsunami-alert system increased the odds for everyone. Survivors I met told versions of the same story. The earthquake unleashed its fury. Then because of radio broadcasts, text messages, sirens, firemen's door-to-door calls and just plain instinct honed by years of disaster drills at school, people from towns and villages along the coast--Japan's population is concentrated in an often narrow coastal plain--immediately fled to higher ground" (para 7).
References:
Beech, H., Birmingham, L., Dirkse, T., & Mahr, K. (2011). How Japan will reawaken. Time Inc. Retrieved from Proquest Central database.
Curtin, J. (2004). Suicide also rises in the land of the rising sun. Asian Times Online. Retrieved from http://www.atimes.com/
Kuchikomi. (2009). Children's depression and suicide a worsening problem. Japan Today. Retrieved from http://www.japantoday.com
Mclaughlin, L. (2011). In the wake of the tsunami: Religious responses to the Great East Japan
Earthquake. Crosscurrents. pp. 290-297. Retreived from Proquest Central database.
Shorrock, T. (2011). Naoto Kan and the end of ‘Japan Inc.’: Criticism of the government’s response to the catastrophe has obscured major political changes. The Nation. pp. 24-26. Retrieved from Proquest Central database.
posted by Elizabeth King Santos @ 1:22 AM
3 Comments:
Elizabeth: Thank you for sharing your post. I also grew up in a violent home. My father physically abused my mother, and I often witnessed by parents physically fighting. Along with the physical abuse was emotional abuse. When I was younger, I believed the best way to solve confrontation was to fight. I was very aggressive, and it is a personality trait that I still have to work on. I am glad that your friend was able to help, and that you were there when she needed you the most. Take care. Christina
Elizabeth I really enjoyed reading your blog and learning about Japan and the stressors that affect that country, especially suicide. I wondering how is your friend doing as an adult She was able to live a normal life ?
Elizabeth,
Stress can take a toll on a child's development. Therefore, I agree that support, especially spiritual support, can help children to overcome the stress that has damaged their lives.
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