How to Improve Your Mental Health in 2022
如何在2022年改善你的心理健康
The year 2021 was one of emotional whiplash. There was anticipation for vaccines, followed by confusing rollouts. Then, we saw some hope as many Americans were inoculated, only to find new variants, a tumultuous news cycle and widespread confusion around the bend. The good news is that people across the country — including experts, public figures and kids — started talking more openly and helpfully about the importance of mental health. Here at Well, we offered tools to stay balanced in the face of so much stress and anxiety. As the year comes to a close, we’ve collected the top pieces of advice from our most popular mental health stories to help you carry calm and clarity into 2022.
2021年是情绪被折磨的一年。人们期待疫苗，随后开展的疫苗接种却十分混乱。然后，由于许多美国人都接种了疫苗，我们看到了一些希望，但却发现了新的变异株、沸沸扬扬的新闻报道和疯狂蔓延的混乱。好消息是，全国各地的人们——包括专家、公众人物和孩子——开始更公开、更有帮助地谈论心理健康的重要性。在面对如此多的压力和焦虑时，时报健康版面提供了一些工具来帮你保持平衡。随着这一年的结束，我们从最受欢迎的心理健康报道中收集了最佳建议，以帮助你在2022年保持冷静和清醒。
1. Give your feeling a name.
1. 为你的感觉命名。
Back in April, Adam Grant had already called it; he said, “Languishing might be the dominant emotion of 2021.” People certainly knew they were feeling some kind of way, but it wasn’t burnout or depression or even boredom. “Languishing is the neglected middle child of mental health,” Dr. Grant wrote. “It’s the void between depression and flourishing — the absence of well-being.” He provided some tips to cure languishing, but the powerful first step Dr. Grant proposed was simply naming the feeling. Doing so gave us “a clearer window into what had been a blurry experience,” he wrote, and a socially acceptable response to the question: “How are you?”
早在4月，亚当·格兰特博士就已经为它命名。他说，“萎靡(languishing)可能是2021年的主导情绪。”人们当然知道他们有某种感觉，但这不是倦怠或抑郁，甚至不是无聊。“萎靡感是心理健康中被忽视的中间地带，”格兰特写道。“它介于抑郁和蓬勃之间的空隙——缺乏幸福感。”他提供了一些应对萎靡的技巧，但格兰特提出的强有力的第一步只是为这种感觉命名。他写道，这样做让我们“对了解一种曾经模糊的经历有一个更清晰的窗口”，以及对“你最近怎么样？”这个问题能有一个社会可接受的回答。
2. Give your mental illness a name, too.
2. 也为你的精神疾病起个名字。
While Lily Burana had always been candid about her depression and anxiety, getting a third diagnosis this spring — for A.D.H.D. — made it harder to discuss her mental health clearly, she wrote. So Ms. Burana gave “the whole bundle” a nickname: Bruce. As in Springsteen, a public figure who has been open about his own struggles with mental health. “The nickname allows me to efficiently keep people apprised of my status, as in: ‘Bruce has really been bringing me down this week,’” she wrote. “The nickname helps me lighten up about my own darkness.”
虽然莉莉·布拉纳对她的抑郁和焦虑非常坦诚，但今年春天得到了第三次注意力不足多动障碍诊断(ADHD)，她写道，这让她更难以清晰地讨论她的心理健康。因此，布拉纳给这“一揽子症状”起了一个绰号：布鲁斯。这是公众人物斯普林斯汀的名字，他公开谈论自己与心理健康问题的斗争。“这个昵称让我能够有效地让人们了解我的状态，例如：‘布鲁斯这周真的把我打败了’，”她写道。“这个昵称帮助我照亮了自己的黑暗。”
3. Find meaning in everyday activities.
3. 寻找日常活动中的意义
A growing body of research shows that there are simple steps you can take to recharge your emotional batteries and spark a sense of fulfillment, purpose and happiness. The psychology community calls this lofty combination of physical, mental and emotional fitness “flourishing.” One easy way to get there is by doing your everyday activities with more purpose. Something as simple as cleaning the kitchen or doing yard work, or even washing your pillow cases, can build toward a sense of accomplishment. Set a 10-minute timer and go for a short jog, or try a one-minute meditation.
