放假比上班更痛苦

 For most of us, the purpose of the holidays is to bring peace, love,and goodwill¹ towards all. Yet, for many, the holiday season often meansstress, fatigue², pressure, disappointment and loneliness。

对我们大多数人来说，休假的目的是为获得清静、关爱和友善，但是对很多人来说，假日却常常意味着紧张、疲倦、压力、失望和孤寂。

These feelings, often known as the "holiday blues³," may be even more prevalent, due to the emotional turmoil⁴ of the past few months, not tomention the unsteady economy。

且不说变化不定的经济，过去几个月来情感上的波折就可能使这种被称为"假日忧伤"的情感更为普遍。

Experts say even the more ritual tasks of shopping, decorating,late-night parties, cooking, planning and family reunions can be holiday stressors。

专家说，甚至购物、布置房间、深夜晚会、做饭、计划和家庭团聚这种人们习以为常的事，都可能成为假日紧张的因素。

In addition, the psychological phenomenon known as seasonal⁵ affective disorder⁶, or SAD, may bring a specific type of depression related to winter's shorter days and longer nights。

此外，季节情感紊乱症或称SAD的心理现象也可能导致一种与冬季昼短夜长有关的特殊类型的抑郁。

"Certainly just because it's the holidays doesn't mean people aregoing to be happy," says Dr. Doug Jacobs of Harvard University. "Andthis will be a particularly hard holiday for some who are dealing⁷ witha lost job, debt, or even a lost loved one."

哈佛大学的DougJacobs博士说：“当然，假日并不意味着大家都会很开心。对于那些正在应付失业、债务问题、甚至失去亲人的人来说，假期将尤其难熬。”

And with family reunions becoming less frequent events over theyears, there is now the added pressure of getting just one chance toget it all right. "Families are much more disparate now. The disappointment and sense of alienation⁸ that often results from familygatherings, is actually a realization⁹ that the fantasy is notmet."　says John Stutesman, a clinical psychologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago。

近年来，随着家庭团聚的减少，举办一个恰到好处的家庭聚会的压力也更大。芝加哥西北纪念医院的临床心理学家John Stutesman说，“现在的家庭是截然不同的，人们在家庭聚会中感到失望、疏远，实际上他们已认识到幻想不能实现”。

Still, say experts, the blues should be addressed. The most essential step, says Stutesman, is for the individual to acknowledge their feelings and the reason for their with drawal. "Denial will only compound the stress they're feeling."

专家们说，针对假日忧伤人们还是应该采取措施。Stutesman说，最根本的措施是人们应承认他们的感受和消沉的原因。他说：“否认只会加重其紧张情绪。”

Stutesman recommends people do things that are normally comfortingin order to get a handle on the holiday stress. "If they're feeling a little blue, they should try to do things personally satisfying for them. Maybe this is exercise, cooking, reading a book, or massage¹⁰."

建议人们做一些通常令人宽慰的事来对付假日紧张情绪，如果感到有些忧伤，应去做一些自觉惬意的事情，如锻炼、烹调、读书或按摩。

1 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

2 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

3 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

4 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

5 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

6 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

9 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

10 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。