面对沮丧和焦虑的9个经验教训
9 Lessons on Facing Depression and Anxiety
It ’ s been twenty five years since my first depressive episode and there have been many dark periods since. Some of these episodes were so bad, the only relief I could get was to think about my own death. It took me a long time to learn these lessons and now that I am finally well I will remember them for the next time .
自从我第一次抑郁症发作到现在已经 25 年了，这期间有很多黑暗时光。其中一些情节如此糟糕，我唯一能想到的就是死亡。我花了很长的时间来学习这些经验教训，现在我终于好了，我会在以后的时光中记住它们。
Maybe you have learned some of these lessons yourself. If not, I hope this is helpful.
可能你已经自己学到了这些经验教训。但如果没有的话，我希望这能帮到你。
1.We should never go it alone.
我们永远不应该单干。
When we are depressed and anxious we alienate ourselves and abandon our social lives. Not only that, but we often refrain from speaking about our problems with family, friends or even our doctors. It is so important to be open and honest about your illness. This way you can avail yourself of loving help, support and medical care. This makes all the difference when fighting a devastating illness like this.
当我们沮丧与焦虑时，我们疏远了自己，放弃了我们的社交生活。不仅如此，我们往往会避免和家人、朋友甚至医生谈论我们的困。对你的病情持公开和诚实态度很重要。这样你可以从有爱的帮助、支持和医疗照顾中收益。当与一种像这样的毁灭性疾病斗争时，这会让事情变得完全不同。
2.We should only take baby steps.
我们应该只迈小步。
Rome wasn ’ t built in a day — and depression and anxiety will not go away overnight. It takes time to get better and the best way to approach this process is with baby steps. Focus on feeling a little bit every day. Sometimes it might be a case of two steps forward and three steps back, but with determination and a positive attitude you can get better over time.
罗马不是一日建成的——沮丧和焦虑不会一晚上就离开。需要时间来变得更好，接近这个过程的最好方式就是迈小步。每天专注于一点儿改善。有时可能会往前走两步而又退回来三步，但只要你有决心和积极的态度，最终会变得更好。
3.Positive thinking is possible.
积极思考是可能的。
I have first hand experience of positive thinking in depression. It can be done and it is effective; I ’ m certain it prevented me from slipping further into depression and it kept me in a place where I could function. Writing down positive affirmations and statements of gratitude are well documented to lift mood — just because you ’ re ill doesn ’ t mean you won ’ t benefit from this.
我有处在抑郁症时积极思考的第一首经验。这是可以做到的，它是有效的；我确信它阻止了我进一步滑向抑郁，它让我保持在一个我可以正常工作的地方。写下积极的自我肯定和感恩的陈述对于提升情绪肯定有帮助——因为尽管你病了，但并不意味着你不会从中受益。
4.Look forward to a bright future.
期盼光明未来。
We are never depressed ' forever ’ — it just doesn ’ t work that way. Every cloud has a silver lining. Of course, when we are depressed we don ’ t see the silver lining; it has to be pointed out to us. There is no reason for us to believe that there aren ’ t fantastic experiences and sunny days ahead for us. Keeping that hope alive can save us from severe illness or help us through it.
我们不该 " 永远 " 沮丧——这没有用。黑暗中总有一丝光明。当然，当我们沮丧时，我们看不到光明；必须指出给我们。我们没有理由相信前面会没有奇妙的经历和阳光明媚的日子等待着我们。一直保持这种希望，它能从严重的疾病中拯救我们或帮助我们克服它。
5.We can make the most of melancholy.
我们可以最大化利用抑郁。
You heard me — it ain ’ t all bad. We can be at our most creative at certain times in depression; some of my best drawings were done when I was deeply grieving. Many poets, artists and writers produce fine work when they are depressed. Working with music in the background can help to get the creative juices flowing.
你听我说 - 这并不是对所有事情都有坏处。我们可以在在抑郁症的某些时候最有创造力；一些我最好的画是在我深感悲痛的时候完成的。许多诗人、艺术家和作家在沮丧时都完成了出色的作品。伴着音乐工作可以帮助你获得创造粒源泉。
6.Be there for others.
为他人努力。
When depressed and anxious, we tend to think too much about our own problems. When we let this go and look outside of ourselves we see that others have needs too. It becomes clear to us that we can help other people and not spend all of our time focusing on our own problems. Now we have a sense of purpose and belonging — this helps with our self-esteem.
当我们沮丧和焦虑时，往往会考虑太多关于我们自己的问题。当我们放下这些，去看看我们之外的人时，会发现别人也有需求。这清楚的告诉我们，我们可以帮助其他人，而不是把我们所有的时间花费在专注于自己的问题上。现在我们有了目标感和归属感，这有助于建立我们的自尊。
There is great value in this principal when you are without direction and living with depression.
当你没有方向，生活在沮丧之中时，这一原则会有很大的价值。
7.Re-training our thoughts is invaluable.
重新培训我们的思想无价的。
Replacing negative thoughts with more positive and rational thoughts is invaluable when dealing with depression and anxiety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy applies this principal and many of us have benefited from putting it into practice.
在处理沮丧和焦虑时，用更积极的、合理的思想代替消极的想法是宝贵的。认知行为治疗法适用于本原则，我们中的许多人都会于付诸实践中受益。
8.Detach from your illness.
从病中挣脱。
For people with depression and anxiety, frequent negative thoughts and feelings are experienced, but we should bear in mind that they are only thoughts and feelings — symptoms of the illness. They are not who we are. We are the person that is literally carrying around these thoughts and feelings. If we can remember who we were before we became ill we can detach from the feelings and try to ignore the thoughts.
对于抑郁和焦虑的人，都经历过频繁的消极想法和感受，但我们要牢记的是，它们只是思想和感情—病的症状。它们不是我们。我们是真正带着这些想法和感受的人。如果我们能在我们生病之前记住我们是谁，我们就可以脱离这种感情，努力忘掉这些思想。
9.Don ’ t react to your thoughts and feelings.
不要受你的思想感情的影响。
We have little control over the endless flow of negativity that enters our mind all day when we are ill. In CBT, we learn to stop these thoughts and introduce better one. But we can also be careful not to react to them — thereby reducing anxiety and further negative feelings. This allows us to keep control.
当我们痛苦时，几乎无法控制进入我们心灵的无穷无尽的负面东西。在 CBT，我们学会停止思考这些想法，想写好想法。但我们也要小心不要受它们影响——从而减轻焦虑和进一步的负面情绪。这让我们保持自制。
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