智慧人生篇章 第36期:何以解忧?

 　　Each year the serious depression affects 6% of UK adults and 121 million people worldwide. At some time in our lives, one in six of us will experience an episode and the World Health Organisation¹ predicts by 2020 depression will be the largest single health issue in developed countries. As well as being a personal hell for its sufferers, tackling depression is big business. This week GlaxoSmithKline accepted a $3 billion penalty from US authorities after pleading guilty to wrongly marketing² two leading anti-depression drugs and a range of other misdemeanours. But even this huge penalty may be offset³ by the $17 billion sales of the same drugs in the years covered by the settlement alone. The case raises ethical⁴ and regulatory issues, but the wider context is commercialisation of mental healthcare. Drug companies have a natural interest in finding pharmacological solutions to medical problems and use their considerable resources to promote them to both doctors and patients. Medication can certainly help, and sometimes there's no alternative.

　　英国每年有6%的成年人抱受严重抑郁症的困扰，全世界则有1亿2千1百万人。每六个人中就有一人在某段时期有抑郁的经历。世界卫生组织预计，到2020年，抑郁症将成为发达国家中最大的健康问题。抑郁症让患者痛苦万分，应对工作也同样十分棘手。这周，由于违规营销两大主要抗抑郁药物以及一系列其它罪行，葛兰素史克公司向美国当局支付了30亿美元的罚金。尽管受到严惩，但该公司仅在违规营销这几年就凭同种药物达成了170亿美元的销售额，足以抵消掉罚款金额。这一案子揭露了道德和管理方面的问题，但从更广的层面来看，体现的是精神治疗商业化的问题。药品公司的天性就是通过在医疗问题中寻找药理学的解决方法来谋求利益，并且运用它们相当丰富的资源向医生和患者推销药物。药物治疗当然有用，而且这有时是唯一的解决办法。

　　But I think many of us reach first for a prescription⁵ when problems arise. And perhaps we find that congenial. We often seem to treat our minds and bodies like a car that goes wrong. We want to get them fixed⁶, so we can get on with our lives But another body of thought holds that addressing the underlying⁷ causes of depression, not just tackling its symptoms, means changing how we live and even how we think. A substantial movement along these lines is underway in mainstream⁸ healthcare and clinical psychology⁹, and rather surprisingly, it draws on Buddhist¹⁰ meditation¹¹ and mindfulness practice.

　　但我认为有许多人遇到问题一开始就想着去开药方。也许我们觉得生病吃药是天经地义的。人们总像对待出故障的汽车那样对待自己的身心。我们想修好它们，继续自己的生活。但另外一种看法是我们不仅仅要解决症状，还要解决导致抑郁症的根本原因，这意味着改变我们的生活和思考方式。主流的医疗保健和临床心理学正在沿着此方针开展实际的进展。令人吃惊的是，它运用了佛教中的冥想和正念的做法。

　　Mindfulness Based Cognitive¹² Therapy aims at avoiding depression relapse. Using meditation, it asks people to accept the troubling thoughts and feelings that can grow into depression, seeing them as part of their experience, at least for now. That mirrors the Buddhist understanding that we suffer because what we want is at odds¹³ with the way life is. Your alternative is turning towards reality with awareness¹⁴ and finding a more creative response. I see in my own work as a mindfulness trainer that when people stop fighting what they find challenging and stop judging themselves harshly they are able to access a kinder response and a sense of peace. This assumes that people have the resources within themselves to cope more effectively. That doesn't mean there's no place for drugs in alleviating¹⁵ the effects of depression, but you can also help yourself. And that's an important insight whether you're depressed¹⁶ or not.

　　正念认知疗法旨在避免抑郁症复发。它要求人们运用冥想来接受可能会演变成抑郁的一些不安的想法和感受，把它们看作是自身体验的一部分，至少在当前如此。这反映出佛教的思想：人之所以受苦是因为其欲望与生活相悖。你要做出取舍，有意识地转向现实，做出更有创造力的回应。作为一位正念教练，我在工作中注意到，当人们不再与他们所认为的挑战作斗争，不再严厉地自我评定时，他们会更加善待生活，获得心灵上的平静。由此可以假设出人们体内有能使自己更有效运作的源泉。这并不是说药品在缓解抑郁方面没有一席之地，而是说人可以自救。能否自救是洞悉自己是否抑郁的十分重要的一点。

1 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

4 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

5 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

6 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

7 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

10 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

11 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

12 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

13 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

14 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

15 alleviating   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• If it's alleviating pain,who knows what else it's doing? 如果它减轻了疼痛，天知道还影响什么？
• Measuring poverty is not the same as alleviating it, of course. 当然，衡量贫困和减轻贫困是截然不同的。

16 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。