Next “Peer Station Café”

Mini-Psych I

Vol. 2: Rainy season front with cloudy skies… A united front with Peer-Tomo (Peer-Consultation)

JUNE 2020

Usually, April and May are the time when new lifestyles and relationships are likely to start, but this year, it may

have been a period when you were forced to experience formerly unexpected lifestyles and/or ways of

communication due to coronavirus-related “stay-at-home” requests and online orientations/lectures. You may have

met your instructors, peers, seniors and juniors for the very first time through your screen. Also, those who had

been motivated to work hard for study/research, extracurricular activities and part-time jobs from the new school

year, might have felt like they had got a smack in the face or had been left hanging in the air.

Having experienced these things, most of you may recently have gotten more opportunities to gradually start

going out or meeting people again along with the relaxing/cancelling of states of emergency and temporary closure

requests from late May. It may have seemed, though not completely so, as if the start of our new school year

would come 2 or 3 months later than usual years (although it is not fully predictable how the coronavirus

situation could change or settle from now). Then, it has occurred to me like, “what would the ‘gogatsu-byo’ be

like this year?”

●Date and Time：June 22, 2020（Mon）13:30～15:00●Place：Web Meeting Service ”Zoom”（Details after sign-up）●For：Students of Osaka University ●Preparations：Nothing in particular●Application：Email to seikatsu-stu@ml.office.osaka-u.ac.jp with your full name, affiliation（academic department or research department、academic year, student ID number) and contact information by June 19 (Fri)●Contact Phone: 06‐6850‐6651●For those not confident with speaking on Zoom, please notify us when applying

For the new school year, with the coming of June, it is that time when classes and such

are going into full swing, but this year, we have spent a lot of time at home and restoring

our lifestyles is a bit difficult, isn’t it? There are probably many of you students whose

daily rhythm has broken down and who feel that it is difficult to manage

assignments, errands and the like in a timely manner.

“Gogatsu-byo” is not an official medical term, but is considered as a generic term

for when one’s mental and/or physical health is affected by not being able to

adjust well to new environments such as starting a new school, new school

year, or entering a new company. The symptoms are varied, including fatigue,

loss of appetite, sleeplessness, apathy, anxiety, impatience, and depressive

states. Depending on the symptoms and situation, it is possible to be diagnosed with

‘adjustment disorder’ or ‘depression’, or you may have it prolonged or worsened as a

progressed illness.

It may appear as a condition different from past gogatsu-byo or perhaps one

surpassing the category of gogatsu-byo due to this so far unexperienced start of a

new year, new lifestyle and so on. If you are having issues such as bad health,

slipping out of your daily rhythm, or having problems daily, please feel free to come

by and consult with our peer counselors.

Peer Station Café Vol.1 in 2020

“Time Management Strategic Meet-up”

In this first event of the year, our purpose is to work to lighten these worries a little. We will look

for tricks to use time in your life effectively by both filling out questionnaires and lists

looking back on your lifestyle behaviors and awareness and by talking with each other and

staff together.

It is okay to leave the event halfway or just observe, so please join freely!

Reference: Japan Student Services Organization. University and Students: Gogatsu-byo -- Support for a Change in Environment-- (May, 2005 Edition)

PeerNewsletter

Health and Counseling Center,

Counseling and Support Division,Peer Consultation

Based on popularity, we have closed applications for this session.We are planning on another event under the same theme in the near future. Please attend!

How would “gogatsu-byo” (May Blues) be this year?!

What is “Peer-Tomo*”(Peer Consultation)?

◆At the Health and Counseling Support Center’s Counseling and Support Division, we, “Peer-Tomo,” offer individual

consultations on all aspects of student life. Our counselors major in clinical psychology at our Graduate School of

Human Sciences. They are graduate students themselves acting as your peer advisors(counselors) along with

instructors.

◆We handle various student life issues related to, not only school work, academic path, interpersonal relationship

worries, etc., but also cult organizations, consumer troubles, student group activities, financial troubles, and so on.

◆We also hold monthly “Peer Station Café” events where you can interact with fellow students through the sharing of

common experiences. It provides a place where fellow students can interact with each other through sharing an

experience different from the daily norm.

http://hacc.osaka-u.ac.jp

Open Hours, Locations, and Contact Information

Suita CampusToyonaka Campus

13 : 00 ～ 17 : 00

MonMon, Thu, Fri

（06） 6850 – 6651campuslifekenkou-peer@office.osaka-u.ac.jp

Hours

Days

Contact

12 : 30 ～ 16 : 30

Toyonaka Suita

Student Service and Union, 3rd FloorCybermedia Suita Educational

Training Center, 2nd Floor

Mini-Psych II

Your amount of activity has probably decreased as a result of the coronavirus, right? Along with this decrease in

activity, fear of infection and the like, the word “Coronavirus Depression” has publicly been used. Indeed, it is

scary and there may be a lot of fears among catching and transmitting it. Consequently, many negative thoughts

will probably also emerge. For this situation, the president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America,

Dr. Luana Marques, advocates avoiding or reducing coronavirus depression by setting aside some time when we

get away from all the information on our cell phones and television, by maintaining our usual lifestyles,

and by talking with other people and maintaining connectedness.

Now conversely, are there no positive sides to all this? I feel like I will hear people say “If there were any, then

we wouldn’t be suffering this much,” but this conception of how we can look at positive sides, which sounds

simplistic, firmly exists within psychotherapy. “Reframing” in family therapy is the saying in a different way of

one’s current way of thinking. For example, when perceiving the 50% of water in a glass as “already half-empty”

or as “still half-full”, the impression is quite different, right? Additionally, Cognitive Therapy’s Cognitive

Restructuring evaluates the merits/demerits of continuing to hold on to the current cognition(way of thinking, way

of perceiving) and approaches a new way of thinking that is not overly-negative. It is a simple method and

sounds easy, but it is much more difficult to change one’s established ways of thinking all by oneself alone. When

doing so, I believe that there is a lot of meaning in talking with family and friends around you, and please definitely

make use of us at Peer Friends, too!

*”Tomo” is the abbreviation of “Tomodachi” meaning “Friend(s)” in Japanese

✿ Mental Wellness Check ✿

□It is hard to wake up in the morning.

□Though I believe I slept well, I don’t feel

refreshed.

□I am told that my face seems pale by

others around me.

□I have continued unexplained pains such as

headaches or backaches.

□My room hasn’t been tidied.

□It feels like a bother to go to school.

□I can’t readily make decision on anything.

□Times when I feel irritated or anxious have

increased.

□I have an unusually strong appetite or loss

of appetite.

How many of these apply to you? During

these hectic days, please try listening to

that little voice inside your heart.

*Not taking new casesin June, 2020