越来越多研究表明，可以通过一些简单的步骤来给自己的情感电池充电，激发一种满足感、目标感和幸福感。心理学社区把这种结合了身心与情感健康的玄妙感觉称为“心盛(flourishing)”。要实现它有一个简单的办法，就是带着更多目标性去完成日常活动。像是清理厨房或打扫院子这种简单的事情，甚至是洗一洗枕套，都可以得到一种成就感。设一个10分钟的倒计时，去跑一会步，或做一分钟的冥想。
4. Try meditating anywhere.
4. 尝试随时随地冥想
Your brain is like a computer, and it has only a certain amount of working memory, said Dr. Judson Brewer, the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center. That’s why negative emotions like anxiety and stress can make it harder to think or solve problems. “The first thing we have to do is ground ourselves in the present moment so we can calm down,” said Dr. Brewer, who suggested keeping this meditation technique in your back pocket:
布朗大学正念中心研究和创新总监贾德森·布鲁尔博士说，你的大脑就像一台电脑，它的工作存储能力是有限的。这就是为什么焦虑和压力这样的负面情绪会让人难以思考或解决问题。“我们首先要做的是把自己放在当下，这样才能冷静下来，”布鲁尔说，他建议随时使用这种冥想技巧：
Hold one hand in front of you, fingers spread. Now, slowly trace the outside of your hand with the index finger on your other hand, breathing in when you trace up a finger, and out when you trace down. Move up and down all five fingers. When you’ve traced your whole hand, reverse direction and do it again.
将一只手五指张开放在身前。用另一只手的食指沿着这只手的边缘滑动，在向上走的时候吸气，向下时呼气。上上下下把五根手指走遍。完成了一遍后，调转方向再来一遍。
5. Allow yourself to grieve ‘small’ losses.
5. 允许自己为一些“小”损失而伤心
In the hierarchy of human suffering during the pandemic, a canceled prom or vacation or lost time with grandchildren may not sound like much, but mental health experts say that all loss needs to be acknowledged and grieved. We need to give ourselves permission to mourn, Tara Parker-Pope wrote in an article about disenfranchised grief. “Once you accept that your grief is real, there are steps you can take to help you cope,” she said. “Consider planting a tree, for example, or finding an item that represents your loss, like canceled airline tickets or a wedding invitation, and burying it.”
在大流行期间的人类种种苦难中，学校舞会或度假被取消，被剥夺和孙辈们在一起的时间，这些听起来不算什么，但精神健康专家说，所有的损失都需要得到承认与哀悼。我们需要允许自己难过，塔拉·帕克-波普在一篇关于被剥夺哀伤的文章中写道。“一旦接受了你的伤痛是真是的，接下来就一些步骤可以帮助你来应对，”她说。“例如考虑种一棵树，或找到一个能代表你的伤痛的东西，比如取消的航班机票或婚礼邀请函，然后埋葬它。”
6. If you need one, take a ‘Sad Day.’
6. 有必要的话，给自己放一天“悲伤假”
When your brain and body need a break, taking a mental health day off from work or school can help you rest and recharge. As one clinical psychologist told Christina Caron: “You wouldn’t feel bad about taking time off when sick. You shouldn’t feel bad about taking some time off when you’re sad.” You don’t need to tell anyone why you’re taking the time off. In most situations, just say that you need to take a sick day, and leave it at that, the experts told Ms. Caron. But try not to spend the day checking your messages or feeling guilty. Make a plan to do something that will help you recharge. Our readers offered their suggestions here.
当你的大脑和身体需要休息时，离开工作或学校，给自己放一个精神健康假，有助于你休息和充电。正如一位临床心理学家对克里斯蒂娜·卡伦所说：“你不会因为生病了请假而觉得过意不去。那么因为不开心而请假也没什么不对的。”你不需要告诉所有人你为什么请假。专家对卡伦说，多数情况下，只需要说你想请个病假，就这样。但是不要在假期去看手机通知，或感到内疚。做个计划，做一些有助于充电的事。我们的读者在这里给出了他们的建议。
7. Write down what’s bothering you before bed.
7. 睡前写下困扰你的事情。
Chronically bad sleep is more than just a nuisance. It weakens the immune system, reduces memory and attention span, and increases the likelihood of depression. Anahad O’Connor, who reported on the rise of sleep disturbances during the pandemic, said that one of the most effective treatments for “coronasomnia” was cognitive behavioral therapy, or C.B.T., because this approach helps you address the underlying thoughts, feelings and behaviors that are ruining your sleep. One C.B.T.-inspired strategy is to write down all of your thoughts, especially anything that is bothering you, two hours before bed, then crumple up the paper and throw it away. This symbolic gesture empowers you and calms your mind, a sleep medicine doctor told Mr. O’Connor.
