How to cope with anxiety 

如何缓解焦虑

Olivia Remes

Transcript

00:16

Imagine that you're getting ready to go to a party. You feel excited, but also nervous, and you've got this feeling in your stomach almost like another heartbeat. There's something holding you back, holding you back from getting too happy. "No, you mustn't get too happy. better to be cautious, otherwise, something bad might happen." You start wondering, "Who should I talk to when I get there? What if no one wants to talk to me? What if they'll think I'm weird?"

想象一下你正准备去参加一个聚会，你感到兴奋，但也紧张。你的胃里有这种感觉，就像另一次心跳，某些东西在阻碍你，让你不要太高兴了，最好保持谨慎。否则，可能会发生不好的事情。你开始想：当我到那里的时候，我应该和谁说话? 如果没人愿意跟我说话怎么办?如果他们觉得我很奇怪怎么办？

hold sb back from 抑制，阻止

00:53

When you arrive at the party, someone comes up to you and starts talking with you, and as this is happening, your mind starts racing, your heart begins pounding, you start sweating, and it feels almost like you're dissociating from yourself, like it's an out-of-body experience, and you're just watching yourself talk. "Keep it together," you say to yourself, but you can't.

当你到达派对现场时，有人走到你面前开始和你交谈。这时，你的大脑开始飞速运转，你的心怦怦直跳。你开始出汗，感觉几乎就像是和自己分离了，就像灵魂出窍一样。你只是看着自己说话，你对自己说：冷静一下。但你做不到。

dissociate v.使分离，分裂

词链：dissociate someone from 

例句：She became famous and dissociated herself from her past.

她成名了，从此与过去划清了界限。

an out-of-body experience 一次灵魂出窍的体验

Keep it together 保持冷静

01:20

And it's just getting worse: after a few minutes of conversation, the person you've been speaking to leaves, and you feel utterly defeated. This has been happening to you in social situations for a long time. Or imagine every time you go out, and you're in crowded places, you feel this panic starting to arise.

而且情况越来越糟。经过几分钟的交谈，与你交谈的人离开了，你有一种彻底的挫败感。你在社交场合时的这种情况已经持续很长一段时间了，或者想象一下，每次你出去，在拥挤的地方时，这种恐慌感开始出现。

utterly adv. completely完全地，彻底地

例句：We're so utterly different from each other. 

我们彼此完全不同。

01:46

When you're surrounded by lots of people, like on a bus, you start to feel hot, nauseous, uneasy, and to prevent this from happening, you start avoiding a lot of places which makes you feel lonely and isolated.

当你被很多人包围时，比如在公交车上，你开始觉得闷热、恶心、不安，为了防止这种情况发生，你开始避开很多让你感到孤独和孤立的地方。

nauseous adj. 感到恶心的，想呕吐的

例句：Roller coasters make me feel nauseous.

坐过山车让我直想吐。

02:03

You or the person in both of these scenarios have anxiety disorders, and what I can tell you is that anxiety is very common, much more than people think. Right now, one in 14 people around the world have an anxiety disorder, and each year, it costs over 42 billion dollars to treat this mental health problem.

所以你，或是这两个场景中的那个人——患有焦虑症。我可以告诉你的是，焦虑症是非常普遍的，比人们想象的要多得多。目前，全世界每14个人中就有一个患有焦虑症。每年，治疗这种心理健康问题的花费超过420亿美元。

scenario n. 设想，可能发生的事态

例句：There are several possible scenarios.

有几种可能出现的局面。

anxiety disorders 焦虑症

mental health problem 心理健康问题

02:32

To show you the impact that anxiety has on someone's life, I will just mention that anxiety can lead to depression, school dropout, suicide. It makes it harder to focus, and to hold down a job, and it can lead to relationship breakdown. But a lot of people don't know this, that's why, a lot of times, people sweep anxiety under the rug as just nerves that you need to get over, as a weakness, but anxiety is so much more than that.

