More College Students Seeking Help with Mental Health
越來越多的海外大學生尋求心理健康方面的幫助
Original From VOA Special English, 10 September, 2016
Translated by 溫潤如玉De
Over the last 10 years, the number of university students seeking help for mental or emotional problems has grown sharply.
過去的十年間，就精神和情緒方面的問題尋求幫助的在校大學生人數劇增。
A 2015 report from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health found the number of students seeking help increased at five times the rate of new students starting college during that time.
從大學生心理健康中心2015年的一份報告中發現，尋求幫助的大學生數量比剛入校的新生數量增加了五倍。
In addition, a 2015 report from the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors found anxiety to be a major problem for students. Nearly half of all students who sought help in recent years said they felt anxious. In other words, the students said they felt unusually worried or afraid.
另外，大學咨詢中心管理層協會提供的一份2015年報告顯示，焦慮是學生的主要問題。近年來，半成左右的學生求助者說，他們感覺到焦慮。換句話說，這些學生感到異常的擔心和害怕。
An additional 40 percent of students said they felt depressed -- very, very sad.
另外40%的學生說，他們感到情緒低落。
Experts give several explanations for why the number of students seeking help for mental health issues is rising. One reason could simply be a change in American culture. In the United States, people are increasingly comfortable talking about mental health issues and bringing their problems to trained experts.
對于為何需要心理健康幫助的大學生數目增多，專家給出了幾種解釋。一個簡單的原因是美國文化的變化。在美國，人們越來越習慣于討論心理健康并把他們的問題交給受過訓練的專家解決。
Another reason could be related to the current generation of young people attending universities today.
另一個原因與當代年輕人受過大學教育有關。
But one reason is surely higher education itself.
但是其中一個原因當然是高等教育本身引起的。
Ben Locke is the executive director at the Center for Collegiate Mental Health. He also serves as the director of counseling and psychological services at Pennsylvania State University.
Ben Locke是大學生心理健康中心的執行總監，同時他也是賓夕法尼亞州立大學心理咨詢服務中心的主管。
Locke says feeling worried and sad are normal parts of life. But college is a difficult time when students want to make friends, find their identity and succeed academically.
Locke說，擔憂和情緒低落在生活中是很正常的。但大學階段學生想要交友，找到自身的認同感并在學業上取得成功，這個階段是不容易的。
"College being a place with high demands, lots of competition and lots of concern about being able to get a good job after college, certainly increases the, the level of stress that students experience."
大學作為一個高要求和充滿競爭的地方，再加上擔心畢業后找不到好工作，這些無疑會加大學生所承受的壓力。
Giorgia's story
Giorgia的故事
Giorgia felt the stress of college life in a very severe way. She began her studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 2010. She wanted very badly to succeed there, but she often worried she would fail.
Giorgia面臨來自大學生活的嚴重壓力。她從2010年開始在加拿大蒙特利爾的麥吉爾大學學習。那時她非常渴望成功，但又經常擔心會失敗。
Giorgia asked VOA not to share her surname.
Giorgia不讓VOA透漏她的姓。
Even before she went to college, Giorgia worried about things. At age 11, Giorgia was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. OCD causes a person to focus intensely on the same thoughts and repeat the same behaviors over and over.
在她讀大學之前，她就常常焦慮。11歲時，Giorgia被查出患有強迫癥(OCD)。強迫癥會迫使患者執念于同一個想法并不斷重復同樣的行為。
At McGill, Giorgia worried about her academic performance. She also worried about what she would do after college.
在麥吉爾大學，Giorgia擔心她的學習成績，她還擔心畢業后不知道能做什么。
In her third year of school, Giorgia worried so much about her worrying that she began seeing a therapist. Her therapist suggested the medication called Adderall would help Giorgia with her OCD.
大學第三年，Giorgia非常擔心她的心理問題，她開始進行治療。她的治療師建議服用阿德林(Adderall)進行治療。
But as her final year at McGill grew closer, Giorgia only worried more.
