（#Sensitivity #Senses #Connections）Sever the ties to that sense of unease. Let your sensitive heart guide the way

In this article, I would like to reflect on modern society and the workplace environment—and the unreasonable hardships that often lurk within them.

Technology—from search engines to AI—continues to evolve,
but am I the only one who feels that the human heart hasn't quite kept pace?

In the society we live in today, it is often those who live earnestly and conscientiously who end up getting hurt or suffering the most.

Mental health conditions such as depression or schizophrenia
are frequently rooted not in personal weakness,
but in deep-seated distortions within our environment.

I will explain the reality of this situation and discuss the options available for a wounded heart to take that next step forward.

The Decision to Prevent Harm: "Escape"

To ensure no more victims are created, I will tell you this in advance.

When you face a workplace where something feels wrong, or find yourself in a situation that feels suffocating or unsettling,
do not hesitate to "run away" from that place.

Not doubting your own instincts and leaving the scene when something feels off is the most correct and courageous action you can take to protect your own heart and life.

There is no need to bind yourself to social norms or peer pressure from those around you, nor to suppress your intuition.

Trusting Your Sensation of Unease: "Running Away"

The intuition we feel—that "this is strange" or "this is painful"—is the most accurate danger signal our mind and body emit.

If you stay in an unreasonable environment for a long time, its abnormality begins to feel normal, and your senses become numb.

However, the initial sense of unease you felt—"something is wrong here"—is the absolute truth.
Do not doubt your senses; catch those signs as your absolute top priority.

Running Away is Not Defeat, But the Greatest Defense: "Running Away"

Many people blame themselves, thinking:
"Isn't quitting halfway just being weak?"
"Maybe if I endure a little longer, things will change."
However, if you break your mind or body, nothing else matters.

Fighting is not your only option.

Withdrawing yourself from an unreasonable environment and moving to a safe place is neither defeat nor escapism;
it is the most correct and courageous action to protect your own heart and life.

To Reclaim Your Life: "Running Away"

The workplace is not everything in life.

If your current environment chips away at your dignity
and steals your smiles,
making the decision to leave it will be a precious step toward saving your future self.

Please, protect your heart and body above all else.

Running away is the right choice for you to live true to yourself.

Changing Social Rules and a Past Left Behind

It was probably around 2020 when the word "compliance" deeply penetrated society and companies and organizations began to pay attention to it.

Perhaps starting around this period, harassment began to come into view even for the previously oblivious public eye.

Work style reforms and the like also became easier to implement, and
on the surface, at least,
the creation of clean environments began to move forward.

Lawless Past Workplaces

Looking back at the workplace environment before 2020, scenes that are unthinkable today were an everyday occurrence.

In an era when there were no guidelines or standards such as compliance,
many workplaces could truly be called lawless zones.

Cases were overflowing where individuals acted however they pleased, following their own desires without any self-restraint.

It was normal for those in higher positions to yell at those below them and force unreasonable demands upon them.

Actions where those with power prioritized only their own emotions and interests,
stepping on others as stepping stones,
were permitted without any particular reprimand.

In such environments, a specific small number of people had their minds worn down.

The target directed by the majority and group psychology was the "weird guy" who happened to be there.

The Isolated "Righteous Person"

What happens if such a toxic environment is accepted as "normal," and the absolute majority around you don't even question it?

Imagine a group where everyone is convinced that:
"This is the reality of society,"
"Everyone endures it just like this."

Those who could think,
"The reality of society is wrong,"
"The way we work is wrong," or
"We need to change this situation and environment" were few and far between.

In such a situation, what becomes of the stance of the single individual who notices what is right and ethical?

Being the only person keeping your sanity while everyone else around you is losing theirs involves unimaginable loneliness and pain.

Even though your own senses tell you that you are right, the majority continues to deny you by saying,
"There is something wrong with you," or
"You're just being soft."

Wait a minute?
Depression and schizophrenia also tend to be met with impressions like,
"There is something wrong with you"
or "You're just being soft."
Do you see a connection here?

The righteous person is isolated, while the abnormal gather together, exchanging flattery and fake smiles.

Such a distorted composition existed in workplaces everywhere.

Perpetrators in Dysfunctional Workplaces

There are certainly workplaces in this world where ethics have completely collapsed and which can only be described as abnormal.

There are individuals of whom it can be said, "They don't look human to others."
Such a person might have ended up a recluse or become a criminal in an incident.

It is only natural that others did not look human to them.

After all, what those individuals were facing were "malignant monsters."

That place is a mud-like quagmire where humane treatment cannot be expected.

