Regards to Mental Condition on the Application

[Protestah]

So to start this off first and foremost on the application in regards to mental conditions I wrote N/A but my question may not be in regards to whether I was completely lying but whether my justification from not putting my depression as a condition will be acceptable and not count for immediate disqualification.

My grades are quite sub-par (no idea how I got an interview) and if they ask the "why are your grades so low" question I feel the need to answer honestly. My question to you all is whether my justification/perspective on why I did not put it down as a condition is acceptable whatsoever.

In first year I went to a university in a completely different region of Canada and I struggled socially, emotionally, and overall my mental stability put me in a state where I would never leave my bed and skip all my classes. I realized later while having an episode that this was not at all normal and I had to make the steps to find out what exactly was wrong with me. I went to a school program that recommended me to a psychiatrist in the town I was in. After a phone conversation with several questions and going in to meet with her she stated that she felt I had clinical depression and recommended me take medication and in essence be recorded in the institution as someone with mental deficiencies. Being the so called "golden child" of my family, coupled with the several family complications that I won't go into, I felt that I could not accept this as a truth for myself. More importantly, after I recognized that it was alright to have weaknesses that I could not accept this weakness to control my life any longer. I took the necessary steps throughout the remainder of the year, and the following year, figuring out strategies to better cope with this condition. At this point in my life it is no longer an issue to me, at least not one I can solve almost immediately, and since I was never officially diagnosed I felt it would be lying if I put it in my application.

Does my explanation of my situation justify my withholding of information or do you believe they will disqualify me anyways simply based on the fact that I did so.

[Frap]

If it won't come up on the medical assessment form that you need a physician to complete, it won't count as a discrepancy/disqualification.

If they do ask "why were your grades so low?" just make up some "bad but good" BS like "it wasn't the right course for me at the time but I turned it around towards the end and made it work, etc etc" - Why would you say "I was depressed" and risk them looking at your medical form and give them a potential opportunity to disqualify you?

I get being honest, but there's being honest and being foolhardy.

[webstaa]

Maybe, maybe not.

The interview seems to work like an advisory panel instead of a normal interview. I'm sure the consular staff has the power to DQ interviewees, but the opinions of the other two are probably just taken under advisement. If you made it to the interview with anything mental health related on your application, you probably have the same chance as anybody else in terms of getting shortlisted/getting a placement. They'd probably look at your most recent/last few semesters of grades more closely and try to assess if those problems still seem to be affecting you. If you were energetic, or at least engaging at the interview, it probably won't matter too much.

[Ini]

If you fell into a massive depression moving within your own country what do you think is going to happen if you move to the other side of the world? Is JET really the best thing for you?

[mothy]

If you fell into a massive depression moving within your own country what do you think is going to happen if you move to the other side of the world? Is JET really the best thing for you?

But this time they'll be riding rainbow unicorns in Japan, so totally different.

[Protestah]

But this time they'll be riding rainbow unicorns in Japan, so totally different.

As long as I get my pot of gold at the end of those rainbow unicorns I'm happy. In reply to @Ini it was more just me being quite green in terms of my mentality towards the world in which I hope I've grown in those four years.

[Jiggit]

Hi Protestah, I feel like I can really speak to your position, I felt much the same way before coming here. Just so you know, I would bet money you're going to end up depressed in Japan too. Have fun!

[OatsCurrySummer]

^ And then we wonder why new people never stick around on this forum.

But in all honesty, do make sure your shit is completely sorted out before coming here. It does no good to be that foreigner who flakes in under a year and gives the program a bad (read: worse) name, because yeah, living here is hard as shit. It's lonely as hell, and gonna test you in ways you didn't think possible. But if you face it head on, you're gonna grow as a person much faster than you could have imagined.
If you think I am an naive child now (and I am), you should have seen the insufferable brat I was just a year ago. I think I've changed more is this one year alone than my previous five years in Toronto combined.
As for the interview, I don't think it'll do you good to mention it. Say something about struggling academically in school and then learned better study techniques/practiced self-discipline or something to that effect. Shows you are capable of career-related improvement. Like the others have said, no one's going to want to hire the person who spent a year in bed and invest lots of money to send them to a foreign country.

[Protestah]

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions, especially the trolls (got to love the sass), you guys helped me solidify what my response will be.

[OatsCurrySummer]

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions, especially the trolls (got to love the sass), you guys helped me solidify what my response will be.

