【Psychiatrist's Commentary】May: When New Life Fatigue Surfaces, How to Prevent Mental Health Issues?
A survey by Taisho Pharmaceutical found that 83.7% of people starting a new life experienced mental and physical discomfort. Psychiatrist Kiyonobu Hirooka explains prevention and improvement strategies for 'May sickness,' categorizing discomfort into 'depletion type' and 'hypersensitive type,' emphasizing the importance of maintaining composure and emotional resilience.
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- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 20:00
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“Feeling somewhat down,” “It’s hard to think about work or school from the morning,” “Even after resting, the fatigue doesn’t go away”—.
For those who have been working hard in new environments since April, the period around Golden Week is when they are most likely to experience physical and mental discomfort. These conditions, often called “May sickness,” are caused by a combination of factors such as tension from adapting to a new environment, interpersonal stress, lack of sleep, and irregular eating habits.
From April to May, it is a period where tension from adapting to new environments and relationships, lack of sleep, and irregular eating habits tend to overlap.
According to psychiatrist Dr. Kiyonobu Hirooka, May sickness can be broadly categorized into the “depletion type,” where mental and physical energy declines due to overexertion, the “hypersensitive type,” where nerves are strained by new evaluations and interpersonal stimuli, leading to emotional instability, and the “complex type,” which combines both.
Physical and mental discomfort characterizing the “depletion type” and “hypersensitive type” are as shown in the table below.
【Depletion Type】
□ High workload, often unable to finish within regular hours
□ Work is constantly on your mind even on holidays
□ Sleep less than 6 hours on 3 or more days a week
□ Often skip meals or eat only the same things
□ Blame yourself if you can't do things perfectly
□ Alcohol consumption has increased compared to before
【Hypersensitive Type】
□ Words and expressions of superiors and colleagues bother you and you can't get them out of your head
□ When you make a mistake, you dwell on it for too long
□ Even when tired, you can't stop using SNS or playing games late at night
□ Feel anxious if you don't check things multiple times
□ Constantly concerned about others' evaluations and gazes
□ Often feel inferior to those around you
Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. conducted a survey on mental health issues during new life stages, targeting 367 people aged 20 and over nationwide who started a new life in the past three years (2024-2026).
The results showed that 83.7% of respondents experienced some kind of physical or mental discomfort after starting a new life. The most common was the “complex type,” accounting for 32.4% of those experiencing discomfort, followed by the “depletion type” (a type prone to decreased mental and physical energy due to increased workload, lack of sleep, irregular eating habits, etc.) at 29.2%, and the “hypersensitive type” (a type prone to heightened sensitivity to others' evaluations and interpersonal relationships, leading to mental tension) at 22.1%.
Common physical and mental discomforts included: for the “depletion type,” sleeping less than 6 hours on 3 or more days a week (135 people) and blaming oneself if unable to perform perfectly (102 people); for the “hypersensitive type,” dwelling on mistakes for too long (123 people) and feeling anxious if not checking things multiple times (103 people).
Mental health issues are not just about “feeling down” or “weakness of mind”; they manifest as a combination of environmental changes, lifestyle disruptions, and inherent personality traits. Even in such situations, maintaining composure (a state where emotions are not greatly swayed by external stimuli) is crucial for mental health, says Dr. Hirooka. He explains how to prevent and improve mental health issues that tend to occur in May, unraveling them from the perspective of “depletion type” and “hypersensitive type,” including ways of thinking and mindset (psychotherapy), as well as reviewing nutrition and lifestyle habits, and medication.
【Supervised by】Dr. Kiyonobu Hirooka, Director of Hirooka Clinic
Psychiatrist, Instructor, Designated Mental Health Physician.
After graduating from Nihon University School of Medicine, he worked at the University of Tokyo Hospital, Horinouchi Hospital, Kanto Rosai Hospital, etc., before opening Hirooka Clinic in Kohoku Ward, Yokohama City in 1992. He advocates his unique “Affirmative Experience Therapy,” which treats patients from their perspective, and has treated over 10,000 patients. His books include 'The First Book for People with Mental Illness and Their Families' (Ascom, 2024) and 'Hirooka-style Cure for Mental Illness' (Nikkei BP). On January 5, 2026, 'Sorry, I Can't Try Any Harder: Until Those Hurt in a Difficult Society Regain Themselves' (Ascom) will be published.
Mental health issues begin with a decline in “composure” and “emotional cushion.”
Composure refers to a state where emotions are not greatly swayed by external stimuli, maintaining one's center. An emotional cushion acts as a “buffer for the mind” that softens emotional fluctuations when under stress. When this “emotional cushion” functions sufficiently, it is easier to maintain composure even under stress, leading to mental and physical stability. However, when fatigue, lack of sleep, and environmental changes overlap, the function of the emotional cushion weakens, making one more prone to strong depression or prolonged anxiety even from the same events. If this state continues, it leads to mental health issues. The manifestation of mental health issues can be broadly divided into two types: “depletion type” and “hypersensitive type.”
