Depression and Stress: A direct correlation?

I recently self-diagnose myself as suffering from mild depression. My symptom, a total lack of initiative to devote myself for social activities. I remembered it wasn't like that 4 years ago when I first came to Japan. Somehow, the situation slowly degraded and I am now just a pile of slime oozing out a sorry existence doing the absolutely minimum to survive. I am thinking that stress at work has plenty to do with this condition. And folks living and working in the city has plenty of that. Why is it that we hear people say that although staying close by in highly concentrated apartments, yet hardly know their neighbors. Is it an indication that these highly dense dwellings of convenience actually crosses the boundary threshold for comfortable living. Wait a minute, I think there is two issues here that are somewhat interconnected.

1. Depression from Stress.
2. Close-up living quarters from apartments.

People suffer from depression for a variety of reasons. I know that women who are taking care of their children constantly without reprieve do sometimes develop symptoms of depression and in the critical state, feel the urge to commit suicide. You hear stories about 'salarymen', school children, etc feeling depressed. I know there must be numerous studies by shrinks to diagnose and cure these people. I also heard somewhere that you can take medication for it. Wouldn't it be nice to take a pill, and then you feel that you can give a presidential speech the next day, join in 'gotong-royong', or perhaps be the star used-car salesman. I guess, depression is a disease of the mind. Somehow, the chemicals in the brain is not in equilibrium, or the wiring is screwed-up. The best way to beat it is perhaps to get a hold of the brain and tell it who's boss.

I am staying in an apartment in a huge living area called "danchi". Here in Japan, people respect each other's privacy so much that they end-up not talking too much to each other. I know when I was in Singapore and was staying in the HDB apartments. Things wasn't that bad. Of course, you can't throw a rock party and expect your neighbors not call 991, unless ofcourse if you're staying in the university dorm. But people open their doors at least and play their favorite Hokkien songs, Malay prayers, Indian songs what have you and people don't mind too much. Here, in the danchi apartments, you shouldn't talk too loudly, let the kids run around, turn up your TV volume, do repair work etc. And if you need to, you'll have to give prior notice to the entire block. Which explains the proliferation of love hotels. The walls have ears so to speak. So, there special places for people to 「作世界」.

I guess you noticed the lack of coherence in my blog. The reason for this is, I started this topic in February only to pick up the pieces now in October. Anyway, I would like to sum up by saying that, if you have the means, go and get a proper landed house. That will ease your stress having to deal with neighbors. And if you are stressed up from work, let somebody close to you know about it, talking does help to balance your brain. I know it helped me.