Among the people who were in such workplaces we have looked at so far,
quite a few lacked consideration for those around them
and repeatedly engaged in words and actions that violated morals.

What can be said in common is that
they are extremely insensitive to the pain of others
and exist as beings who scatter their own immaturity and coercive attitudes around them.

They should take responsibility and finally become aware
of what kind of negative impact they are having on those around them.

Those individuals reading this text right now who recognize themselves in it
need to deeply reflect on their own behavior.

That posture of focusing only on appearances and attitudes while
lacking consideration for others
is in itself a form of mental violence against those around them.

A person who habitually behaves in a selfish and crude manner
can never possibly listen to or counsel others on their worries.

Such an attitude should be refrained from.

Insidious Collective Stalking

They relentlessly drove a specific individual into a corner as the target of insidious harassment known as collective stalking.

This is because if a group of multiple people (powerful) unites to attack only a single specific individual (insignificant),
they know they will never lose.

Monitoring as a group,
whispering insults behind people's backs and making a fuss,
isolating that single specific individual.

They must have looked down on them, thinking:
"They're weak,"
"No matter how much we bully them, they won't talk back,"
"They're someone we can do whatever we want to."

This stems from an extremely immature and bottom-tier psychological structure where one can only maintain their pride by beating down the weak.

However,
have they ever imagined what would have happened to the perpetrator side
if that person, who was written off as weak by those around them,had taken serious action?

If the cornered person had reached their limit
and thrown everything away to launch a counterattack,
the perpetrators' occupational status and peaceful lives
would have been lost in an instant.

Even so, that "weird guy" did not take that action.
Because it would become a crime.
Because becoming a major criminal just for handling garbage is simply not worth the trade-off.

Those who took advantage of the target's patience and rationality,
getting carried on and continuing their harassment,
did not even have the self-awareness
of how far across the line their dangerous behavior truly was.

Label of "Misfit"

Now, if you stain yourself with the same vulgar mindset as those rotten crowds,
does that make you an "adapted person" in society?

Aligning with those around you to target a single, unrelated person.
Being mean, taking joy in troubling others, pulling people down, and sucking up to the strong.

Is becoming that kind of human being the right answer to surviving in society?

Absolutely not.
I want to remain righteous.

Yet reality is cruel; those "weird guys" who refused to make such ugly adaptations and tried desperately hard to protect their core convictions
are precisely the ones who easily fall prey to severe mental illnesses like depression symptoms or schizophrenia.

This is because they have pure hearts, rich sensitivities, and are too serious, causing them to absorb all the malice of their surroundings head-on.

And yet, society tries neither to know the filthy environment nor the facts that triggered it,
instead slapping a cold label of "misfit" onto the person who fell ill.

Even though it is society and the workplace that are truly abnormal,
the side that gets hurt and collapses is treated as "a weak person who cannot fit into society."

There is nothing more unreasonable than this.

A Confusing Mind

Here, I will briefly explain the signs that easily appear when your mind reaches its limit, as well as the realities you need to know.

• Depletion of Mental Energy

  A state where, due to continuous exposure to malice, your brain and heart become completely exhausted,
  and you lose the motivation for anything at all.

• Vigilance and Fear Toward Surroundings

  When you experience collective harassment or the like,
  you feel as though everyone's gazes and voices are directed entirely at you,
  making it terrifying to go outside.

• The Wall of Social Prejudice

  From a public lacking understanding of mental illness,
  you may be slapped with a false label as if you lack capability.

• The Importance of Changing Your Environment

  There is no recovery by staying in a rotten place.
  To protect yourself, placing physical distance between yourself and that group is the top priority.

• The Necessity of Rehabilitation and Rebound

  After sustaining heavy damage, rather than immediately aiming to work as you used to,
  rehabilitation is necessary to step-by-step reconnect with society.

Cherish Your Consciousness
A New Option: "Employment Support"

A company originally managed by perpetrators will remain a violent company no matter who takes over.
The peers are also companies where vassals of the violent perpetrators gather.
Steering this into a decent, normal company requires an immense amount of effort.

That is literally, "sweep the dirty things under the rug."
That violent company does not exist in society.
Let's just leave it alone.

Even if you could destroy everything, annihilate the violent company, and fix it,
you would be a criminal.

Even though you didn't commit a crime,
it is the backlash of sealing away such a massive amount of angry energy.

Though you suffered major damage to your heart and managed to escape, you developed a mental illness.

Simply by not committing a criminal act worthy of life imprisonment or the death penalty, you have done brilliantly.

Even if you developed depressive symptoms or schizophrenia,
that does not mean the end of your entire life.

