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Foreign workers depressed in Japan

Tips on how to deal with depression in Japan as a trainee

I’ve only been here in Japan for a little over 4 years and yet I feel like I’ve been here for ages. It was a dream destination for me growing up since I loved anime and almost all stuff Japanese but I found myself writing this article about anxiety and depression with living here in Japan.

I am speaking from the perspective of a non-white foreigner living in Japan as that makes a whole world of a difference. A white person’s version of discrimination is way different than what other people of color might be especially labor workers like me.

So here are some tips on how to try to overcome your anxiety and depression while living in Japan as a foreigner.

Tip #1 Learn the Language

It goes without saying. You need to learn their language to be able to communicate with them. To be able to voice out your feelings and for their feelings to be heard. The language barrier is one that is the hardest to overcome but it is essential if you want to survive here in Japan as almost nobody speaks English.

Learning Japanese will not only help you survive but it may also open doors for you. I have been invited to talks, been asked to be an interpreter, and I have met a lot of people and had a lot of experiences just because I could communicate in Japanese.

Tip #2 Find a hobby

I love music. I listen to music every day. I listen to music when I poop when I eat and while I’m taking a shower. I play the guitar and I play every day. I also used to play the piano but couldn’t find the time to study so I sold my piano and instead focused on my guitar. I find myself playing sometimes hours on end and those are some of the times I feel at peace.

Find a hobby. Be it music, or sports, or even learning. A few years back when I didn’t have anything else to do I would learn other stuff like learning to play the piano or learning how to code. I also tried 3D animation. The possibilities are endless.

Tip #3 Make friends

When I say make friends not just any type of friends. Try to choose the people you hang out with. Connect with people who are positive and have the same mindset as you. Try to connect with people who can support you in your journey to recovery.

I was isolated from other foreigners for a time and that left me feeling singled-out and that experience led to me feeling anxious all of the time. I learned though that if I tried to communicate with other people and be at least positive, they reciprocate that feeling and now I have built a circle of friends I can trust and that I know have trust in me.

Tip #4 Positive affirmations

To some people this might be alien to them as in other Asian countries this is not common practice even to this day but it helps. At least it helped me so much.

I have been through a stage where I would dread going to work. In my mind, I thought that everyone hated me and that they were saying things behind my back. I developed insomnia, lack of motivation to go to work or do anything, I would make mistakes at work and that fueled my anxiety even more and because of that, I developed a stutter. Whenever I would try to talk to people I would stutter so much that people just didn’t know what I was saying and that took a blow on my confidence. So much so that I just didn’t want to speak at all. But talking to customers is part of my job so I couldn’t just dodge it.

What I did was I tried positive affirmations where you say to yourself positive things. For example “You can do it”, “You are enough”, “You can make mistakes”, “Don’t worry, nobody is looking”. After a few days, I saw improvement. Not in my stutter just yet but in my outlook in how I approached things. Since I’ve developed a stutter I now know that if I stutter it would be embarrassing and that it would wound my confidence again so now whenever I stutter I just laugh it off. I found that by laughing it off people were more forgiving and understanding and I have since been learning to talk more slowly and clearly to avoid stuttering.

Tip #5 Try

Try stuff out. Go to the gym, play sports, go to the park, learn the language, hell learn a new language French, perhaps! Learn to code, learn how to cook, and prepare a Japanese bento, try new food, go to Matsuris. Try things out. If you are a trainee then you only have 3 years here. There is so much to see, so much to feel, so much to do. Our work is hard, the work times are long but we can’t always be looking at the shadows. Sometimes we have to try and look for the positive. I also learned that YOU can make positive things. YOU can be a source of positivity or at least you can try.

This comes from personal experience. I am no expert and I have no intention of providing expert advice. This is advice from a non-Japanese Asian living in Japan as a foreign worker who has gone through some tough things over the years of my stay here in Japan. Above anything else, you need to seek professional help. Here are some places you can check:

TELL (Tokyo English Lifeline) has a variety of resources available to help you in a time of crisis. Give them a call on 03–5774–0992. They are open every day until 11 p.m.

Tokyo Counseling Services, provides individual counseling, couples counseling, marriage and family counseling, group therapy, and psychotherapy services. Counseling and therapy services are available in English, French, German, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese for all residents living in the Tokyo Metropolis and Kanto region. Tel: [phone]. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @tokyocounseling.

Whatever you do, know that you are not alone and know that there are people who are willing to help.

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6 Tips to save money in Japan as a trainee

This goes without saying but I know that all of us trainees want to be able to save as much money as we can to be able to send to our loved ones back home. But managing your budget can be a very daunting task contrary to what people think and living in one of  the world's most  expensive countries makes it even harder.

There are a ton of ways to be frugal without holding too much back. Here are 6 tips to help your budgeting skills up and ready for 2021!

Tip #1 The 50/30/20 Rule

Some of you might have heard the term the 50/30/20 Rule of saving. Basically what it is is it breaks down your income into just 3 parts, your Needs, Wants and Savings/Debt.