为了向你们展示焦虑对一个人生活的影响，我会提到因焦虑导致的抑郁、辍学、自杀。它会让你更难集中精力或保住工作，还会导致婚姻关系的破裂，但很多人不知道这一点。这就是为什么很多时候人们隐藏焦虑，当作需要压制的神经，当作一种弱点，但焦虑远不止于此。

rug n. 小地毯，垫子

例句：My dog loves lying on the rug in front of the fire.

我的狗喜欢趴在炉火前的小地毯上。

school dropout 辍学

hold down a job 保住一份工作

03:08

A reason why so many people don't think it's important is that they don't know what it is. Is it your personality? Is it an illness? Is it a normal sensation? What is? That's why it's important to differentiate what is normal anxiety from what is an anxiety disorder.

很多人认为它不重要的一个原因是他们不知道那是什么。是你的个性吗？是病吗? 这是正常的感觉吗？它究竟是什么？这就是为什么区分正常的焦虑与焦虑症很重要。

sensation n. 感觉，知觉

differentiate…from… v. 区别，分清

03:32

Normal anxiety is an emotion that we all get when we're in stressful situations. For example, let's say, you're out in the woods, and you come face-to-face with a bear. This will probably make you feel a little bit anxious, and you'll probably want to start running like crazy. This anxious feeling that you get is good because it protects you, it saves you, and it makes you on a hightail it out of there, although maybe it's not such a good idea to start running when you see a bear. I really don't think you can outrun a bear. Anxiety helps us meet our deadlines at work and deal with emergencies in life, but when this anxiety emotion is taken to the extreme and arises in situations which don't pose a real threat, then that's when you might have an anxiety disorder.

正常的焦虑是一种当我们处于紧张的情况下都会有的情绪。例如，假设你在森林里，面对面站着一只熊，自然会使你感到有些焦虑，你可能会想要开始疯狂地奔跑。这种焦虑的感觉是好的，因为它保护了你，救了你，让你迅速逃离那里。尽管当你看到一只熊的时候，开始逃跑可能不是一个好主意。我真的觉得你跑不过一只熊。焦虑帮助我们在工作中按时完成任务，帮助我们处理生活中的紧急情况，但当这种焦虑情绪发展到极端，并在不构成真正威胁的情况下出现时，那就是你可能患上焦虑症的时候。

hightail it 非正式用语，to leave a place quickly

例句：They ended up hightailing it across the border.

他们最终逃过了边境。

hightail it out of 赶紧离开了那里

例句：As soon as I heard he was coming I hightailed it out of there.

一听说他要来，我就赶紧离开了那里。

pose a threat 构成威胁；形成一种威胁

例句：Drunken drivers pose a serious threat to other road users.

酒后驾车者对其他路人构成了严重威胁。

04:32

For example, people with generalized anxiety disorder worry excessively and constantly about everything going on in their lives, and they find it very difficult to control this worry. They also have symptoms like restlessness, fear, they find it hard to fall asleep at night, and they can't concentrate on tasks. In spite of whatever kind of anxiety you might be suffering from, there is something that you can do to lower it.

例如，患有广泛性焦虑症的人，对他们生活中发生的一切过度地、不断地担心。他们发现很难控制这种担心，他们还会出现焦躁不安、恐惧，晚上难以入睡，无法集中精力完成任务等症状。尽管你可能会有各种各样的焦虑，但你可以做一些事情来降低它。

generalized adj. 广义的，普遍的；大范围的

restlessness n. 坐立不安；不安定

concentrate on 全神贯注于，集中精力于

05:09

It works, and it's simpler than you may think. All too often, we're given medication for mental disorders, but it doesn't always work in the long run. Symptoms often come back, and you're back to where you started. So here's something else to consider: the way you cope or handle things has a direct impact on how much anxiety you're experiencing, and if you tweak the way you're coping, then you can lower your anxiety.

它很有效，而且比你想象的要简单。我们经常会得到治疗精神障碍的药物，但从长远来看并不总是有效。症状经常会复发，你又回到了你开始的地方。所以还有一点需要考虑：你处理事情的方式直接影响到你所经历的焦虑程度，如果你调整你处理的方式，那么你就可以降低你的焦虑。

tweak v. 扭，拧；在文中的意思为稍稍改进

例句：You just need to tweak the last paragraph and then it's done.

