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it'snotmyfault
Joined: 14 May 2012
Posts: 527
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 Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:55 am Post subject: |
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One of the things I like about this line of work is the sink or swim attitude that you need.
I spent so long working in the UK listening to people demanding that their rights be met. Expecting special treatment because they were gay/black/mentally ill/single mums/muslim/transgendered/
and on and on.
It sounds harsh I know, but what employers want is someone who can do the job without any drama. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 4:43 am Post subject: |
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| JerkyBoy wrote: |
| Glenski wrote: |
This still applies:
"I would caution anyone with this or a stronger bipolar illness from coming to Japan". |
Sure, but I would also caution you over overextending yourself with regard to advice on this front since you are not a medical practioner, mental health worker, or expert on the bipolar mood disorder spectrum. For instance, your mention of meds is way off target. To the best of my knowledge, few of those with cyclothymia are treated with medication. |
I don't have to be a medical doctor to tell you that employers may ask for a checkup or proof of your current health condition, or that employers may easily balk if you tell them that you have a mild bipolar disorder. Did you even read the links I gave? They should indicate how mental health problems are perceived here (and not just by doctors). Add to such a situation is the fact that an employer would have to deal with a foreigner with such a problem, and the uncertainty of how to deal with them. More cause for hesitation on their part.
I'm not a doctor, but for that very reason, it would have been helpful to know what sort of treatment your disorder entails, instead of leaving it blank, thus forcing me to play Dr. Kildare and search the Internet. Be advised, that what I wrote was not intended just to cover your condition, but it was a heads up for many types of mental health issues.
| Jerky Boy wrote: |
| I used to self-medicate with alcohol, which sometimes made things better but later in life made things worse. |
Lovely, this coming from a guy who tells me not to "overextend" myself on medical advice. I hope you realize that alcohol is widely available here, from booze sold in supermarkets and 7-11, to practically anything being easily purchased in the plethora of vending machines this country affords. I know you said you cut down, but the availability (and other stressful circumstances) may make you think otherwise.
So, do you require any medication? Have you looked into whether it is prescribed here (albeit under a different trade name)? Did you know that many meds in Japan are prescribed with lower doses than outside the country? That might be a concern. Have you looked into whether you can bring any of your country's meds here? There is a limit on amount, and there are certainly limitations on what kind are allowed. Help us to help you.
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| Also, with regard to work-related stress, most serious teaching jobs I have had (in different countries, but particularly in England) have been totally impractical in terms of workload, number of hours and stress. |
Ok, but since you have not worked here, do you know what those conditions would be in Japan?
Also, you wrote "most serious teaching jobs". Well, heads up. Japan's teaching jobs are not all that serious, but you may very well face some of those impractical things. How does an hour's train ride home feel at 9-10pm after working a hard day with students who don't understand even 1/2 of what you said? Who are too shy/embarrassed/culturally repressed to volunteer to answer innocent questions? Who come only to socialize in the classroom, not really study, and who don't have to do any homework (in most eikaiwa), yet expect to improve from once a week lessons? As an ALT, you might be expected to sit during lunch with the students, when you'd prefer silence and solitude. Your JTE may be an ogre and/or not have much better command of English than you do of Japanese. Your job might entail coming in on what you consider your off hours for office meetings or sports club activities. You might not even be allowed to leave the building despite having only 2 classes all day long.
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| In certain cases, these jobs pushed the boundaries of human endurance. To think that Japan could somehow be more stressful is a myth, at least as far as teaching goes. |
You have no idea unless you face them, or hear them from people on forums like this, whom you seek for precisely such advice! Please don't shrug off the responses as less than meaningful just because you've had a tough time elsewhere. You have no clue whether it will be tougher here.
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Yes, of course, that can be disconcerting. But having worked in numerous countries, encountering a language barrier is the norm rather than the exception.
I have studied Japanese upto JLPT N4 and am keen to learn more. It should be OK. |
It can be more than "disconcerting". In all those 12 countries, have you ever worked in an Asian one, where language and culture are so radically different that you may very well find it far from disconcerting? I'm not trying to scare you away, but instead just presenting realities with the little that you're telling us here.
