彭蒙惠英语：When the Blues won’t Go Away（在线收听） |
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When the Blues won’t Go Away A new way to beat chronic discontent By Marjorie Rosen / This article was published originally in Biography Magazine. © 2003. A&E Television Networks. All rights reserved. 1 It can be a familiar and uncomfortable feeling: You’re frazzled, discontent and looking for something to make you happy and fulfilled. You may become enthusiastic about something new in your life—a job, a relationship, a home—but in time you completely lose that excitement and joy. Nothing seems to satisfy you. Maybe you occasionally explode over something small and insignificant. Psychologist Alan Downs calls this form of low-grade depression “chronic discontent”—and he has suffered from it himself. “For a good 10 years, from the time I was a young adult, I suffered from it,” he says. “And I did a number of things to try to manage it”—including changing jobs, relationships and cities. The condition, technically called dysthymia, can trigger a number of symptoms, including feeling frustrated, stressed, irritable, discouraged, cynical, overwhelmed and fed up. Real-life examples Here are two examples from Downs’ book, The Half-Empty Heart: A Supportive Guide to Breaking Free From Chronic Discontent: John is always taking up a new sport or becoming obsessed with a new high-tech gadget—but none holds his interest for long, and all the trappings wind up in his closet. Annette has just broken off her third relationship this year. Each romance seemed promising initially, but after several months she became dissatisfied. The origins and the results The bottom line with chronic discontent, Downs says, is dysfunction in the way an individual feels and handles emotions. The result is difficulty feeling anything meaningful. Left untreated, it can develop into a more serious psychological problem, such as major depression. And the seeds of chronic discontent, he says, often go back to childhood when “instead of experiencing our true feelings, we learned to hide them from the world around us.”
Vocabulary Focus blues (n pl) [blu:z] feelings of sadness chronic (adj) [5krCnik] continuing for a long time, especially of a disease or something bad frazzled (adj) [5frAzld] extremely tired in a nervous or slightly anxious way after a lot of mental or physical effort fed up (adj phr) bored, annoyed or disappointed, especially by something one has experienced for too long obsessed (adj) [Eb5sest] unable to stop thinking about something; too interested in or worried about something Specialized Terms low-grade (adj) 轻度的 of a lesser or inferior quality or level trappings (n pl) 装饰物 all the outward things that are part of something; accessories dysfunction (n) 功能障碍 a problem or fault in something; an instance when something doesn’t behave or work normally
当忧郁挥之不去时 摆脱长期烦躁的新方法 杨嘉倩 译 1 这样不舒服的感觉可能似曾相识：你满心疲惫，对生活不满，想要寻找能让你快乐又满足的东西。你可能会对生活中一些新的事物产生狂热，譬如，一个新的工作，一段新的恋情，或一个新的家。不过，过了一阵子你又完全失去兴奋感与喜悦。似乎没有任何事物可以满足你。可能你偶尔会对一些微不足道的小事而大发脾气。 心理学家艾伦·道恩把这种轻度的忧郁现象称为“长期烦躁”，而他自己也亲历其害。“整整10年，从我刚成年起，一直被这个问题困扰着。”他说，“我做了一些改变，试着要处理这个问题，包括换工作，交新的女朋友，和搬到新的城市。这个情形，严格来说，称做轻郁症，会引发一些症状，包括沮丧、紧张、易怒、灰心气馁、愤世嫉俗、感到疲于应付而且无法再忍受。” 真实案例 这里有两个他在《不满的心：摆脱长期烦躁的方法》书中提到的实例： 约翰总是不断从事新的运动或对新的科技产物着迷，不过他对每一样东西的兴趣都很短，而且所有的生活附属品，最后都被塞进柜子里。 安娜特刚结束今年的第三段恋情。每一段感情刚开始的时候似乎都充满了希望，可是几个月之后她又觉得不满足。 起源与结果 道恩说，“长期烦躁”基本上就是个体在感觉与处理情绪上的官能障碍。结果是很难觉得任何事有意义。如果不加以治疗，会发展成更严重的心理失调，像是重度抑郁症。而“长期烦躁”的根源可以追溯到孩童期，“也就是当你不愿去感受自我的真实情感，反而学会将情感对外面的世界隐藏起来。” |
| 原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/pengmenghui/26531.html |