但是快到Giorgia從麥吉爾大學畢業的最后一年，她卻更焦慮了。
She stopped eating regularly and did not sleep for weeks at a time.
她開始飲食不規律并一度失眠好幾周。
Her medication only made the problems worse. Her mood changed wildly. She also began to believe that her friends -- as well as complete strangers -- were watching her.
服用藥物卻讓情況變得更糟。她的性情大變。她還開始認為她的朋友和陌生人一起監視她。
"I was aware that it was crazy. But I also thought there was no other possible way that all these coincidences could be happening. And it really freaked me out."
“我意識到事情到了令人發瘋的地步。但是我也覺得除了藥物沒有其他原因會引發所有這些狀況。我嚇壞了。”
Georgia stopped leaving her apartment. And because she lived far from home, her parents did not realize how serious her anxiety was.
Georgia閉門不出。由于她離家遠，她的父母并沒有意識到她患有這么嚴重的焦慮癥。
Jason's story
Jason的故事
A young man named Jason also shared his story with VOA. Like Giorgia, he did not want to give his surname.
有位叫Jason的年輕人也向VOA分享了他的經歷。和Giorgia一樣，他不想透露他的姓。
Jason is from Bethesda, in the eastern U.S. state of Maryland.
Jason來自美國東部馬里蘭州的貝塞斯達。
Jason started seeing a therapist when he was seven years old. At that time, his therapist diagnosed him with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
Jason從7歲就開始治療。正是在那時，他被醫生診斷為注意力缺失和多動癥患者(ADHD)。
This condition of the brain makes focusing for long periods of time difficult. It also affects a person's ability to think clearly before making decisions.
這種情況下，大腦無法長時間集中注意力，而且在做決定前很難靜下來好好思考。
Jason says having ADHD made school difficult for him throughout his life.
Jason說，患上ADHD讓他整個學習生涯很艱難。
He adds that he also struggles with depression. His therapist diagnosed him with the condition when he was in high school.
他補充到，他同時與抑郁癥作斗爭。高中時，醫生查出來他患有該疾病。
Jason completed a two-year associate's degree at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland, in the spring of 2007. He then began a bachelor's degree program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County that fall.
2007年春天，Jason獲得了馬里蘭州羅克維爾蒙哥馬利學院兩年制的專科畢業證書。同年秋天，他開始在巴爾的摩縣馬里蘭大學攻讀本科學位。
But just as he began classes, his life changed in several major ways. His mother and father told him they were separating. Then his grandmother died.
但就在他開始學習時，他的人生出現了大幅轉折。他的父母告訴他，他們分居了。然后他的祖母去世了。
Jason tried to stay focused on his studies. But the next year, his parents decided to make their separation permanent and get divorced. A month later, he received more horrible news: his best friend died.
Jason試圖將注意力放在學業上。但是第二年，他的父母決定永久分居并離婚了。一個月后，他收到一個更可怕的消息：他的好朋友去世了。
Jason says all these things combined proved to be too much for him. Some days he was so sad he could not leave his bed. And then at one point, he considered suicide.
Jason說，所有這些事情累積在一起，讓他難以承受。有一段時間，他非常難過以至于臥床不起。在某些時候，他考慮過自殺。
"I remember because I was driving home and I said to myself, ‘I wonder what would happen if I just yanked my steering wheel to the left and drove into one of these light poles. And I wonder who would come to my funeral? And I wonder if anyone would care?'"
“我記得是因為當時我正在開車回家的路上，我對自己說，‘我想知道如果我猛向左打方向盤，撞向某個燈柱，會發生什么？誰會來參加我的葬禮？是否有人在乎我？’”
As soon as Jason began thinking suicidal thoughts he knew he needed help.
一旦Jason出現自殺的念頭，他就知道他需要幫助。
Next week we will continue exploring mental health issues and how they affect college students. We will hear why experts say these issues are a growing concern and what can be done.
下周我們將繼續探討心理健康問題以及它對大學生有哪些影響。我們會了解到為什么專家認為這些心理問題需要給予更多的關注以及應采取哪些措施。
