BBC随身英语｜不服药的抗忧伤法

Fighting sadness without medication

It affects one in six people in England each week, according to UK charity Mind. That's the ratio of people who report experiencing a common mental health problem, such as depression. Whether temporarily down in the dumps, or chronically depressed, many rely on anti-depressants to lift their dejected mood. But, they have a cost – one ex-user told the BBC that they felt they were in a "chemical fog" and were desperate to stop. If medication is a last resort, what alternatives are there when you're feeling truly blue?
根据英国慈善机构Mind的统计，英国每周有六分之一的人受到精神疾病的影响。这是报告经历过常见心理健康问题（例如抑郁症）的人的比例。无论是暂时情绪低落，还是长期抑郁，许多人都依赖抗抑郁药来改善沮丧的情绪。但是，服用这些药物是有代价的——一位前使用者告诉BBC，他们觉得自己陷入了“化学迷雾”，急切地想要停止服用。如果药物治疗是最后的手段，那么当你真正感到忧郁时，有什么替代方法呢？

What about cold-water swimming to combat melancholy? One participant, known as Sarah, took part in the 2016 BBC One series The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs. She had been taking anti-depressants since the age of 17. Two years after the show, she is off all medication and still swimming – something a recent British Medical Journal report believes may be an effective treatment for depression. Apart from the exercise and companionship of swimmers, the cold water puts the body under stress. With repeated immersions, the body better adapts not just to this physical stress, but mental stress, including the psychological problems of life that lead to low spirits.
冷水游泳来对抗忧郁怎么样？一位名叫莎拉的参与者参加了 2016 年 BBC One 系列节目《放弃药物的医生》。她从17岁起就开始服用抗抑郁药物。节目播出两年后，她已经停用了所有药物，但仍然坚持游泳——《英国医学杂志》最近的一篇报道认为，这可能是治疗抑郁症的一种有效方法。除了锻炼和游泳者的陪伴，冷水也会给身体带来压力。通过反复浸泡，身体不仅能更好地适应这种身体压力，还能更好地适应精神压力，包括生活中导致情绪低落的心理问题。

Susan Calman relies on kindness to brighten her mood. The 43-year-old comedian and author encourages others to use altruism to improve the lives of those around them. "It can be as simple as holding open a door for someone, or giving someone a compliment, or buying someone a packet of crisps while they're feeling down," she tells the BBC. In fact, anything that uplifts. "If we all started to be a bit kinder then maybe we could start seeing the world as a better place. It's really about kindness and then from that, just finding that happiness," she says.
苏珊·卡尔曼依靠善良来改善心情。这位43岁的喜剧演员和作家鼓励其他人用利他行为来改善周围人的生活。她告诉BBC：“这可以很简单，比如为别人打开一扇门，或者赞美别人一句，或者在别人情绪低落时买一包薯片。”事实上，任何能振奋人心的事情都可以。她说：“如果我们都开始变得善良一些，也许我们就能开始把世界变得更美好。这真的关乎善良，然后从中找到那份幸福。”

Or you could talk about it. Woebot is a chatbot designed to support people dealing with problems by teaching coping strategies. "There's a reason why good therapeutic approaches are conversational. It just asks the right questions so you can figure it out," Alison Darcy, founder of Woebot, tells the BBC. One user, Nick Impson, explained that Woebot relieves the potential trust issues that can occur when talking to a stranger, even a qualified one.
或者你可以谈论它。Woebot是一个聊天机器人，旨在通过教授应对策略来支持人们处理问题。“好的治疗方法是对话式的，这是有原因的。它只会问正确的问题，这样你就能找到答案。”Woebot的创始人艾丽森·达茜告诉BBC。一位名叫尼克·英普森的用户解释说，Woebot缓解了与陌生人（即使是合格的陌生人）交谈时可能出现的潜在信任问题。

Feeling despondent happens to everyone. When it does, you might want to try one of these methods and see if it works for you. We hope you'll be feeling as right as rain again in no time.
每个人都会有感到沮丧的时候。当它发生时时，不妨试试这些方法，看看是否对你有用。我们希望你很快就能恢复如初。

词汇表
ratio [ˈreɪʃiəʊ] 比率，比例
depression 抑郁症
down in the dumps 情绪低落
chronically depress ['krɒnɪkli] 长期抑郁的
anti-depressant [dɪ'pres(ə)nt] 抗抑郁药
lift/brighten your mood 改善你的情绪
dejected [dɪˈdʒektɪd] 沮丧的，情绪低落的
last resort [rɪˈzɔː(r)t] 最后手段（不得已才采取的措施）
feel blue 闷闷不乐，感到忧郁
melancholy [ˈmelənkəli] 抑郁，忧郁
medication [ˌmedɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n] 药物（治疗）
companionship [kəmˈpænjənʃɪp] 友谊，情谊，陪伴
immersion [ɪˈmɜː(r)ʃ(ə)n] 沉浸，浸泡
low spirits 气馁，情绪低落
altruism [ˈæltruˌɪz(ə)m] 利他主义，无私
a packet of crisps [krɪsp] 一包薯片
uplift [ˈʌplɪft] 鼓舞，振奋
coping strategy 应对策略
therapeutic approach [ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪk]  治疗方法
conversational 谈话式的，交谈的
despondent [dɪˈspɒndənt] 沮丧的，苦恼的
as right as rain 一切正常，恢复（健康）

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