JLPT4 is nothing. You won't be able to read supermarket labels with it. If you are posted in a fairly rural environment (yes, you may apply to Tokyo, but you've already admitted you may have to look elsewhere), you may also not even have English on public transportation. One doesn't have to go too far into the suburbs of Tokyo to experience that.
| sicklyman wrote: |
| I don't think disclosure of such an issue would affect your work visa. |
It may not, but it may affect getting hired, as I've been trying to point out. Jerky Boy keeps bringing up only one employer here (British Council), but that's is unabashedly unrealistic in terms of how many places one has to try before getting hired. |
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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:28 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| sicklyman wrote: |
| I don't think disclosure of such an issue would affect your work visa. |
It may not, but it may affect getting hired, as I've been trying to point out. Jerky Boy keeps bringing up only one employer here (British Council), but that's is unabashedly unrealistic in terms of how many places one has to try before getting hired. |
If you happen to be in an area where the majority of jr / sr high school teachers work through a dispatch agency, then soon after this kind of particular health care issue becomes apparent (either through health check or behaviour- and the OP has already mentioned coming across as odd) with the client school, then the OP may find that he/she is moved to another school or, unfortunately, released from their contract- if the dispatch company wasn't aware of the situation beforehand. And, of course, if they were, then they're comparing people who have years of experience in this country, probably speak far more of the language than the OP, and almost always have some sort of TESOL training (though it could be pretty minimal) with the OP. |
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JerkyBoy
Joined: 12 Jan 2012
Posts: 485
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:39 am Post subject: |
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| Did I use the word 'odd'? |
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JerkyBoy
Joined: 12 Jan 2012
Posts: 485
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 11:18 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| �I don't have to be a medical doctor to tell you that employers may ask for a checkup or proof of your current health condition, or that employers may easily balk if you tell them that you have a mild bipolar disorder. |
�
I was told on these boards that my medical file from home would not be required, therefore, it's plain sailing. A check up is fine - my condition is diagnosed through Q and A and is dependent on my responses.�
I would not dream of disclosing my condition to anyone other than the BC and I have only ever told one employer (in England), in any case.�
My mood is very good and stable. I discovered that by pumping my body full of endorphins and abstaining from alcohol, I could control my mood to a very large extent. The money I used to spend on alcohol, I spend on the best diet I can afford, which leaves me feeling tip-top. I am an avid bodybuilder and in supreme physical condition. All these things help: exercise, diet, sleep, avoiding too much alcohol and caffeine.�
| Glenski wrote: |
| �Be advised, |
So you're a lawyer now.�
| Glenski wrote: |
| �Did you even read the links I gave? |
�
No, I didn't. Should I? How do they pertain to my query exactly?
| Glenski wrote: |
| This still applies:�"I would caution anyone with this or a stronger bipolar illness from coming to Japan". |
Don't you think someone who is bipolar would have thought of that already?� |
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rtm
Joined: 13 Apr 2007
Posts: 1003
Location: US
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 11:31 am Post subject: |
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| JerkyBoy wrote: |
| I was told on these boards that my medical file from home would not be required, therefore, it's plain sailing. |
�
One thing to note: your original question was about whether your diagnosis would impact getting a visa. My understanding is that there is no medical needed for visa purposes. However, what it takes to get a job could be different (i.e., an employer could require a medical history, even though it's not required for visa purposes). For example, the JET program requires you to submit an evaluation of your medical history from a medical doctor (though I don't know to what degree this includes mental health). |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 11:45 am Post subject: |
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rtm,
Thanks for posting that. I've been trying to get it across to Jerky Boy for the better part of this thread.
Look what it has gotten me. Snide remarks. Scoffing at facts. Ignoring information. Avoiding direct questions.
Why should anyone help to perpetuate this thread any further? |
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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:04 pm Post subject: |
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| JerkyBoy wrote: |
| Did I use the word 'odd'? |
No. You wrote
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People just think I'm eccentric and off the wall or whatever.
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Mr. Kalgukshi
Mod Team
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Posts: 6613
Location: Need to know basis only.
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Locked due to snide and off-topic remarks. If you were involved in such behavior, be advised that a repeat of same would be a very bad career move here. |
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