蹦跶哒的小U

It can take just minutes to break through a foul mood if you know the right tricks.



如果你掌握了正确的方法，其实只要几分钟，就可以和糟糕的心情说再见。

The University of California, Berkley recently reviewed the best of these techniques on their “Greater Good in Action” website. We’ve chosen some of our favourites here for a week’s plan to help you battle stress.

加州大学伯克利分校最近在他们的网站上回顾了这些让你更幸福的方法。在此我们选取了其中我们最爱的七个方法和大家分享，并将它们制定成一个周计划来帮助你战胜压力。

Monday



Diarists have long known that putting your feelings into words can help quell our emotions and put them in perspective, but it’s only recently that scientists have realised just how potent this simple action can be: spending 15 minutes a day on your journal can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, strengthen the immune system, and improve your performance at work. The benefits can persist for months. It’s far more effective than letting your frustrations bubble over in other ways; as BBC Future’s Claudia Hammond recently explained, venting your anger aggressively only aggravates a bad mood.

写日记的人向来知道将情绪转化成文字可以帮助自己平复心情，并从长远的眼光看待问题。但是，科学家直到最近才意识到简简单单地写个日记竟然可以如此有益身心。每天只要花上十五分钟写日记，就可以减缓沮丧和焦虑的症状，增强免疫力并改善工作中的表现。这些益处可以持续数月之久。写日记比其他缓解沮丧的方法有效得多，要知道，最近BBC Future栏目的克劳迪娅•哈蒙德告诉大家用极端的方法发泄怒火只会加剧你的坏心情。

Tuesday



It sounds corny, but it works: people who made a conscious effort to practise five small acts of kindness, for just one day a week, reported greater life-satisfaction at the end of a six-week trial. It’s part of a growing body of research showing that more generous people are happier and healthier.

这一点听起来是陈词滥调，但是它真的很有用。有意识地去努力帮助他人的人，哪怕一周只拿出一天做五件小小的善事，也在为期六周的实验结束报告中表现出了更高的生活满意度。这个实验和越来越多的研究表明人越慷慨大方就越幸福健康。

Wednesday



Imagine your life without a close friend or partner. It hurts, doesn’t it? Yet a 2008 paper found that people who performed this kind of “mental subtraction” ended up feeling a mood boost later on.Perhaps it stopped them taking their loved ones for granted; heaps of research has shown that regularly giving thanks and feeling gratitude improves life satisfaction.

试想一下你的生命中没有一个亲密的朋友或是搭档的场景。那会令人非常难受。但是一篇发表于2008年的论文表明那些有这样的“心理劣势”的人最终会在今后有一个更好的心情。也许那是因为他们不再把所爱的人当成理所当然的，因而他们对爱人倍加珍惜。大量研究已经证明常常心怀感恩并表示感谢会提升人们的生活满足感。Thursday



Psychologists have started to understand the importance of having a “purpose” in your life – people who see their life as having a meaning tend to be more mentally resilient to short-term knocks. Research suggests that simply looking through old pictures is one way to remind yourself of those things that make your life meaningful – be it your family or friends, charitable work or an important career achievement. Stirring up old memories connects you with your past and helps you to put recent events in a broader perspective, which can also take the sting out of fresh disappointments and anxieties.

心理学家开始发现生活目标在人生中非同小可的地位。那些认为自己的生活有意义的人对短期的打击有更强的心理承受力。研究表明只要你翻阅一下老照片就可以提醒自己是什么让你的生活有意义。朋友，家人，慈善或者是事业上的成就都可能帮你找到生命的意义。重温记忆可以让你缅怀过往，并帮你用更广阔的的视角对待最近发生的事情。这样一来你就可以轻松地消除心中新添的失落和焦急。

Friday



If the daily grind is getting you down, it can be easy to get caught up in everyday worries. That’s why scientists are increasingly interested in the positive benefits of feeling awe. Whether it’s a view of the starry sky or attending church, feeling wonder at something much bigger than yourself broadens the mind. Scientists have found that it makes people happier, more altruistic, less impatient and less anxious. Even spending a few minutes writing about an awe-inspiring experience can help. 如果你因日常琐事而闷闷不乐，那你就会很容易变得惶惶不可终日。这正是科学家对保持敬畏之心的积极作用越来越感兴趣的原因所在。不管你是仰望星空，还是去教堂做礼拜，只要你为比你自身要饱满的某种事物心存敬畏，你就能拥有一个更开阔的心胸。科学家们发现心存敬畏能让人更快乐，更无私，更无忧无虑。哪怕你只不过是花了几分钟写下一段令人惊叹的经历也会对你有所帮助。

Saturday



Things that once gave us pleasure can quickly lose their intensity over time, leading to the so-called “hedonic treadmill”. You can try to rediscover that initial joy by giving up a source of enjoyment – such as your favourite food or drink – for a week. After seven days, you will find that you have reset the “treadmill”, so you feel the full pleasure anew. In the meantime, the practice might have encouraged you to look for other entertainment, which could become a new source of pleasure in itself.

If abstaining for a week sounds a bit too much like hard work, you can at least try to practise mindfulness during your favourite activity. When taking a sip of coffee, for instance, concentrate on the complex symphony of flavours washing over your taste buds. This too has been shown to help you appreciate the small pleasures in life, easing stress and anxiety.

随着时间的流逝，曾经带给我们快乐的事物所能给予我们的欢乐将会很快变得越来越少，并最终引发“快乐水车”[1]现象。为了重新找到最初的欢乐，你可以选择放弃一种现有的享受。比如你可以在一周之内不吃你最爱的食物或不喝你最爱的饮料。这一周过去以后，当你再去吃那些食物的时候，你将发现你又重新找回了自己当时完好如初的快乐。与此同时，这样的经历也许会鼓励你去尝试其他的娱乐休闲方式。而尝试本身也是快乐的来源之一。

如果你觉得坚持一周难度太高的话，至少可以尝试在做自己最喜欢的事情时保证全神贯注。比如，当你啜饮咖啡的时候，你应该仔细体会味蕾上那如同一场交响乐般丰富的味道。这也可以帮你感受生活中的“小确幸”，并减少压力和焦虑状况。

[1] 快乐水车，是指收入增长，但快乐却不相应增长,即所谓的“有钱不快乐”现象。Sunday



There’s an Italian proverb “La lingua batte dove il dente duole” – “the tongue hits where the tooth hurts” – that perfectly describes our mind’s tendency to dwell on the pains of our past. Unfortunately, psychologists have shown that feelings of guilt, in particular, often backfire. Not only is it a cause of anxiety and unhappiness, but the feelings of hopelessness can make us more likely to give in to temptation in the future. For this reason, deliberately spending a few minutes trying to cultivate good feelings towards yourself can boost your happiness and your willpower.

有一句意大利谚语是这么说的