Hikikomori : How families and caregivers can support individuals in withdrawal and help them take steps towards recovery

The condition named Hikikomori by the Japanese psychiatrist Saito Tamaki describes the suffering of young people who withdraw from society, abandon their studies, jobs and social life to lock themselves in a room, usually at their parents´ house. Driven by Internet addiction and isolation during the pandemic, this phenomenon has only gotten worse. This problem has two key pieces: results-orientated societies and family nucleus that generate extended dependency in adolescents. Find out how the phenomenon of the hikikomori spread outside of Japan and the Asian world, and how the Covid-19 epidemic could affect its spread.