长期的低质量睡眠不仅仅是一种烦恼。它会削弱免疫系统，降低记忆力和注意力持续时间，并增加抑郁的可能性。阿纳哈德·奥康纳报道了大流行期间睡眠障碍的增加，他说，对“新冠失眠症”最有效的治疗方法之一是认知行为疗法，它可以帮助你解决破坏睡眠的潜在思想、感觉和行为。一个基于认知行为疗法的策略就是在睡前两小时写下你所有的想法，尤其是那些困扰你的事情，然后把纸揉成一团扔掉。一名睡眠医学医生告诉奥康纳，这个象征性的动作能为你赋能，让你的心灵平静下来。
8. Count sheep … or whatever.
8. 数数羊……或者别的什么。
Waking up at 3 a.m.? Anahad O’Connor had advice for that predicament too, like limiting your alcohol intake and reducing caffeine. Our readers had other tips: Maria De Angelo, a teacher in Los Angeles who also renovates houses, said she closes her eyes and thinks of a complicated electrical wiring scheme in a kitchen she once renovated. The mental exercise induces boredom, much like counting sheep, which helps her drift back to sleep. On other nights, to mix things up, Ms. De Angelo shuts her eyes and recites the names of every state in America in alphabetical order. “I haven’t yet made it past ‘N,’” she said. “Either method — or both — will work 95 percent of the time.”
在凌晨3点醒来？对于这种困境，阿纳哈德·奥康纳也提出了一些建议，比如限制酒精摄入量和减少咖啡因摄入量。我们的读者还有其他建议：洛杉矶的教师玛丽亚·德安杰洛还从事房屋装修。她说，她经常闭上眼睛，回想自己曾经装修过的一个厨房里复杂的布线方案。这种脑力锻炼会让她感到无聊，就像数羊一样，有助于让她重新入睡。有时候，为了换个花样，德安杰洛会闭上眼睛，按字母顺序背诵美国每个州的名字。“我根本熬不到‘N’，”她说。“其中一种方法——或者两种方法——在95%的情况下都有效。”
9. If you can, give back.
9. 尽你所能，回馈社会。
Well before a pandemic tore people away from their loved ones, experts were warning of “an epidemic of loneliness” in the United States. A potential cure? Kindness toward others, Christina Caron wrote in an article about the benefits of volunteering. Research shows that giving back can improve our health, ease feelings of loneliness and broaden our social networks. Start by setting a small goal, like volunteering once a week, or even once a month, and building from there.
早在大流行从人们身边夺去所爱之人前，专家们就警告说，美国将出现“一种孤独流行病”。有什么治疗方法？克里斯蒂娜·卡伦在一篇关于志愿服务的好处的文章中写道，办法就是对他人友善。研究表明，回馈社会可以改善健康，缓解孤独感，拓宽社交网络。从设定一个小目标开始，比如每周或每月做一次志愿者，然后以此开始扩展。
10. Finally, give yourself a break.
10. 最后，要放过自己。
During our two-week Fresh Start Challenge, Tara Parker-Pope heard from a lot of readers who were berating themselves for gaining weight or exercising less during the pandemic lockdowns. Her response? “Shaming yourself is counterproductive.” Instead, practice self-compassion. One of the simplest ways to do so is to ask yourself one question: “What do I need right now?”
在我们为期两周的“新起点挑战”活动中，塔拉·帕克-波普收到了许多读者的来信，他们抱怨自己在疫情封锁期间体重增加或锻炼减少。她的回答是什么？“羞辱自己只会适得其反。”相反，要多同情自己。最简单的方法之一就是问自己一个问题：“我现在需要什么？”
来源：好英语网
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