Mental health issues that tend to increase in May are the “depletion type.”
For those who have been working hard in new environments since April, the period around Golden Week is when they are most likely to experience physical and mental discomfort. These conditions, often called “May sickness,” are caused by a combination of factors such as tension from adapting to a new environment, interpersonal stress, lack of sleep, and irregular eating habits.
From April to May, it is a period where tension from adapting to new environments and relationships, lack of sleep, and irregular eating habits tend to overlap.
According to psychiatrist Dr. Kiyonobu Hirooka, May sickness can be broadly categorized into the “depletion type,” where mental and physical energy declines due to overexertion, the “hypersensitive type,” where nerves are strained by new evaluations and interpersonal stimuli, leading to emotional instability, and the “complex type,” which combines both.
Physical and mental discomfort characterizing the “depletion type” and “hypersensitive type” are as shown in the table below.
【Depletion Type】
□ High workload, often unable to finish within regular hours
□ Work is constantly on your mind even on holidays
□ Sleep less than 6 hours on 3 or more days a week
□ Often skip meals or eat only the same things
□ Blame yourself if you can't do things perfectly
□ Alcohol consumption has increased compared to before
【Hypersensitive Type】
□ Words and expressions of superiors and colleagues bother you and you can't get them out of your head
□ When you make a mistake, you dwell on it for too long
□ Even when tired, you can't stop using SNS or playing games late at night
□ Feel anxious if you don't check things multiple times
□ Constantly concerned about others' evaluations and gazes
□ Often feel inferior to those around you
Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. conducted a survey on mental health issues during new life stages, targeting 367 people aged 20 and over nationwide who started a new life in the past three years (2024-2026).
The results showed that 83.7% of respondents experienced some kind of physical or mental discomfort after starting a new life. The most common was the “complex type,” accounting for 32.4% of those experiencing discomfort, followed by the “depletion type” (a type prone to decreased mental and physical energy due to increased workload, lack of sleep, irregular eating habits, etc.) at 29.2%, and the “hypersensitive type” (a type prone to heightened sensitivity to others' evaluations and interpersonal relationships, leading to mental tension) at 22.1%.
Common physical and mental discomforts included: for the “depletion type,” sleeping less than 6 hours on 3 or more days a week (135 people) and blaming oneself if unable to perform perfectly (102 people); for the “hypersensitive type,” dwelling on mistakes for too long (123 people) and feeling anxious if not checking things multiple times (103 people).
Mental health issues are not just about “feeling down” or “weakness of mind”; they manifest as a combination of environmental changes, lifestyle disruptions, and inherent personality traits. Even in such situations, maintaining composure (a state where emotions are not greatly swayed by external stimuli) is crucial for mental health, says Dr. Hirooka. He explains how to prevent and improve mental health issues that tend to occur in May, unraveling them from the perspective of “depletion type” and “hypersensitive type,” including ways of thinking and mindset (psychotherapy), as well as reviewing nutrition and lifestyle habits, and medication.
【Supervised by】Dr. Kiyonobu Hirooka, Director of Hirooka Clinic
Psychiatrist, Instructor, Designated Mental Health Physician.
After graduating from Nihon University School of Medicine, he worked at the University of Tokyo Hospital, Horinouchi Hospital, Kanto Rosai Hospital, etc., before opening Hirooka Clinic in Kohoku Ward, Yokohama City in 1992. He advocates his unique “Affirmative Experience Therapy,” which treats patients from their perspective, and has treated over 10,000 patients. His books include 'The First Book for People with Mental Illness and Their Families' (Ascom, 2024) and 'Hirooka-style Cure for Mental Illness' (Nikkei BP). On January 5, 2026, 'Sorry, I Can't Try Any Harder: Until Those Hurt in a Difficult Society Regain Themselves' (Ascom) will be published.
Mental health issues begin with a decline in “composure” and “emotional cushion.”
Composure refers to a state where emotions are not greatly swayed by external stimuli, maintaining one's center. An emotional cushion acts as a “buffer for the mind” that softens emotional fluctuations when under stress. When this “emotional cushion” functions sufficiently, it is easier to maintain composure even under stress, leading to mental and physical stability. However, when fatigue, lack of sleep, and environmental changes overlap, the function of the emotional cushion weakens, making one more prone to strong depression or prolonged anxiety even from the same events. If this state continues, it leads to mental health issues. The manifestation of mental health issues can be broadly divided into two types: “depletion type” and “hypersensitive type.”
Mental health issues that tend to increase in May are the “depletion type.”