Wellbeing|与你的情绪和平共处:压力篇(上)

By Friday November 25th, 2022Events



与情绪和平共处

EMOTION

TIPS


Working with Emotions





我们每天都会产生各种不同的情绪,

 “情绪”这个词对我们来说并不陌生,

但是,我们真的了解情绪是如何工作的吗?


We all experience emotions 

– a variety of them.

Though the word “emotions” is not new to us, 

do we really understand how they work?


首先,情绪是没有“好”、“坏”之分的,每一种情绪都有它存在的意义。我们感受到的每一种情绪,都是大脑在向我们传递的一个个信息。所以,情绪是我们的送信人,它是带着重要信息来跟我们沟通的。


Fact is there are no “good” or “bad” emotions. Rather, each emotion carries its own meaning and work as messengers to deliver important information to us. 


因此,情绪不应该长时间的停留,它应该在送完信后就离开。可是,为什么在很多情况下,我们总感觉情绪迟迟不肯离去(特别是负面的情绪),甚至感到自己被困在了情绪里无法自拔?这就要说到情绪本该有的“工作流程”了。


Therefore after delivering their message, emotions should leave our bodies and not stay too long. So why do we often feel that emotions are reluctant to leave (especially negative ones) and even feel trapped by them in many cases? To help us answer this question, we need to understand how emotions work.



  Working with Emotions




情绪的“工作流程”

How Emotions Work



当有事件触发了我们的情绪时(例如考试而引发的紧张),我们首先会在身体上感受到情绪的出现(肌肉紧绷、胸闷、心跳加速、出汗等);然后我们的大脑会接着认知到情绪(“我感到很焦虑”);接下来,我们应该去听情绪所带给我们的信息(“我需要帮助”、“面对挑战,我要更加集中注意力”等);在听到信息后,采取行动(寻求老师/同学的帮助,复习笔记等);最后,这个情绪在我们采取行动后会离开。这是情绪应该有的工作流程。


When an event triggers a particular emotion in us such as stress caused by a pending exam, we first feel it in our body.  Our muscles tense up, our breath quickens, our heart rate goes up, and/or we begin to sweat. Then our brain realizes or interprets what is happening, e.g.”I feel anxious.”  Listen to the message that is going through your body. Receive it like a text message to the soul – “I need help,” “I need to focus more in the face of challenges,” “I need…”) After listening, take action.  Seek help from teachers/classmates.  Review notes.  Take walk. After you start taking action, the emotion should pass. This is how emotions work. 



但是现实是,很多人的情绪工作流程卡在了第二步“感受”上。当有情绪出现时,特别是负面的情绪,人们倾向于逃避而不是感受,压抑而不是接纳。这就直接导致情绪工作后面的流程无法进行。如果情绪得不到疏解,那就会出现困在情绪中难以自拔的情况。


When the emotion working path is interrupted, the emotions will linger.  Many of us tend to avoid or suppress our emotions, especially negative ones, instead of feeling and accepting them. Without the “feel it” step, the emotion will be stuck in your mind causing you to feel trapped by your emotions.





所以无论面对何种情绪,

感受它和接纳它永远是第一步!

Feel your emotions and accepting your emotions 

is the first step of the emotional working path.


在搞清楚第一步后,

让我们来分类讨论最常出现的两种情绪:

压力和愤怒。

With a better understanding of how emotions work, 

let’s talk about two common emotions 

– stress and anger.






压力 About Stress


提到压力,大部分人都会觉得它对我们身体有害,想要极力避免。但是研究指出(Keller,Litzelman,Wisk等,2012),当人们对压力的认知是积极的时,压力不仅不会伤害我们,反而会带给我们正向的影响。所以,在这个过程中对压力的认识很重要。


When it comes to stress, many people think it makes them sick and want to run away from it at all costs. However, research (Keller, Litzelman, Wisk, et al. 2012) shows that for people who experience a lot of stress but do not view stress as harmful, stress was less likely to harm them and even can bring positive effects. Hence, the interpretation of stress matters.