How it works is you put 50% of your income to your needs. Stuff like rent, bills insurance, loan repayments, and basic groceries. Then the 30% you put on your wants like dining out, clothes shopping, holidays and subscriptions like Netflix. The last 20% should go to your savings or your debt.

Pretty straightforward right?

With this tip you don't have to get too technical about each individual item on your list and put a price on each which puts off a lot of people. This trick will not only make you more disciplined, it will also get you closer to being financially free. For more information on the 50/30/20 Rule.

Tip #2 Meal Prep

Meal prepping is not only for body builders or people who want to go in a diet. Meal prepping saves you a lot of time especially for trainees like us. Long hours at work can leave us with almost no time to cook for ourselves with which we rely on conbini bentos or reito mono which is not only expensive but also not very healthy options.

I can usually whip up a 4-day meal in just 15-20 minutes and I just refrigerate them so I have food ready anytime. This not only save me a ton of money, it also give me more time to do the things I need to do like work on my side hustles plus you have a healthy meal ready anytime which can is good for your tired mind and body.

Eating healthy not only boosts your immune system, it also boosts your mental state so keeping healthy is of  utmost importance especially if you're learning Japanese and studying for the JLPT!

Tip #3 Transport

If  you're a trainee here in Japan then chances are you're riding by bike to commute to work. Japan has one of the cleanest cities in the world and the air if you're like me who come from a place with lots of pollution, you know that the air here is indisputably cleaner even in Tokyo so biking is a really nice way to move around.

One big plus is that it keeps you healthy. Riding your bike is so much healthier than riding a car or most especially the train. Keeping your body active is a surefire way to boost your immune system.

Tip #4 Shopping

Shopping for your needs doesn't need to be expensive. DAISO and SEIRA are just one of the many 100 Yen shops that you can find in Japan. They are very cheap and houses most of your everyday needs including household items, toys and even stationary goods you can use for your Japanese language studies! Plus you can find a 100 yen shop virtually everywhere!

If you need larger stuff like furniture and appliances you can always try secondhand shops like GEO for used laptops and cellular phones and for stuff like used clothes, you can check out 2nd Street. 2nd Street is a used clothes store but on the upper end. They usually sell branded stuff so if  you're willing to spend the extra buck, check them out. One more store that's worth looking into is HARD OFF. They are one of the biggest 2nd hand store chains in Japan and you can find almost anything from their stores. From used clothes to used appliances, to furniture to cameras. They have almost everything you might need so definitely check your neighborhood if there's a store near you.

Another plus is that these 2nd hand stores have point systems you can use to save points and use them for purchase. Going to the 2nd hand route not only saves you money, you can also help the environment by recycling so definitely give them a  try!

Tip #5 Point cards

Getting yourself a point card is one of the best things you can do to save money here in Japan. You can save a lot of money when you save and use these points and getting a card isn't even that hard, plus its FREE! I know from experience that you can rack up a lot of points just from everyday purchases like in groceries. I use my Seven bank debit/credit card which has a NANACO (a famous point card here  in Japan) function as my payroll account and every time I put money on my card or every time I receive my pay from my work, I get points. without even doing anything!

But with all the point cards being offered out there choosing which one to go for can be a daunting task especially with everything being in Japanese. My advice is to look at your spending habits and ask yourself, "Where do I usually do my grocery shopping? Do they have point cards available? Can I use that point card for different shops as well?"

Some of the notable point cards that are largely used are NANACO and T-POINT cards. These cards can be used in most establishments. For online purchases Rakuten point cards might be a good card to check out.

Tip #6  Going out with friends

We all need to relieve some of our stresses from work. Long working hours, Never-ending job responsibilities, sending money to our loved ones back home. It takes a toll not only on our mental health but also our physical health so it makes sense that we'd want to chill out some times but going out in Japan can cost quite a bit of money. A beer can cost somewhere around 5$ per glass at a regular izakaya and the food, albeit delicious, can rack up your bill. For a company of 4 people you might be looking at around 10-20,000 yen. Yikes!

There are options you can take though, to be able to have fun and not break the bank! One is Karaoke! Japanese Karaoke bars have separate rooms which offer privacy and comfort plus there's a lot of places that let you bring your own food and drinks! Depending on the karaoke place, a free-time stay will only cost you around 3-4000 yen and some of them offer free drink refills as well! Talk about a sweet deal, eh!

Another type of place you can check out are eat-all-you-can and drink-all-you-can places. There are a lot of them here in Japan if you scour the internet. Eat-all-you-can (Tabehodai) and drink-all-you-can (Nomihodai) are great places you can check out. They are very affordable but very delicious so definitely check them out!

BONUS TIP:

Whenever you are going to go shopping, write a list of all the stuff you need to buy and then bring only the money you intend to spend for that list. Bringing a ton of money while grocery shopping can sometimes be a bad thing because it will tempt you to say "Oh, just this one time." but brining only a set amount of money will not only force you to be frugal, but it also disciplines you to be aware of your spending.