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Covid Hikikomori: Impact of Lockdown on Acute Social Withdrawal

 

Written By: Falakdipti

ABSTRACT

Everyone wants to retreat from society and the world sometimes. However, some people find themselves isolated in their room for months, sometimes even years, only ever slipping out once in a blue moon. This phenomenon is known as Hikikomori, or Acute Social Withdrawal. When the COVID-19 pandemic caused most of the world to go into lockdown, the term found itself in the spotlight again. This research aims to define Hikikomori and its relation to the pandemic.

Keywords: isolation, hikikomori, social, pandemic, withdrawal

 

INTRODUCTION

Japanese is a language that has multifarious beautiful words. ‘Wabi Sabi’ means incomplete or imperfect beauty. ‘Komorebi’ refers to the light that filters through trees and falls on the forest floor. There is another word however, that was coined by renowned psychologist Tamaki Saito in the year 1998 to describe the rising number of cases of social isolation amongst the youth in Japan, known as ‘Hikikomori’.

The word which in English translates to ‘Acute Social Withdrawal’ has recently gained relevance again as the world went into a lockdown and similar restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions were established to reduce the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, better known as SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.[1]

Recently researchers have developed certain criteria[2] to accurately identify hikikomori. During a diagnosis, trained professionals evaluate for:

1.     Spending nearly every day confined to home for most of the day

2.     Persistent and marked avoidance of social relationships and social situations

3.     Social withdrawal causing significant functional impairment

4.     Duration of minimum six months

5.     No apparent mental or physical aetiology to account for the social withdrawal symptoms

Based on prior outbreaks such as SARS and MERS, studies have shown that individuals in quarantine show heightened distress-related mental illnesses due to increased disturbances and Hikikomori behaviour.[3] Considering the fact that political, economical and social challenges, which are the by-products of a pandemic, already cause people to express the symptoms of Hikikomori, researchers theorise that the Hikikomori phenomenon would become extremely common in a post-pandemic world.[4]

 

METHODOLOGY

To study the impact and relation of the pandemic with Hikikomori, both qualitative and quantitative data were used. All necessary information was collected from primary and secondary sources such as books, journals, articles, archival data and online sources. The data referred to are from credible sources and based on rigorous research and statistics hence providing accurate information about the subject.

 

LITERATURE REVIEW

Definition of Hikikomori

According to Bowker[5], Hikikomori, which literally means ‘being confined’ or ‘pulling forward’ is a total withdrawal from society where an individual seeks extreme degrees of confinement and social isolation.

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare describes Hikikomori as a condition in which an individual refuses to leave his parents’ house, does not go to school or to work and isolates himself away from society and peers in a single room for a period of more than six months.[6]

Tamaki Saito, who coined the term, defined[7] Hikikomori as a ‘state that becomes a problem in the late twenties that involves cooping oneself up in one’s own home and not being an active participant of society for a period exceeding six months. However, another psychological problem is not its principal source’.

Impact of Covid on Acute Social Withdrawal

According to Brooks whose article was published in the medical journal The Lancet,[8] periods of isolation, even less than ten days can have long-term effects and cause psychiatric symptoms which can stay present in an individual up to three years later.

An article by UPI[9] that cited the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll[10] on Children's Health at Michigan Medicine stated that 14% of total girls and 13% of total boys reported withdrawal from their families. 75% of the parents interviewed said that the pandemic negatively affected their children's connections to peers. 

Michigan Health[11] reported that three out of four parents observed a decline in their children’s social interaction.

Kearney[12] observed that in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of U.S. adults who said that stress and worry related to the pandemic was having a negative impact on their mental health increased from about one-third (32%) in March 2020 to roughly half (53%) in July 2020, with 6% reporting social withdrawal.

 

FINDINGS

Hikikomori, which is the Japanese word for Acute Social Withdrawal coined in the year 1998 has gained relevance again during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the lockdowns and quarantines imposed by the government of various countries to prevent the spread of the virus.

Over time, several definitions of Hikikomori have been given. However, researchers have recently developed certain criteria to precisely identify Hikikomori.

Studies show that the pandemic has caused inculcation of symptoms of Hikikomori and is expected to become extremely common in a post-pandemic world.

According to researchers, people who practised social isolation during the pandemic even for ten days would face long-term impact for up to three years.

