One modern analyst, Naoko Miyaji, has proposed Dazai was suffering from complex post-traumatic stress disorder when he wrote the book.
wˈʌn mˈɑːdɚn ˈænɐlˌɪst, neɪˈɑːkoʊ mˈɪjædʒi, hɐz pɹəpˈoʊzd dˈæzaɪ wʌz sˈʌfɚɹɪŋ fɹʌm kˈɑːmplɛks pˈoʊsttɹɔːmˈæɾɪk stɹˈɛs dɪsˈoːɹdɚ wɛn hiː ɹˈoʊt ðə bˈʊk.