EDIT 2: Phoned up a couple of Japanese clinics. The first one didn't accept non-Japanese, but the second one did. Doctor was chill and easy to talk to, and the questionnaires they gave me were straightforward.
After my 3-hour long assessment the doctor said "you've definitely got ADHD, and you might have autism but we're not sure. We have an in-depth autism assessment but it's difficult for non-Japanese people to understand." Anyway I'm glad to get the ADHD thing out of the way. Maybe in the future I'll go somewhere else for the 'tism. Thanks all. 😀
EDIT: Thanks for all your responses! I'm probably just going to bite the bullet and look for a Japanese-speaking psychiatrist near me (will ask the local foreigner support centre for help finding a good one).
Hi,
I'm a guy in his 20s currently living in a rural part of Southern Japan for nearly a year now, currently on SSRIs (75mg of Sertraline daily).
I've been enjoying my time here a lot, but for the past few months I've been finding it incredibly difficult to:
- focus during conversations (both in Japanese and English)
- wake up in the morning
- turn up to work on time
- not get distracted by random sounds
- prioritise important tasks
- manage my emotions
- not fuck up relationships with people,
- study (for my N1 exam in 2 weeks!! 😭)
- clean my apartment
I could go on and on, but these are the main things.
Also, it's probably worth mentioning that I've known for a very long time that I'm not neurotypical.
I distinctly remember being called "lazy" and "a daydreamer" by my teachers and my parents throughout my childhood.
My mother was diagnosed with ADHD (combination type) two years ago.
As for my father… Well, we're not sure what he has, but let's just say he's not neurotypical either.
Both of my siblings also exhibit very similar symptoms to me, with one of them being particularly scatterbrained.
I'd like to get an ADHD diagnosis and preferably medicated while in Japan, as I love living here… but recently the symptoms have just been to much to bear, especially since I'm living on my own.
My Japanese is N2 but I feel like I'd be a lot more comfortable talking about something like this in English.
So my question is this: How feasible would it be to find an English-speaking ADHD specialist outside of Tokyo?
I looked around on google and most of them seem to be in Tokyo. Would I have to arrange an appointment and then fly over there?
Supposing it's not practical to find an English doctor, then I'm alright with a Japanese doctor. I'll admit that I'm a bit worried about the cultural barrier since I didn't have a great time the last time I went to a doctor (I went to get more SSRIs and the doctor insisted that I take melatonin while asking if I needed an interpreter about 4 times).
I'd love to hear other people's experiences and/or opinions on this. Anything will do. Thanks for reading🙏
(Oh btw I have medical insurance)
TLDR: is it possible to get an ADHD diagnosis in English in rural Japan? If not what's the most practical thing to do?
by bigfluffydoggo