The studies which were conducted on the subject of social withdrawal in teens show that a large number of children have withdrawn themselves from friends and family and have faced a decline in their social interaction.

 

NEW AREAS OF RESEARCH

How can the impact of social isolation be reduced?

Although the lockdown has caused an increase in the cases of Acute Social Withdrawal, it is deemed as a necessary precaution to prevent the further spread of the Coronavirus. However, there are steps that can be taken to prevent or reduce the impact of social isolation on individuals.

1.     Improve and maintain access to mental health services especially for the vulnerable population.

2.     Improve the public health response to the pandemic and widespread loneliness and social isolation.

3.     Connect people with each other through technology

4.     Promote physical activities like exercising and well-balanced meals

 

CONCLUSION

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the quality of lives of millions. Staying enclosed in a space for several days has increased the cases of Acute Social Withdrawal, where people are unwilling to be an active part of society, including their friends and family.

Hikikomori, a word that originated in Japan and is a synonym of the aforementioned mental disorder has become relevant again during the pandemic. There are multiple definitions of Hikikomori, however, most of them agree upon the criteria of evaluation being chronic confinement and social isolation for a period of six months or more.

Researchers expect Hikikomori to become more common in a post-pandemic world since the reasons that usually cause people to withdraw themselves socially are by-products of the pandemic as well.

According to studies conducted by various organisations and researchers, the lockdown has impacted the mental health of people negatively to great extents. According to most parents, their teens have lost connection with their relatives and peers and a decline in social interaction overall, which may persist up to three years in some cases.

The importance of social isolation during a deadly pandemic cannot be denied or ignored. Therefore, there are certain steps that can be taken to reduce the impact of lockdown on people and reduce the surge of cases of Hikikomori in youth.

[1] NBC News. (2020, February 25). Coronavirus: Italy reports 7 dead, 229 infected as Europe braces for COVID-19. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/coronavirus-updates-5-dead-200-infected-italy-europe-braces-covid-n1141466 (Retrieved on 20/04/2021)

[2] Teo, A. R., & Gaw, A. C. (2010). Hikikomori, a Japanese Culture-Bound Syndrome of Social Withdrawal? Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 198(6), 444–449. https://doi.org/10.1097/nmd.0b013e3181e086b1

[3] Kato, T. A., Sartorius, N., & Shinfuku, N. (2020). Forced social isolation due to COVID ‐19 and consequent mental health problems: Lessons from hikikomori. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 74(9), 506–507. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.13112

[4] Wong, P. W. (2020). Potential changes to the hikikomori phenomenon in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 54, 102288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102288

[5] Bowker, J. C., Bowker, M. H., Santo, J. B., Ojo, A. A., Etkin, R. G., & Raja, R. (2019). Severe Social Withdrawal: Cultural Variation in Past Hikikomori Experiences of University Students in Nigeria, Singapore, and The United States. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 180(4–5), 217–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2019.1633618

[6] Itou, Junichirou (2003). Shakaiteki Hikikomori Wo Meguru Tiiki Seisin Hoken Katudou No Guide-line [Guideline on Mental Health Activities in Communities for Social Withdrawal] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.

[7] Saitō, Tamaki (1998). Hikikomori kyūshutsu manyuaru [How to Rescue Your Child from "Hikikomori"] (in Japanese). Tokyo: PHP Kenkyūjo.

[8] Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., and Greenberg, N. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. Lancet 395, 912–920. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8

[9] HealthDay News. (2021, March 16). Poll: Nearly half of parents say pandemic has harmed their teens’ mental health. UPI. https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/03/16/coronavirus-half-of-teens-struggle-mental-health-poll/4671615844492/ (retrieved on 24/4/2021)

[10] C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. (2021, March). How the pandemic has impacted teen mental health (Volume 32, Issue 2). https://mottpoll.org/reports/how-pandemic-has-impacted-teen-mental-health (retrieved on 24/4/2021)

[11] Mostafavi, B. (2021, March 15). National Poll: Pandemic Negatively Impacted Teens’ Mental Health. Michigan Health. https://healthblog.uofmhealth.org/childrens-health/national-poll-pandemic-negatively-impacted-teens-mental-health (retrieved on 24/4/2021)

[12] Kearney, A., Hamel, L., & Brodie, M. (2021, April). Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic.  https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/mental-health-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/ (retrieved on 23/4/2021)

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