pleasant summaries of our lives to friends, we smile over dinner. We aren't totally

愉快的總結我們的生活給朋友，我們微笑著吃飯。我們並不完全

balanced, but there's little way of knowing how difficult things might be for other people,

平衡，但幾乎無法知道別人的事情有多困難。

and what we have a right to expect in terms of contentment and peace of mind. We probably

以及我們有權期待的滿足感和安心感。我們可能

tell ourselves to stop being self-indulgent and redouble our efforts to feel worthy through

告訴自己不要再自我放縱，要加倍努力，通過以下方式讓自己覺得自己有價值

achievement. We are probably world experts in not feeling sorry for ourselves.

的成就。我們可能是世界上不自怨自艾的專家。

Decades may pass. It's not uncommon for the most serious mental conditions to remain

幾十年可能會過去。最嚴重的精神狀況仍舊存在的情況並不少見。

undiagnosed for half a lifetime. We simply don't notice that we are, beneath the surface,

半輩子都沒有被診斷出來。我們根本沒有注意到自己，在表面之下。

chronically anxious, filled with self-loathing and close to overwhelming despair and rage.

長期焦慮，充滿了自我厭惡，接近於壓倒性的絕望和憤怒。

This too simply ends up feeling normal.

這也只是最後感覺正常。

Until one day, finally, something triggers a collapse. It might be a crisis at work,

直到有一天，終於，某件事情引發了崩潰。可能是工作上的危機。

a reversal in our career plans or a mistake we've made over a task. It might be a romantic

事業計劃的逆轉，或者是我們因為任務而犯的錯誤。這可能是一個浪漫的

failure, someone leaving us or a realisation that we are profoundly unhappy with a partner

失敗，有人離開我們，或者意識到我們對伴侶非常不滿意。

we had thought might be our long-term future. Alternatively, we feel mysteriously exhausted

我們曾認為可能是我們的長期未來。或者，我們感到神祕的疲憊。

and sad, to the extent that we can't face anything any more, even a family meal or a

和悲傷，以至於我們無法再面對任何事情，即使是一頓家常便飯，或者是一場

conversation with a friend. Or we are struck by unmanageable anxiety around everyday challenges,

與朋友交談。或者我們被圍繞著日常挑戰的難以控制的焦慮所打動。

like addressing our colleagues or going into a shop. We're swamped by a sense of doom

就像對同事說話或進商店一樣。我們被一種厄運感淹沒了

and imminent catastrophe. We sob uncontrollably.

和即將發生的災難。我們不由自主地抽泣起來。

We are in a mental crisis and, if we are lucky, we will know to put up the white flag at once.

我們現在正處於精神危機之中，如果運氣好的話，就會知道馬上豎起白旗。

There is nothing shameful or rare in our condition; we have fallen ill, as so many before us have.

我們的狀況並沒有什麼可恥或罕見的，我們已經病倒了，就像我們之前的許多人一樣。

We need not compound our sickness with a sense of embarrassment. This is what happens when

我們不需要用尷尬的感覺來加重我們的病痛。以下情況就是這樣

one is a delicate human facing the hurtful, alarming and always uncertain conditions of

一個人是一個脆弱的人，面臨著傷害的，令人震驚的和總是不確定的條件下，一個人是一個脆弱的人。

existence. Recovery can start the moment one admits one no longer has a clue how to cope.

的存在。當一個人承認自己已經不知道如何應對的時候，就可以開始恢復。

The roots of the crisis almost certainly go a long way back. Things will not have been

這場危機的根源幾乎可以說是由來已久。事情不會是

right in certain areas for an age, possibly forever. There will have been grave inadequacies

某些領域的權利在一個時代，可能是永遠。會有嚴重的不足

in the early days, things that were said and done to us that should never have occurred

早年，對我們說過的、做過的、不該發生的事情都發生了。

and bits of reassurance and care that were ominously missed out on. On top of this, adult

和位的保證和關懷，不祥地錯過了。除此之外，成人

life will have layered on difficulties which we were not well equipped to know how to endure.

生活中會有層層疊疊的困難，而這些困難是我們沒有條件懂得承受的。

It will have applied pressure along our most tender, invisible faultlines.

它將沿著我們最柔弱的、看不見的斷層線施加壓力。

Our illness is trying to draw attention to our problems, but it can only do so inarticulately,

我們的疾病是想引起人們對我們問題的關注，但它只能無聲無息地進行。

by throwing up coarse and vague symptoms. It knows how to declare that we are worried

通過拋出粗大而模糊的症狀。它知道如何宣稱我們是在擔心

and sad, but it can't tell us what about and why. That will be the work of patient

和悲傷，但它不能告訴我們什麼和為什麼。這將是耐心的工作

investigation, over months and years, probably in the company of experts. The illness contains

調查，歷時數月和數年，可能在專家的陪同下。該疾病包含

the cure, but it has to be teased out and its original inarticulacy interpreted. Something

的治療方法，但必須要把它挑出來，並對它原來的語焉不詳進行解釋。一些

from the past is crying out to be recognised - and will not leave us alone until we have

過去的歷史正在呼喚著被認可--在我們沒有得到認可之前，不會放過我們。

given it its due.

賦予它應有的意義。

It may seem - at points - like a death sentence but we are, beneath the crisis, being given

有時，它可能看起來像一個死刑判決，但在危機之下，我們被賦予了一個新的機會。

an opportunity to restart our lives on a more generous, kind and realistic footing. There

一個機會，讓我們在一個更慷慨、善良和現實的基礎上重新開始我們的生活。有

is an art to being ill - and to daring, at last, to listen to what our pain is trying

生病是一門藝術，也是一門敢於傾聽痛苦的藝術

to tell us.

來告訴我們。