VOA慢速英语2017 心碎综合征?伤心欲绝并非空穴来风

Debbie Reynolds' son, Todd Fisher, said his mother told him that the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher, was "too much" for her.

On Wednesday, one day after Fisher's death, Reynolds, 84, died.

"I want to be with Carrie," is what she said just before her death, Todd Fisher told the Associated Press.

Can people die because they are so upset over the loss of a loved one? Some call it "broken heart syndrome¹."

The American Heart Association lists a "broken heart" as a medical condition. It reports that it can lead to sudden intense chest pain, especially for women.

The good news, it said, is most people make a full recovery.

Debbie Reynolds was a movie star, beginning with her starring role in 1952 with Gene² Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain." Fisher, 60, won fame through books, movies and plays. She is best known for playing Princess Leia in four of the "Star Wars" movies.

All of Us Feel Loss

Susan Gennaro is dean³ of the William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College. She said all people have felt or will feel the loss of a loved one that leaves them feeling like their heart is breaking.

That can bring on stress, which can affect a person's health, Gennaro said. That is especially true for a person who already has health problems.

Gennaro said she does not believe people know how to control their bodies "to the point that we can will ourselves to die."

But, people can make the decision to "give up" on life, or to fight and hang on, she said.

"I don't know why we are surprised as we also all have stories of people who were dying and waited until a loved one arrived before dying or some other important event," Gennaro said.

For people who believe that death is followed by an afterlife, it can make sense to want to join a loved one who passed away, Gennaro added.

"It makes all the sense in the world that Debbie Reynolds having lived a full life would prefer to ‘pass' to another existence with her daughter," Gennaro said.

Grief⁴ brings with it stress

Harvard University's School of Public Health did a study in 2013 that examined health information for 26,000 Americans over age 50.

It found an increased chance of dying after a spouse⁵ dies. People who lost a wife or a husband had a 66 percent increased chance of dying three months after the spouse's death, the Harvard researchers said.

David Kessler is a grief expert who has written five books about losing a loved one.

"There is a stress that comes with deep heart break and that stress can affect your heart," Kessler said. "For some people that passes. But, in some cases, people die from it."

Kessler said his advice to people experiencing loss of a loved one is to accept the pain and sadness.

"We often want to run away from the pain, but that grief will actually help us heal in time if we don't run away from it," Kessler said.

Kessler is still dealing⁶ with his own grief. His 21-year-old son died unexpectedly on September 12.

"I've worked many years with people going through grief," Kessler said. "This year, it's personal. I certainly feel a kinship with Debbie. Your heart is just so broken when you lose a child. I can see at 84 years old, she was just done."

黛比·雷诺兹（Debbie Reynolds）的儿子（Todd Fisher）托德·费雪表示，母亲曾说过女儿凯莉·费雪（Carrie Fisher）的死对她来说“太沉重了”。

周三，也就是费雪去世后一天，84岁的雷诺兹也溘然长逝了。

托德告诉美联社，母亲生前曾表示，“想跟随凯莉而去”。

人们会因痛失亲人而伤心过度死亡吗？有人将这种症状称为“心碎综合征”。

美国心脏协会将“心碎”列为医学疾病的一种。报告显示，该疾病可导致突发强烈的胸痛，尤其对女性而言。

报告还称，好在大多数人都能完全恢复过来。

黛比是电影明星，1952年与吉恩·凯利（Gene Kelly）搭档主演影片《雨中曲》开启了演艺生涯。终年60岁的费雪因出过书，出演过电影和戏剧而一举成名。她最知名的角色是在4部“星球大战”系列影片中饰演“莱娅公主”。

苏珊·詹纳罗（Susan Gennaro）是波士顿大学William F. Connell护理学院院长。她说大家都经历过或将经历失去挚爱时的心碎感受。

詹纳罗表示，心碎的感觉会产生压力危害人们健康。对于那些已经有健康问题的人来说，危害更甚。

詹纳罗说自己不相信人们可以控制身体“到达死亡的临界点”。

但她说，人们可以选择“放弃”生命，抗争或坚持。

“我不知道我们为何会感到惊讶，因为我们都听说过濒死之人会等待至亲归来或一些重大事件完成才能瞑目。”詹纳罗说道。

对于那些相信人死后有来世的人来说，跟随离世的亲人脚步是有意义的。

詹纳罗说“有意义的是，已在这个世上度过大半生时光的黛比宁愿‘变为’另一种形式追随女儿”。

2013年，哈佛大学公共卫生学院做了一项研究，主要研究26,000名50岁以上美国人的健康状况。

研究发现，在配偶离世后另一人的死亡几率会增加。哈佛大学的研究人员说，失去妻子或丈夫去世后，其配偶在三个月内的死亡概率增加了66％。

大卫·凯斯勒（David Kessler）是一位曾写过五本关于失去挚爱书籍的情感专家。

凯斯勒称：“过度悲伤会使人产生压力，这种压力会危害心脏。”对于一些人来说，这种现象会逐渐消失。但是在某些情况下，人们可能会因此死亡。

凯斯勒建议称，当失去挚爱时，人们最好接受这种痛苦和悲伤。

“我们经常会想要逃避痛苦，但是如果勇敢面对，这种悲伤其实能帮助我们快速平复，”凯斯勒说道。

凯斯勒仍在设法摆脱悲伤。9月12日，她21岁的儿子不幸意外身亡。

凯斯勒说“我曾和许多经历悲伤的人们交流过”。“今年，这种事降临到我身上。我与黛比感同身受。当你失去孩子时，你会感到悲伤欲绝。而黛比在84岁的高龄经历了这一幕。”

1 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 Dean   

n.(大学)院长，系主任，教务长

参考例句：

• The students much like the new dean.学生们很喜欢这位新系主任。
• Who is the dean of the Foreign Languages Department?外语系主任是谁？

4 grief   

n.悲伤，悲痛，悲伤的事，悲痛的缘由

参考例句：

• Don't allow yourself to sink into grief,it can do no good.不要使自己陷入悲哀之中，这样一点好处也没有。
• After her mother died,she abandoned herself to grief.母亲死后，她沉浸于悲痛之中。

5 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。