You are a counselor and a psychiatrist, Touko-san? |
And a psychiatrist is someone who heals mental illnesses? |
Uh huh. Put simply, I’m a doctor of the mind. As I mentioned before, mental illness is very complex. |
What is mental illness? |
Basically, a person’s mind becomes disturbed for some reason, and the person is unable to continue functioning. |
What sort of reason, for instance? |
There can be many reasons. |
Problems with a living environment or work environment can be reasons. |
Sudden, psychological shock can also be a reason. |
The sudden death of a well-loved pet can trigger mental illness. |
Sometimes people become mentally ill because of something that happens to them physically. |
A car accident or some other kind of physical trauma can be a cause. |
Also, people who drink too much can damage the function of their brains. |
Alcoholism? |
Exactly. |
You’ve been studying! |
If you drink too much, the alcohol content in your blood will rise. |
You’ve seen drunk people wobble around without balance, haven’t you? |
They’re in an alcoholic stupor. |
But normal people aren’t that way, are they? |
No, they can be. |
It takes about 24 hours for alcohol to leave the human body. |
If you drink a lot everyday for a year or so—if you stay drunk long enough—your perception will start to change. |
Your brain will start to deteriorate. |
That’s scary. |
It is scary. I still have some sake now and then, though. |
Isn’t that dangerous? |
Ha, ha. |
Oh, a little bit. |
And smoking is bad, too. |
But having a drink with friends every now and then can help relieve stress. |
Relieving stress is very important for the body’s health. |
I don’t understand what stress is. |
Remember when you didn’t like coming here at first? |
Yes. |
Stress is what we call the cause of that discomfort. |
You’re glad that the discomfort is gone, aren’t you? |
Yes. What other kinds of mental illness are there? |
Could you excuse me? I’ve been talking so much and I’m a little thirsty. |