導語

大多數精神疾病都沒有得到應有的關注，因為隨著時間的推移，我們的應對機制會得到加強，但是在人的一生中，總會有那麼一段時間，一切都停滯不前，無論如何應對似乎都無法阻止大的失敗。但精神疾病也是一個轉折點、一個交叉點，一條路向上通向正常，另一條路向下通向遺忘，我們需要勇敢地傾聽我們的病痛想向我們訴說什麼。

中英全文

For a long time， we may cope well enough。 We make it to work every morning， we give pleasant summaries of our lives to friends， we smile over dinner。 We aren’t totally balanced， but there’s little way of knowing how difficult things might be for other people， and what we have a right to expect in terms of contentment and peace of mind。 We probably tell ourselves to stop being self-indulgent and redouble our efforts to feel worthy through achievement。 We are probably world experts in not feeling sorry for ourselves。

很長時間裡，我們對一切都應付自如，每天早上都去工作，愉快地向好友彙報生活，晚餐時滿臉笑容。然而，我們並不總是沉著冷靜，我們無法知道別人的生活有多困難，也不知道我們有權得到怎樣的內心滿足與寧靜，我們也許會告訴自己 不要再自我放縱，要加倍努力，透過成就來感受存在的價值感。在自怨自艾方面，我們也許並不是世界級專家。

Decades may pass。 It’s not uncommon for the most serious mental conditions to remain undiagnosed for half a life time。 We simply don’t notice that we are， beneath the surface， chronically anxious， filled with self-loathing and close to overwhelming despair and rage。 This too simply ends up feeling normal。

也許幾十年光景逝去，最嚴重的精神疾病半輩子都沒被診斷出來，這種情況很並非罕見，我們只是沒有注意到光鮮的表面之下，我們長期焦慮，充滿自我厭惡，內心世界似乎滿是壓倒性的絕望和憤怒，這也會讓你感覺正常。

Until one day， finally， something triggers a collapse。 It might be a crisis at work， a reversal in our career plans or a mistake we’ve made over a task。 It might be a romantic failure， someone leaving us or a realisation that we are profoundly unhappy with a partner we had thought might be our long-term future。 Alternatively， we feel mysteriously exhausted and sad， to the extent that we can’t face anything any more， even a family meal or a conversation with a friend。 Or we are struck by unmanageable anxiety around everyday challenges， like addressing our colleagues or going into a shop。 We’re swamped by a sense of doom and imminent catastrophe。 We sob uncontrollably。

直到有一天，終於有件事觸發了你的崩潰，這件事可能是工作出現危機、職業規劃出現挫折、或者我們在某件任務上犯的錯誤，也可能是感情上的失敗，或者有人離開了我們，或者意識到和曾經以為會的長期伴侶的人一起生活是如此的不開心。另一種情況是，我們會莫名其妙地感到疲憊和悲傷，以至於我們再也無法面對任何事情，甚至是一頓家庭聚餐或與一次朋友間的談話。或者，我們會因為每天所面臨的挑戰，而感到難以控制的焦慮。比如對同事講話或走進一家商店，我們被一種毀滅感和迫在眉睫的災難所淹沒，我們控制不住地抽泣。

We are in a mental crisis and， if we are lucky， we will know to put up the white flag at once。 There is nothing shameful or rare in our condition； we have fallen ill， as so many before us have。 We need not compound our sickness with a sense of embarrassment。 This is what happens when one is a delicate human facing the hurtful， alarming and always uncertain conditions of existence。 Recovery can start the moment one admits one no longer has a clue how to cope。

我們陷入了精神危機，如果我們幸運的話，我們會知道立刻舉白旗投降。我們的狀況並不可恥，也不稀奇，我們已經病倒了 就像之前的許多病人一樣。我們不需要用尷尬的感覺來加重我們的病痛。當一個脆弱的人面對著傷害、震驚和總是不確定的生存條件時都會出現這種情況，當一個人承認自己再也不知道如何應對的那一刻，康復就開始了。

The roots of the crisis almost certainly go a long way back。 Things will not have been right in certain areas for an age， possibly forever。 There will have been grave inadequacies in the early days， things that were said and done to us that should never have occurred and bits of reassurance and care that were ominously missed out on。 On top of this， adult life will have layered on difficulties which we were not well equipped to know how to endure。 It will have applied pressure along our most tender， invisible faultlines。

幾乎可以肯定，這場危機的根源由來已久。某些領域的情況在一段時間內，可能永遠不會好轉。童年存在嚴重的缺陷，那些別人對我們說的話和做的事，本不應該發生。一些安慰和關心不幸地被遺漏了。除此之外 成年後的生活也給我們帶來更多的困難，而我們並沒有做好準備承受這些困難，病痛將沿著我們最柔弱的、最看不見的斷層施加壓力。

Our illness is trying to draw attention to our problems， but it can only do so inarticulately， by throwing up coarse and vague symptoms。 It knows how to declare that we are worried and sad， but it can’t tell us what about and why。 That will be the work of patient investigation， over months and years， probably in the company of experts。 The illness contains the cure， but it has to be teased out and its original inarticulacy interpreted。 Something from the past is crying out to be recognised – and will not leave us alone until we have given it its due。

我們的疾病正試圖引起人們注意我們問題，但它只能透過表現出粗糙和模糊的症狀來無聲無息地進行。它知道如何宣告我們很擔心、很難過，但無法告訴我們是怎麼回事，為什麼？這就要靠耐心的診斷了，長年累月，可能要在專家的陪同下進行，病症中包含著治療的方法，但必須要把它梳理出來，並解釋它原來模糊不清的症狀，一些來自過去的缺陷正在呼喊著要被承認-直到我們給予它應得的的迴應，否則它不會放過我們。

It may seem – at points – like a death sentence but we are， beneath the crisis， being given an opportunity to restart our lives on a more generous， kind and realistic footing。 There is an art to being ill – and to daring at last to listen to what our pain is trying to tell us。

在某些時候，這看起來就像死刑判決，但在危機之下，我們卻得到了一個機會 讓我們在一個更加寬容、善良和現實的基礎上重新開始生活，生病是一門藝術，勇敢地傾聽我們的痛苦，試圖向我們訴說什麼。