Good luck, and don't let tha h8rs get u down

[Jiggit]

I know exactly why people don't stick around. People just want to be encouraged and affirmed and others give them that because it makes them feel good about themselves too. Regardless of whether that is actually what they need.

OP for what it's worth I wasn't trolling. I do think whatever you do you need to take the most honest course though.

[webstaa]

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions, especially the trolls (got to love the sass), you guys helped me solidify what my response will be.

If I had any one piece of advice for anyone (not just people who've dealt with issues like these) it'd be: Be sure you're fine to be by yourself. Even if you make friends in the community, or friends with other JETs/foreigners, it's possible that you'll spend the majority of your time feeling like your all alone. For some people, it's a new experience that crushes their souls, and for others it's exactly what they want.

[Lianwen]

^agreed

To OP - I was in a similar situation as you. My grades were meh in general and I experienced a bout of depression because of that. It did come up in the interview and I mentioned I had developed coping skills that ended up helping in the long run. But I agree with Webstaa; it didn't matter how good my coping skills were when I got here my first winter as I still fell in a funk and didn't come out of it for sometime because I always felt lonely.

[OatsCurrySummer]

Probably tmi but w/e: Back in Canada, I had managed to get my eating disorders (plural because I began binge eating as a result of prior starvation) under control on my own because I didn't want medication and treatment showing up on my records. I was doing great, had everything under control, lost a lot of weight, exercised regularly and could enjoy the occasional indulgence without the guilt that would have formally sent me into a spiral. But then I came to Japan, and everything changed. I no longer had access to my "safe" foods, my eating schedule became irregular due to frequent parties and enkais, I couldn't continue being vegan because of mandatory school lunches, and general loneliness led me to overeat and subsequently gain close to forty pounds. Only a month ago did I finally hit rock bottom and decided to change through frequent exercise and maintaining a vegetarian diet at home. All I'm saying is that I thought I had my shit sorted out when I came here, I truly did, but wasn't at all prepared to have all my progress undone and then some. I think everyone else on the thread is in agreement there. Your struggles and anxieties in your own country will be amplified by ten here. They don't go away just because you moved to the other side of the world. But you'll be a better person for it if you face them head on.

[Jiggit]

You guys basically said what I said but tried to act like you're better now even though you haven't actually fixed any of your problems yet.

Oh and if you think I'm being mean for the sake of it: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...-t-tell-anyone

[OatsCurrySummer]

Never claimed I fixed it, but am learning better coping mechanisms ^

And that's a great article, thanks for sharing.

[Satori Shinobi]

You guys basically said what I said but tried to act like you're better now even though you haven't actually fixed any of your problems yet.

Oh and if you think I'm being mean for the sake of it: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...-t-tell-anyone

So telling students who don't care/can't understand is just as good right?

[mrcharisma]

Probably tmi but w/e: Back in Canada, I had managed to get my eating disorders (plural because I began binge eating as a result of prior starvation) under control on my own because I didn't want medication and treatment showing up on my records. I was doing great, had everything under control, lost a lot of weight, exercised regularly and could enjoy the occasional indulgence without the guilt that would have formally sent me into a spiral. But then I came to Japan, and everything changed. I no longer had access to my "safe" foods, my eating schedule became irregular due to frequent parties and enkais, I couldn't continue being vegan because of mandatory school lunches, and general loneliness led me to overeat and subsequently gain close to forty pounds. Only a month ago did I finally hit rock bottom and decided to change through frequent exercise and maintaining a vegetarian diet at home. All I'm saying is that I thought I had my shit sorted out when I came here, I truly did, but wasn't at all prepared to have all my progress undone and then some. I think everyone else on the thread is in agreement there. Your struggles and anxieties in your own country will be amplified by ten here. They don't go away just because you moved to the other side of the world. But you'll be a better person for it if you face them head on.

The weight thing is strange one. Female Jets always seem to put on weight but I shoved melonpan into my face every day and still went home looking like I'd done 3 years in Dachau.

[OatsCurrySummer]

The weight thing is strange one. Female Jets always seem to put on weight but I shoved melonpan into my face every day and still went home looking like I'd done 3 years in Dachau.

Fortunate are the ones who can do so. I merely look at bread and gain five pounds.

[Jiggit]

Your metabolism almost certainly isn't much different from the average. Women are supposed to eat less than men.