Cutting ties is easy to line up as words, but
when it actually happens,
it involves a lot of worry and
becomes an utterly exhausting experience.

Even after being betrayed by an environment you believed in, suffering massive damage, and sustaining heavy psychological and physical blows, if you think, "I want to try working again" or "I want to have a connection with society,"
that feeling itself is a wonderful source of energy.

Starting from Observing Various Employment Supports

Paths are prepared for you to safely aim for a comeback while maintaining your own pace.

For example, there is also an option called "various employment supports" operated by city governments.

This is a place that provides support for people with disabilities or mental illnesses to find a way of working that suits them.

There are no unethical, barbaric people here like in your former workplace.

You can acquire skills in an appropriate environment while having your weaknesses and wounds understood, aiming toward employment.

It should become a reassuring ally for those who have been crushed by their surroundings, allowing them to take step-by-step progress while reclaiming their true selves.

First, let's properly comfort your wounded self.

If the motivation to work wells up within you once more, rely on appropriate support and walk your own new path.

Guiding the Delicate Heart

Because mental disorders and illnesses are "invisible," they are difficult for those around to understand,
and those affected frequently bear a double burden of suffering.

To deepen our understanding,
we will explore the essence of "invisible mental illnesses" such as depression and schizophrenia,
as well as the environments and human relationships surrounding them.

Have You Ever Experienced a Mental Illness?

For true understanding, "experiencing it for yourself first"
is what carries the greatest power of persuasion.

While I talk about various things in articles like this,
nothing feels more certain than "what one has experienced firsthand."

In your life so far, have you ever experienced a mental illness
such as depression or schizophrenia?

Or perhaps, is there someone close to you struggling with such challenges?

In modern society, losing one's mental balance is by no means an uncommon occurrence.

Unless you actually become the person affected or see someone suffering right beside you,
it is quite difficult to imagine the true pain involved.

First, let's organize the differences between what we ordinarily call "illness" or "injury"
and mental illness.

Visible Injuries and Illnesses vs. Invisible Mental Health Issues

That said, sensitive or delicate individuals can actually "see" what is "invisible" to others.

If someone cannot see those things, it implies a certain lack of sensitivity—
or perhaps a lack of consideration.

There are things in this world where the severity of the situation is immediately apparent just by looking at them.

For instance, imagine someone suffering a serious injury in their daily life.

If they are bleeding,
or have a broken bone and are wearing a cast,
anyone can see it and realize, "Oh, that person is seriously injured," "That looks painful," or "I need to help them."

Even with serious internal illnesses—such as cancer—
there is clear physical evidence, such as X-rays, test results, or surgical scars.

These are all things that are "physically visible" to the human eye.

Visible Injuries and Invisible Injuries

On the other hand, what about conditions like depression or schizophrenia?

These are illnesses involving a disruption in brain function or emotional balance; yet, outwardly, there is no bleeding or broken bone to be seen.

Internally, however, the individual is experiencing severe symptoms—
such as agonizing pain that makes it impossible to even stand,
anxiety so intense it feels like their head is splitting open,
or hearing voices that do not exist in reality.

Despite this, to an outside observer, they may simply appear to be "lacking energy" or "acting a bit strangely."

This is the greatest challenge associated with mental illness.

Misunderstandings and Prejudices Caused by "Invisible Illnesses"

Because the symptoms of the illness itself are "invisible," unfortunately, others often form the wrong impression.

• "Isn't it just feigning sickness?"
• "It's because you're weak, it's just being soft."
• "You feel down because you lack grit."

A great many people who are affected feel wounded by being on the receiving end of such words and gazes.

If someone told a person with a broken bone, "Walk with grit!", everyone would realize that is sheer nonsense.

However, the reason people keep telling someone with depression, "Stop slacking and come to work!" without end
is none other than because that pain is "invisible."

The Barrier Between the Psychologically Sensitive and the Insensitive

People in this world possess a wide variety of personalities and temperaments.

Those who are highly psychologically sensitive
can skillfully pick up on others' emotions
by observing subtle changes in facial expressions
or nuances in tone of voice.

"Oh, they're forcing a smile right now."
"Saying it that way might hurt their feelings."
They naturally view things from the other person's perspective.

On the other hand, however, there are also people who are—
surprisingly—
"slow to pick up on things,"
"insensitive,"
or simply "thoughtless."

Insensitive and Indifferent Personalities

These are the types of people who do not notice at all
how much others are hurting, or
how much the words they utter drive the other person into a corner.

This "delicate sensitivity" and "emotional pain"—
how on earth can we convey it to insensitive people?

This is an extremely difficult problem.