应对压力的方法

Strategies to Manage Stress


方法一:拥抱压力

Strategy #1 – Embrace stress


压力是不好的吗?答案是否定的。当有压力时,神经系统会让身体更加警觉、专注,聚集全身的能量去准备行动。在工作和学习中,压力会提高我们的适应能力,增进做事的效率;与此同时,体内也会释放激素鼓励我们与他人进行联结……这些实实在在的身体反应,都是压力带给我们的积极意义。所以在面对压力时,最应该做的第一步,就是先不要与之为敌。


Instead of thinking that stress is harmful, think the opposite.  When you feel stress, the nervous system will make you more alert and focused.  It can help you gather energy from the whole body to prepare for action. In work and study, stress will improve your ability to quickly adapt to the changing environment and improve the efficiency of doing tasks. At the same time, the body will release hormones that can encourage you to connect with others.  These physical reactions show that stress can benefit you in many situations.


那我们应该如何解读压力呢?其实在多数情况下身体对压力的生理反应与人在兴奋时的反应相似。所以下次再有压力时,不妨告诉自己“我现在很兴奋!”或者更加具体地来告诉自己“我现在感受到的压力是在为了帮助我能更好的提高效率,以完成……任务!”尝试改变一下对压力的解读,伴随着对压力认识的转变,能让我们更好的应对压力,而不是被压力所困。


In fact, people’s physical reactions to stress are very much similar to when they get excited. So, the next time you are stressed, try telling yourself that “I’m excited!” Or, more specifically, tell yourself, “The stress I’m feeling right now is helping me to be more prepared to complete my tasks!” We can better cope with stress by changing our interpretation of it. Stress does not have to be your enemy.






方法二:压力具像化


Strategy # 2 Personification



创造出一个角色代表你脑中抽象的压力,可以给他起个名字(例如,小王),也可以把他画出来。然后尝试与它对话;每当压力来临时,可以对自己说“看来小王同学又有些反应过度了”或者“看来小王同学有些过度担心这件事情对自己的影响了”等。甚至可以与压力角色进行一场辩论,通过收集事实证据来“说服”对方。通过具像化压力,可以让处在情绪中的大脑开始进行更加逻辑的思考。


Create a character to represent the stress in your mind.  You can either give it a name (e.g., Little Sam) or draw it out. Try to have a conversation with your stress character whenever the stress comes.  You can say to your character, “It seems that Little Sam is overreacting now” or “It seems that Little Sam is worrying too much about how this result will affect him.” You can even have a debate with your stress character and try to collect pieces of evidence to convince each other. What this strategy does is help us kickstart our logical brain by thinking accurately.





方法三:制定一个计划


Strategy # 3 Have a plan



很多压力都来自于对未来事情的担心,与其这样被动的担心,不如制定一个应对未来可能发生事情的计划。如果A发生了,我可以……;如果C发生了,我可以……。把注意力放在“下一步如何去做”。这样可以增加我们的掌控感,从而降低压力对自己的影响。


We often worry about things that have not happened yet. Instead of “What if,” take on challenges or situations thinking “If this happens, then…”. By doing this, we pay more attention to the following action instead of non-contributing worrying.  This strategy gives us a sense of control reducing the negative impact of stress.





未完待续……

To Be Continued





与情绪和平共处:愤怒篇(下)将带领大家认识愤怒情绪,为大家介绍ABCDE五步法,帮助我们理性找到问题的解决方法。敬请期待哦!


In our next article: Working with Emotions: Anger, we are going to talk about anger, introducing the five-step ABCDE method to help us deal with our anger. Let’s look forward to it!





文字 Writing | Jennifer Fu, Laura Zhang

排版 Editing | Mercy Xu

审核 Auditing |  Dieu-Anh Nguyen, Toni Dong, Wenping Li


本篇文章来源于微信公众号: 清华附中国际部

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