你只需要把最后一段稍作修改就可以了。

All too often 时常，经常是

in the long run 从长远来看

05:45

In our study at the University of Cambridge, we showed that women living in poor areas have a higher risk for anxiety than women living in richer areas. These results didn't surprise us, but when we looked closer, we found that women living in poor areas, if they had a particular set of coping resources, they didn't have anxiety, while women living in poor areas without these coping resources had anxiety.

在剑桥大学的研究中，我们发现生活在贫困地区的女性，比生活在富裕地区的女性有更高的焦虑风险。这些结果并没有让我们感到惊讶，但当我们仔细观察时，我们发现生活在贫困地区的女性，如果她们有一套特殊的应对资源，她们就不会有焦虑。而生活在贫困地区没有这些应对资源的妇女则感到焦虑。

a set of 一套；一组

in poor/ richer areas 在贫困/富裕地区

06:16

Other studies showed that people who had faced extreme circumstances, who had faced adversity, been through wars and natural disasters, if they had coping resources, they remained healthy and free of mental disorders, while others, facing the same hardships but without coping skills went on a downward spiral and developed mental disorders.

其他研究表明，曾经面临过极端环境，遭遇逆境，经历过战争和自然灾害的人，如果他们有应对资源，他们仍然健康，没有精神疾病，而其他那些面对同样的困难，但没有应对技能的人，进入了一个恶性循环，并发展为精神障碍。

adversity n. 逆境，厄运

downward spiral不断下降；（局面）迅速恶化，螺旋式下跌

例句：We have to avoid the downward spiral in which unemployment leads to homelessness and then to crime. 我们必须避免失业导致无家可归，进而导致犯罪的恶性循环。

06:42

So what are some of these coping resources, and how can we use them to lower our anxiety? And before I dive into what they are, I'd like to point out - and I think this is so interesting - you can develop these coping resources or coping skills on your own through the things that you do; you can take charge of your anxiety and lower it, which I think is so empowering.

那么，这些应对资源有哪些呢？我们又该如何利用它们来降低焦虑呢？在我深入探讨它们是什么之前，我想指出，我认为这很有趣——你可以通过你所做的事情，开发这些应对资源或应对技能，你可以控制你的焦虑，降低它，我认为这是非常有力量的。

empower v. 给（某人）做…的权力；授权；使自主

例句: The president is empowered to appoint judges to the Supreme Court.

总统有权任命最高法院的法官。

dive in/into sth v. 投入；介入

take charge of 负责，主管

07:17

Today I'll be talking about three coping resources, and the first one is feeling like you're in control of your life. People who feel like they're more in control of their life have better mental health. If you feel like you're lacking in control in life, then research shows that you should engage in experiences that give you greater control. I'll show you what I mean: do you sometimes find that you put off starting something because you just don't feel ready enough? Do you find it hard to make decisions like what to wear, what to eat who to date, which job to take up? Do you tend to waste a lot of time deciding what you might do while nothing gets done? A way to overcome indecision and this lack of control in life, is to do it badly.

今天我要讲的是三种应对资源，第一种是：感觉自己掌控了自己的生活。那些觉得自己能更好地掌控自己生活的人，心理健康状况更好。如果你觉得自己在生活中缺乏控制力，那么研究表明，你应该参与那些能让你拥有更大控制力的体验。我来告诉你我的意思：你是否有时会因为觉得准备不足而推迟开始某件事？你是不是觉得很难决定穿什么，吃什么，和谁约会，做什么工作？你是否倾向于浪费大量的时间来决定你要做什么，但最后什么也没做。要克服优柔寡断和对生活缺乏控制的一种方法就是把事情做得很糟。

in control of 控制，掌握

engage in 从事于，参加

put off doing sth 推迟

take up 开始从事

indecision n.优柔寡断，犹豫不决

08:20

There's a quote by writer and poet GK Chesterton that says, "Anything worth doing is worth doing badly the first time." The reason why this works so well is that it speeds up your decision-making and catapults you straight into action, otherwise, you can spend hours deciding how you should go about doing something or what you should do. This can be paralyzing and can make you afraid to even begin. All too often, we aim for perfection, but never end up doing anything because the standards that we set for ourselves are too high, they're intimidating, which stresses us out so we delay starting something, or we might even abandon the whole thing altogether. 

