Shoujo Jiten - Vol. 3 Ch. 12 - Sleep Girl

"I'll be better off never waking up."
It's amazing what the mind can trick itself into doing. Also scary.
 
Its kinda cute how comfortable Yachiko has become with Giko. Not only does he practically live in her skirt, they also share the same bed and she's comforted by his presence in it.
 
Reminds me of Mr. Benedict from the Mysterious Benedict Society. He also has narcolepsy. Surprised that no one considered it was a medical condition beforehand, also surprised that the author drew the roaches so cartooony when everything is normally more detailed.
 
i know that the mom apologized and all but also, imagine abandoning your child over something which clearly isn't their fault. how willing to intentionally misinterpret their behaviour do you have to be to assume that their falling asleep randomly despite their efforts otherwise to the point that they've repeated a year of school twice is due to their lack of moral fiber? this is just a hogwild level of negligent behaviour from nemu's mom. especially when you consider that it was a marked change how she used to be.
 
@sleepyknight Your username is oddly appropriate for this chapter. But yeah, it's pretty damn fucked up how much she went through to the point of attempting suicide all because her mother couldn't think to get her checked by a doctor.
 
A pretty dark chapter.. I was actually surprised to see that an actual medical diagnosis was attributed to her condition!! I always feel like in manga it's easy to just mark this off as a 'quirk' rather than a serious medical condition. I even thought it was going to be some spirit possession thing before something that's treatable by a doctor.

Giko hiding in the gaps of Nemu's hair was so cute!! Glad he was there to save her from that truck!
 
I always seem to forget that in Japan, neurodegenerative diseases and mental illness are such a stigmatized thing that people go into their adulthood without being diagnosed thanks to the workaholic culture. I wonder how long it's going to be before this is something that is addressed more readily.
 
@dArkus_Orion, its the same in the united states, canada, england etc tho? like where do you live where there's available/ destigmatized access to mental health services . Because for most people in the us getting diagnosed and getting treatment for something which will in all likelihood render them unable to work is like, not easy. Even if someone does manage to navigate the health system to the extent that they're legally recognized as requiring aid its not really easy living on disability? you've got strict income limits or you're disqualified, you can't get married or your partner is considered the person responsible for your continued care and you're disqualified and you're constantly living under the specter of being institutionalized/robbed of your autonomy. Like, this isn't a uniquely Japanese problem, it exists in every country which equivocates one's rights to autonomy and respect with their ability to work
 
@sleepyknight You're right but also ignorant of japanese culture. There mental health is still heavily stigmatized and not taken seriously, japan isn't known for it's suicide issue/rates for no reason. Over there it's not rare for people to work until they drop dead. Look up mental health stigma in japan, you'll find a long and detailed history that is still ongoing. It's similar in korea as well.
 
@sleepyknight
To be fair to the mother, my own mother had a somewhat similar reaction to my narcolepsy diagnosis. Never actually abandoning but just not understanding. It's strange when one day something as benign as sleep actually becomes a problem, so I can somewhat understand why she would assume it's laziness instead of something more seroius.
 
@Watyerbottler,i know that reactions like nemu's mom aren't uncommon and are actually the norm. ig the perspective that im coming from is one where like, even if its not from my personal experience, i know that there are parents who will recognize marked changes in their childrens behavior and then, rather than castigating, try to help them. and i resent that the predominant narrative around manifestations of mental illness in children is one wherein abandoning them or attempting to discipline it out of them is viewed as justifiable unless its explicitly labelled as an unchangeable biological reality
 
@Watyerbottler I hope this doesn't bother you, but does narcolepsy just occur out of the blue, or does it gradually worsen as it is left untreated? I was wondering if Nemu's mum might've not noticed because Nemu's symptons didn't occur in a short time frame.
 
@eb_flat
For me at least it developed in the summer between middle school and high school. So it's pretty quick. There really wasn't any warning either, since it was summer it wasn't abnormal to sleep in and stuff. Only when school started, with a more rigorous schedule, did it become apparent there was something wrong.
 

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