
What it's like to live with invisible illnesses in Japan
About this episode
Meet Hanna, an activist who has been living with chronic illnesses like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as PTSD. She sits down to talk to us about her experiences living with invisible illness in Japan, and her views on Japan's medial and social welfare systems.
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0:00 Intro
0:26 Some context from Tobi
2:32 Meet Hanna
3:14 When her pain started
5:13 Response from doctors
7:40 Realizing her situation is not normal
9:39 Breaking free from her family
12:27 What are Hanna's illnesses?
13:50 Understanding her own life
15:08 Starting social media
17:37 Japanese health care/social support
20:04 Daily life for Hanna
23:13 Hanna's medication
24:37 Social media response
26:26 Has Hanna's messaged reached researchers?
28:58 What should change in Japan?
32:12 Starting a GoFundMe
38:31 Hanna's goals
39:59 Hanna's dreams
42:14 How Hanna experiences pain
44:41 Dealing with prejudice
45:44 Message from Hanna
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