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How Japan came to believe in depression
by Cedar

    In a country as open as any other to the celebrity confession, everyone from actors to newsreaders now seemed willing to come out and say they had had an experience of depression.

    There's evidence of a pendulum swing in the opposite direction, as a rapid rise in work absences and sick leave due to depression seems to be generating a climate of frustration at the impact on colleagues and now even suspicion about the way some people obtain and use a diagnosis.

    Some Japanese suffering with depression find that while the rise in public awareness about the condition has been a comfort to them, allowing them to talk openly, their recovery and return to work is hampered by cynical talk around them about "Fake" or "Bogus" depression - a sign of self-indulgent times.