作家兼诗人G.K.切斯特顿曾说过:任何值得做的事，都值得第一次就做砸。这之所以如此有效，是因为它加速了你的决策，让你直接行动，否则，你会花几个小时来决定你应该如何去做某事或你应该做什么，这可能会让你感到麻痹，甚至让你不敢开始。很多时候，我们总是追求完美但最终什么都做不了，因为我们为自己设定的标准太高，太吓人了。这让我们感到压力很大，所以我们推迟了开始做某件事的时间，或者我们甚至可能完全放弃整个事情。

speed up加速

All too often 时常，经常是

aim for 瞄准，以……为目标

end up 最后处于，最后成为，以……告终

stress sb out 过度劳累，紧张

catapult into 突然经历，一跃而成

catapult n.投石器 v.把…射出，把…弹出

paralyze v. 使瘫痪，使麻痹

intimidating adj. causing a loss of courage or self-confidence : producing feelings of fear or timidity令人紧张不安的，令人胆怯的

例句：Some people find interview situations very intimidating.

有些人觉得面试非常令人生畏。

Do it badly frees you up to take action. I mean you know how it is: so often, we want to do something perfectly we can't start until it's the perfect time, until we've got all the skills, but this can be daunting and stressful so why not just jump into it just do it however, without worrying if it's good or bad? This will make it that much easier to start something and as you're doing it badly to finish it, and when you look back, you'll realize, more often than not, that actually it's not that bad.

做得不好会让你有时间采取行动。我想你知道这是怎么回事，我们经常想把事情做得完美， 直到时机成熟，直到我们掌握了所有的技能我们才能开始。但这可能是令人畏惧和有压力的，所以为什么不直接跳进去，放马去做而不用担心它是好是坏，这会让你更容易开始做一件事。当你很糟地做完它时，回过头看，你会发现大多时候实际上它并没有那么糟糕。

daunting adj. making somebody feel nervous and less confident about doing something使人畏惧的，使人气馁的

09:56

A close friend of mine who has anxiety started using this motto, and this is what she said, "When I started using this motto, my life transformed. I found I could complete tasks in much shorter time periods than before. Do it badly gave me wings to take risks, to try something differently, and to have way more fun during the whole process. It took the anxiety out of everything and replaced it with excitement." So do it badly, and you can improve as you go along. I'd like to ask you to think about this: if you start using this motto today, how would your life change?

我的一位患有焦虑症的亲密朋友开始使用这句格言，她是这样说的：“当我开始使用这句格言时，我的生活发生了改变，我发现我可以在比以前短得多的时间内完成任务，做得不好给了我冒险的翅膀，让我尝试一些不同的东西，在整个过程中获得更多的乐趣。它消除了一切焦虑，代之以兴奋，所以做得不好，你就可以在前进的过程中不断提高。”我想请你想一想：如果你今天开始使用这句格言，你的生活会发生怎样的变化。

motto n. 座右铭，格言，

transform v. to completely change the appearance, form, or character of something or someone, especially in a way that improves it使彻底改观；使大变样

10:57

The second coping strategy is to forgive yourself, and this is very powerful if you use it. People with anxiety think a lot about what they're doing wrong, their worries, and how bad they're feeling. Imagine if you had a friend who constantly pointed out everything you're doing wrong, and everything that was wrong with your life. You would probably want to get rid of this person right away, wouldn't you? Well, people with anxiety do this to themselves all day long. They're not kind to themselves. So maybe it's time to start being kinder with ourselves, time to start supporting ourselves, and a way to do this is to forgive yourself for any mistakes you think you might have made just a few moments ago to mistakes made in the past.

