Stress can cause anxiety that creates imbalances in the autonomic nervous system and internal secretions leading to mental and somatic disease. Purpose in life ( PIL ) and ikigai (two social attitudes) help individuals to integrate psychological events and effectively cope with stress. PIL/ ikigai provides an intrinsic motivation and is thought to develop primarily during adolescence. There is a correlation with such positive experiences as spending time in beautiful natural surroundings and exposure to warm human relationships at various developmental stages. PIL/ ikigai is a physiological frontal lobe function. Adolescence is a critical period of development for PIL/ ikigai and neuronal connections are strengthened by secretion of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and β-endorphin. We propose that there is an important physiologic role of PIL/ ikigai and that critical periods of brain development influence development of PIL/ ikigai .
KeywordsStressAnxietyHappinessPurpose in Life/<i>Ikigai</i>Frontal Lobe
Akutagawa, R. (1968). Toshisyun. In Kumonoito and toshisyun (pp. 57-77). Tokyo: Shincho-Sha.
Argyle, M. & Crossland, J. (1987). Dimensions of positive emotions. The British Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 127-137. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1987.tb00773.x
Atkinson, R. L., Atkinson, R. C., Smith, E. E., Ben, D. J., & Nolen-Hoeksema S. (1996). Higard’s introduction to psychology. Philadelphia: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Bekhet, A. B., Zauszniewski, J. A., & Nakhla, W. E. (2008). Happiness: Theoretical and empirical consideration. Nursing Forum, 43, 12-23. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6198.2008.00091.x
Brodal, P. (1998). The central nervous system (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Brown, M., Keynes, R., & Lumsden, A. (2001). The developing brain. New York: Oxford University Press.
Bundra, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Camus, A. (1942). L’étranger. Tokyo: Shincho-Sya.
Cannon, W. B. (1939). The wisdom of the body. New York: WW Norton and Company.
Carlson, N.R. (2007). Physiology of behavior (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Damrosch, D. (2003). What is world literature? Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Easterlin, R.A. (1995). Will raising the income of all increase the happiness of all? Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 27, 35-47. doi:10.1016/0167-2681(95)00003-B
Easterlin, R. A., McVey, L. A., Switek, M., Sawangfa, O., & Zweig, S. (2010). The happiness-income paradox revised. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107, 22463-22468. doi:10.1073/pnas.1015962107
Frankl, V. E. (1972a). The meaning of meaninglessness: A challenge to psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 32, 85-89. doi:10.1007/BF01872487
Frankl, V. E. (1972b). Ausgew?hlte Vortr?ge über Logotherapie. Bern: Verlag Hans Huber.
Frankl, V. E. (1975). Der Unbedingte Mensch. Bern: Verlag Hans Huber.
Freddi, G. & Romàn-Pumar, J. L. (2011). Evidence-based medicine: What it can and cannot do. Annali dell’Istituto superiore di sanità, 47, 22-25.
Frey, B. S. & Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic Literature, 40, 402-435. doi:10.1257/002205102320161320
Gavle, R. G. (2009). Co-creating meaningful structure within long-term psychotherapy group culture. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 59, 311-333. doi:10.1521/ijgp.2009.59.3.311
Goto, T., & Kamada, K. (1960). Taiheiki. Tokyo: Iwanami-Shoten.
Hawkes, C. H. (1992). Endorphins: The basis of pleasure? Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry, 55, 247-250. doi:10.1136/jnnp.55.4.247
Hayashi, K. (2011). Gitai-utsubyo/shingata-utsubyo. Tokyo: Hoken-Dojin-Sha.
Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2001). Emotional stability as a major dimension of happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 3, 1357-1364. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00229-4
Ishida, I. (2008). Sora wa kyo mo aoika? Tokyo: Nihon-Keizaishimbun-Shuppan-Sha.
Ishida, R. (2008a). Correlation between purpose in life (ikigai) and state anxiety in schizoid temperament with consideration of early life, youth, and adulthood experiences. Acta Medica et Biologica (Niigata), 56, 27-32.
Ishida, R. (2008b). Correlation between social desirability and autonomic nervous function under goal-oriented stress (mental arithmetic) with consideration of parental attitudes. The Autonomic Nervous System (Tokyo), 45, 242-249.
Ishida, R. (2011). Enormous earthquake in Japan: Coping with stress using purpose-in-life/ikigai. Psychology, 2, 773-776. doi:10.4236/psych.2011.28118
Ishida, R. & Okada, M. (2006). Effects of a firm purpose in life on anxiety and sympathetic nervous activity caused by emotional stress: assessment by psycho-physiological method. Stress and Health, 22, 275-281. doi:10.1002/smi.1095
Ishida, R. & Okada, M. (2011a). Factors influencing the development of “Purpose in Life” and its relationship to coping with mental stress. Psychology, 2, 29-34. doi:10.4236/psych.2011.21005
Ishida, R. & Okada, M. (2011b). Emotion and the autonomic nervous activity against psychological stress are affected by firmness of purpose in life. Health (London), 3, 507-511.
