和恋人分手时，我们原来都认为只有时间可以治愈那颗破碎的心。可是如今有科学家提出，吃上几片阿司匹林或许才是走出失恋的最好方法。

Psychology Professor Water Mischel, of Columbia University, believes that the psychological pain of ending a relationship is similar to physical pain, and should be treated like any other injury.

哥伦比亚大学心理学教授沃特·米歇尔认为结束一段恋情所造成的心理疼痛感和身体上的疼痛感类似，所以治疗失恋的痛苦也应该像治疗其他身体伤痛一样。

He also believes that discussing feelings with friends will only increase depression and advises keeping brooding to a minimum.

除此之外，他还表示失恋后跟朋友们讨论这种痛苦的感觉只会让自己更郁闷，他建议尽可能减少回味痛苦的次数。

“When we speak about rejection experiences in terms of physical pain, it is not just a metaphor – the broken heart and emotional pain really do hurt in a physical way," he said.

“当我们用身体上的疼痛来描述这种感情受挫的感觉时，这不止是一种比喻而已，事实上情伤也是以外伤的方式来产生痛感的。”米歇尔教授说。

“When you look at a picture of the one who broke your heart, you experience a pain in a similar area of the brain which is activated when you burn your arm.

“当你看着那个让你心碎的人的照片时，你感受到的痛感和手臂烧伤时产生的痛感来自大脑的同一个区域。”

"‘Take two aspirins and call me in the morning’ would be a cold-hearted response to a friend’s late-night report of fresh heartbreak, but it has a solid basis in the research.”

“如果朋友深夜打电话找你倾诉自己分手后的心碎感觉，而你让他/她先吃两片阿司匹林，然后说‘明早再打给我’。这看起来似乎很冷血，但这么做确实是有研究依据的。”

Previous studies have shown that people experience feelings of romantic rejection in the same way that they experience physical pain.

之前有研究表明，人在经历感情挫折时的感觉与经历外在伤痛时的感觉一致。

Research subjects given a simple non-prescription painkiller, like aspirin or ibuprofen, were shown to handle feelings of rejection better than those given a placebo.

实验中，那些吃了止痛药（如阿司匹林或布洛芬）的试验对象处理感情挫折的能力会比那些吃了安慰剂（不含任何药物成分的药片）的人更胜一筹。

And while most people recount break-ups and other painful experiences by recalling events and speaking to friends, Prof Mischel believes that it is important to view heartbreak from a distance.

另外，大多数人在想起分手和其他一些痛苦的事情时都会去仔细回忆那些经历并且找朋友倾诉。而米歇尔教授认为在想起这些令人心碎的事情时还是不要太详细才好。

“Common wisdom suggests that if we thoroughly revisit our negative experiences to try to understand why they happened, we’ll eventually be able to move on,” he said.

“通常的观念都认为人应当充分回想自身的负面经历，并从中找出发生的原因，最终才能继续向前迈进。”米歇尔教授说。

“However, new research is showing that some people only get worse by continuing to brood and ruminate.

“不过，最新的研究显示，有些人在反复回想之后，反而变得更糟了。”

“Each time they recount the experience to themselves, their friends or their therapist, they only become more depressed. Self-distancing, in contrast, allows them to get a more objective view, without reactivating their pain, and helps them get past the experience.”

“在他们每次对自己、自己的朋友或者医生回忆起这些经历时，都只会让自己变得更抑郁而已。与之相比，‘自我疏远’却可以使他们态度变得更客观，既不会揭心里的伤疤，还能帮他们摆脱这些经历。”