第二个应对策略是：原谅自己。如果你使用它，它会是非常强大的。患有焦虑症的人会想很多关于他们做错了什么，他们的担忧以及他们感觉有多糟糕。想象一下，如果你有一个朋友， 他不断地指出你做错的每一件事，以及你生活中的每一件错误，你可能会想马上摆脱这个人，对吗？焦虑的人整天都在这样对待自己，他们对自己不友善。所以，也许是时候开始善待我们自己了，是时候开始支持我们自己了，而做到这一点的一个方法就是原谅自己在几分钟前可能犯下的错误和过去犯下的错误。

get rid of 摆脱，除去

all day long 整天，全天

12:02

If you had a panic attack and are embarrassed about it, forgive yourself; if you wanted to talk to someone, but couldn't muster up the courage to do so, don't worry about it, let it go; forgive yourself for anything and everything and this will give you greater compassion towards yourself. You can't begin to heal until you do this.

如果你得了恐慌症并为此感到尴尬，请原谅自己；如果你想找人倾诉却无法鼓起勇气去做，不要担心，随他去吧。原谅自己的一切，这会让你对自己有更大的同情，除非你这样做，否则你无法开始痊愈。

panic attack 惊慌失措，惶恐

muster v. 鼓起（勇气），激起（某种感情或支持）

muster up the courage to do鼓起勇气去做

例句：She managed to muster the courage to ask him to the cinema.

她终于鼓起勇气请他去看电影。

compassion n. 同情，怜悯

12:28

And last but not least, having a purpose and meaning in life is a very important coping mechanism. Whatever we do in life, whatever work we produce, however much money we make, we cannot be fully happy until we know that someone else needs us, that someone else depends on our accomplishments, or on the love that we have to share. It's not that we need other people's good words to keep going in life, but if we don't do something with someone else in mind, then we're at much higher risk for poor mental health.

最后一点是：拥有生活的目标和意义，是一种非常重要的应对机制。无论我们在生活中做什么，无论我们从事什么工作，无论我们赚多少钱，我们都不可能完全快乐，除非我们知道别人需要我们，知道别人依赖于我们的成就，或依赖于我们必须分享的爱。这并不是说我们需要别人的美言来维持生活，但如果我们不为别人着想，我们就更有可能患上心理疾病。

last but not least 最后但同样重要的

mechanism n. a part of your behaviour that helps you to deal with a difficult situation

（处理棘手情况的）机制

例句: The college has established an effective student support mechanism.

学院建立了有效的学生支持机制。

13:13

The famous neurologist Dr. Victor Frankel said, "For people who think there's nothing to live for and nothing more to expect from life, the question is getting these people to realize that life is still expecting something from them."

著名的神经学家Victor Frankel博士说，对于那些认为没有什么值得活下去，也没有什么可以期待的人来说，问题是要让这些人意识到，生活仍然对他们有所期待。

neurologist n. 神经病学家；神经科医生

13:35

Doing something with someone else in mind can carry you through the toughest times. You'll know the why for your existence and will be able to bear almost any how; almost any how. So the question is do you do at least one thing with someone else in mind?

做事时为他人着想，可以让你度过最艰难的时刻，你会知道你为什么存在，并将能够承受几乎所有的事。所以问题是，你至少做过一件为他人着想的事吗？

carry sb through 帮助……渡过难关

14:01

This could be volunteering, or it could be sharing this knowledge that you gained today with other people, especially those who need it most, and these are often the people who don't have money for therapy, and they're usually the ones with the highest rates of anxiety disorders. Give it to them, share with others, because it can really improve your mental health.

这可以是志愿服务，也可以是与其他人分享你今天获得的知识，特别是那些需要的人，而这些人往往没有钱接受治疗，他们通常是焦虑症发病率最高的人群，与他们分享，因为它能真正改善你的心理健康。

14:30

So I would like to conclude with this: another way you can do something with someone else in mind is finishing work that might benefit future generations. Even if these people will never realize what you've done for them, it doesn't matter, because you will know, and this will make you realize the uniqueness and importance of your life. Thank you.

我想以此作为结束。还有一种为他人着想，你能去做的事，完成那些可能会造福后代的工作，即使这些人永远不会意识到你为他们做了什么也没关系，因为你会知道，这会让你意识到你生命的独特与重要，谢谢！

uniqueness n. 独特性；独一无二

练习素材：英文字幕  无字幕 音频