Ishida, R & Okada, M. (2011c). Association of trait anxiety and social desirability with white blood cell counts. The Open Psychiatry Journal, 5, 1-4. doi:10.2174/1874354401105010001
Ishida, R., Okada, M., & Bando, T. (2004a). Relation between level of purpose-in-life and the autonomic nervous function under a mental stress. Niigata Igakkai Zasshi, 2118, 333-339.
Ishida, R., Okada, M., & Bando, T. (2004b). Evaluations of the adaptation to stressors by using psycho-physiological methods: Contribution to the youth education. The Autonomic Nervous System (Tokyo), 44, 419-422.
Jetter, D. (1992). Geschichte der Medizin. Stuttgart: Georg Thieme Verlag.
Jisei, K. (1600). Sai kon tan. Tokyo: Discover 21, Inc.
Kamiya, M. (2004). Ikigai ni tsuite. Tokyo: Misuzu-Shobo.
Kanada, Y. (2009). Teinen-go wo tanoshimu hito/tanoshimenai hito. Tokyo: Yosen-Shya.
Kida, G. (2006). Gendai shiso. Tokyo: Shin-Shokan.
Kierkegaard, S. A. (1844). Begrebet angest. Tokyo: Iwanami-Shoten.
Komatsu, H. (2009). I-Ro-Ha uta. Tokyo: Kohdan-Shya.
Korelitz, K. E., & Ernst, M. (2009). Cerebral maturation in adolescence. L’Encéphale, 35, 182-189.
Kremer, H., & Ironson, G. (2009). Everything changed: Spiritual transformation in people with HIV. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 39, 243-262. doi:10.2190/PM.39.3.c
Kuroda, M. (1969). Kokoro no eisei. Tokyo: Kyodo-Shuppan.
Levinthal, C. F. (1988). Messengers of paradise: Opiates and the brain. New York: Anchor Press Doubleday.
Martin, F. P., Rezzi, S., Peré-Trepat, E., Kamlage, B., Collino, S., Leibold, E., Kastler, J., Rein, D., Fay, L.B., & Kochhar, S. (2009). Metabolic effects of dark chocolate consumption on energy, gut microbiota, and stress-related metabolism in free-living subjects. Journal of Proteome Research, 8, 5568-5579. doi:10.1021/pr900607v
Mesulam, M-Marsel. (2002). Principals of frontal lobe function. In D. T. Stuss, & R. T. Knight (Eds.), The human frontal lobes: Transcending the default mode through contingent encoding (pp. 8-30). New York: Oxford University Press.
Moore, C. A. (1951). Essays in east-west philosophy-an attempt at world philosophical synthesis. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.
Neale, J., Nettleton, S., & Pickering, L. (2011). What is the role of harm reduction when drug users say they want abstinence? International Journal of Drug Policy, 22, 189-193. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2010.09.007
Oei, T. P., & Gorden, L. M. (2008). Psychological factors related to gambling abstinence and relapse in members of gamblers anonymous. The Journal of Gambling Studies, 24, 91-105. doi:10.1007/s10899-007-9071-7
Ofman, W. V. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. In H. I. Kaplan, A. M. Freedman, & B. L. Sadock (Eds.). Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry/III (pp. 837-847). Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins Company.
Ogawa, T. (2005). Igaku no rekishi, Tokyo; Chuo-Shinsyo.
Phenix, P. H. (1966). Education and the worship of god. Philadelphia, PENN: The Westminster Press.
Rousseau, J. J. (1762). émile ou de l’éducation. Tokyo: Iwanami-Shoten.
Saito, T. (2008). Shyakaiteki hikikomori. Tokyo: PHP-Shinshyo.
Selye, H. (1936). A syndrome produced by diverse nocuous agents. Nature, 138, 32. doi:10.1038/138032a0
Selye, H. (1973). The evolution of the stress concept. American Psychologist, 61, 692-699.
Smith, E. E., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B. K., & Loftus, G. R. (2003). Atkinson & Hilgard’s introduction to psychology (14th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson.
Solomon, E. P., Berg, L. R., & Martin, D. W. (2011). Biology (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Takagi, I., Ozawa, M., Atsumi, K., & Kindaichi, H. (1959). Heike monogatari. Tokyo: Iwanami-Shoten.
The Asahi Shimbun, March 12, 2011.
The Fukushima Mimpo, January 18, 2012.
The Fukushima Minyu, January 16, 2012.
The Fukushima Minyu, January 18, 2012.
The Japan Agricultural News, January 12, 2012.
The Japan Agricultural News, January 17, 2012.
The Manichi Shimbun, October 31 2001.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, January 20, 2012.
The Niigata Nippo, March 12, 2011.
The Sankei Shimbun, January 22, 2012.
The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 10, 2011.
Waisberg, J. L., & Porter, J. E. (1994). Purpose in life and outcome of treatment for alcohol dependence. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 33, 49-63. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8260.1994.tb01093.x