Hikikomori. Réparer l’isolement

Hikikomoris, withdrawers, social invisibles, home recluses...: what are the answers to the social isolation of young people?

The social withdrawal that affects some teenagers (tens of thousands in France) is an ancient phenomenon, but one that is constantly evolving throughout the world. Home confinement is little-known by professionals, and represents a burden for families and a low-level suffering for the young person. At the crossroads of the psychological, social and behavioral, this phenomenon raises questions about youth, the role of the family and society, and also about clinical practice.

Young people at odds with the family rhythm (progressive confinement, immoderate use of screens, rarefaction of real social relations, aberrations in sleeping and eating habits) soon experience an involuntary self-sabotage that can go as far as psychopathology.

Parents, often guilt-ridden, rarely ask for help. Yet knowledge and testimonies are multiplying, and prospects are opening up for parental guidance, multi-family therapy and the intervention of so-called expert families.

This book is aimed at clinicians, family and friends, and medical, social, school and university staff. It is also aimed at young recluses. It provides keys for spotting warning signs and the various stages of confinement, understanding claustrophobic behavior and its mechanisms, and grasping the context. The author addresses the suffering of all, and opens the way to holistic approaches to care.