英语听力文摘 English Digest 700 有信仰会感觉更好么？

Believe In God And Feel Better

Whether or not a treatment for an illness or disorder¹ works usually doesn’t depend on whether we believe it will work. For example, if you have an MRI, barring a malfunction², the technology will work even if you don’t understand it or believe that such a thing is possible. Ditto for most types of surgery, antibiotics³ and other medications, and so on.

Believe In Treatment

But when it comes to treatment for mental illness, the patient’s belief seems to very much matter. At least one study by Harvard researchers has found that patients who believe in God tend to respond better to treatments for problems like anxiety and depression.

Why?

The study found that people who express a belief in God are also more likely to believe in the efficacy of drug and behavioral therapies and expect that they will help. And so, researchers speculate, such patients may be more vigilant⁴ about taking their medication and more enthusiastic about participating in other forms of therapy. Patients who are more skeptical⁵, meanwhile, may be less likely to engage in therapy in a fully⁶ cooperative way.

Spiritual Beliefs

There hasn’t been much research on the relevance⁷ of patients’ spiritual beliefs to treatment for mental illness. So it’s not yet clear if and how psychiatrists⁸ and other healthcare providers may be able to factor in religious beliefs in a clinical setting. But more research may help doctors find a way to harness patients’ spirituality in a way that helps them heal.

有信仰会感觉更好么？

疾病或病症的治疗是否有效通常不取决于我们是否相信它会有效。例如，如果你有核磁共振成像，除非出现故障，即使你不理解或不相信这是可能的，这项技术也会起作用。大多数类型的手术、抗生素和其他药物也是如此。

相信治疗

但在治疗精神疾病时，患者的信念似乎非常重要。哈佛大学研究人员的至少一项研究发现，信仰上帝的患者对焦虑和抑郁等问题的治疗往往反应更好。

为什么？

研究发现，表达对上帝信仰的人也更有可能相信药物和行为疗法的疗效，并期望它们会有所帮助。因此，研究人员推测，这类患者可能对服用药物更为警惕，对参与其他形式的治疗更为热情。同时，持怀疑态度的患者可能不太可能以完全合作的方式进行治疗。

精神信仰

关于患者的精神信仰与精神疾病治疗的相关性，目前还没有太多研究。因此，目前还不清楚精神科医生和其他医疗保健提供者是否以及如何能够在临床环境中考虑宗教信仰。但更多的研究可能会帮助医生找到一种方法，以帮助患者康复的方式来利用患者的精神。

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。

3 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

4 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

5 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

8 psychiatrists   

n.精神病专家，精神病医生( psychiatrist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are psychiatrists in good standing. 他们是合格的精神病医生。 来自辞典例句
• Some psychiatrists have patients who grow almost alarmed at how congenial they suddenly feel. 有些精神分析学家发现，他们的某些病人在突然感到惬意的时候几乎会兴奋起来。 来自名作英译部分