Because insensitive people
frequently do not even realize
that "they are insensitive" or that they should "be careful because they are callous."

In fact, the causes of falling into mental illness, as well as the background behind why people suffering from illnesses suffer even more,
are often heavily related to these "insensitive people."

As pointed out in many similar cases and articles,
if you trace the environmental stress sources that trigger depressive symptoms or schizophrenia,
the ones creating those causes
turn out to be the "guys insensitive to the pain of others" surrounding them.

The insensitively hurled words and unreasonable attitudes of such individuals gradually chip away at a sensitive person's heart,
ultimately driving them into illness.

Furthermore, those who take a somewhat looking-down-on attitude or make fun of depression and schizophrenia are once again these "insensitive guys" who completely fail to understand the true nature of the illness.

It is precisely because they lack the intelligence and kindness to imagine the pain of others
that they can look down on them without a care.

Danger of Staying in a Bad Environment

In this way, people who develop depression or schizophrenia
are by no means "weak people."

Rather,
they are people who are "extraordinarily sensitive, delicate, and pure."

Precisely because their mental antennas are exceptionally high-performing and sensitive,
they pick up a massive amount of noise in a noisy world,
leaving their brains and hearts exhausted.

Such delicate people
should avoid placing themselves in bad environments populated only by "blockheads" who cannot understand the pain of others.

Remaining in such a place not only makes your condition worse,
but it is also a tremendous waste of your life.

No matter how high-performing and beautiful a musical instrument is, if placed among people who treat it roughly,
it will quickly be damaged and break.

Similarly, if a delicate person spends time surrounded by insensitive people,
they lose sight of their own value,
and the brilliance they originally possessed is completely extinguished.

Quietly distance yourself from rough environments that hurt you.

An Unknown Order of Magnitude

Is it what you might call hidden potential?

People who are sensitive enough to suffer from mental illness,
if they choose the right environment,
will often demonstrate an "extraordinary order of magnitude of talent" in specific fields.

Not only in creative worlds like art, literature, and music,
but also in research fields requiring deep thinking,
and professional occupations needing attention to detail,
there are definitely places where the sharpness of their antennas becomes a major weapon.

Precisely because they understand the pain of others,
they can create expressions that move the hearts of many people
or provide wonderful support.

The trouble is that society as an entity tends to be "insensitive and callous."
Society is frequently viewed from an insensitive or blunt perspective.

Because it is a "hidden ability" to begin with,
in order to see it, the observer also needs to be delicate and sensitive.

Even if society's dull eyes call you a "misfit,"
it carries absolutely no truth to it.

Can society adopt a "delicate perspective,"
I wonder?

The "Sensitivity" and "Characteristics" of Those Battling Mental Illness

Let's organize the characteristics to see what kind of traits people who easily fall into depression or schizophrenia, or who carry those symptoms, possess.

At first glance, these are traits that lead to "difficulty in living,"
but on the flip side, they are proof of harboring wonderful potential.

Below, we have summarized their main characteristics and brief explanations in a list.

• High Empathy and Sensitivity

  They possess the ability to sensitively perceive the pain and emotional changes of others
  as if they were their own.

  They are kind-hearted individuals who can stand close to people's feelings.

• Earnestness and a Strong Sense of Responsibility

  They are always sincere toward matters and try to see assigned roles through to the end.

  Consequently, they tend to internalize even the mistakes of others and environmental flaws as their own responsibility.

• Deep Thinking and Insight

  Rather than judging things solely by their surface,
  they tend to think deeply about their background and essence.

  They notice minor contradictions and problems that other people might miss.

• Absorbing Excessive Stress

  They take in all negative atmospheres around them
  and direct stimulation from unreasonable environments head-on.

  Because their mental filter is extremely delicate, they easily consume their energy.

• Unique Perspective and Expression

  They possess unique senses and worldviews untethered by common sense.

  Because their eye for seeing through the essence of things is superior,
  they can sometimes demonstrate special power in creative fields.

Finding a Place Where You Can Protect Yourself and Utilize Your Talents

Because the condition is invisible, there are still aspects that the general public does not fully understand.

However, there is absolutely no need to listen to the words of insensitive people who do not understand, or to blame yourself.

Just as it is natural for someone with a broken bone to take time off for treatment,
when your mind is hurting, your top priority must be to rest properly
and allow yourself to recover.

And as you gradually regain your strength, rather than denying your sensitivity,
please embrace it, recognizing it as a special gift of perception you have been given.

Take your time.

Why not look for a place that understands and cherishes
that delicate sensitivity of yours—
or a field where you can fully unleash your great potential?

It will be a vital step toward enriching the life that lies ahead.