关于自杀与抑郁症的15个迷思和真相Depression is more common than AIDS, cancer, and diabetes combined, and nearly 400,000 people attempt suicide in the U.S. every year.
抑郁症比艾滋病、癌症和糖尿病三者加起来还要常见，美国每年约有40万人尝试自杀。 But even though it\'s a common and serious problem, many people don\'t know that much about depression and suicide—including who\'s at the greatest risk, why, and when they are most likely to be vulnerable. 但尽管这个问题如此常见而又严重，很多人对抑郁症和自杀仍然不甚了解——包括什么人自杀倾向最高、什么原因及什么时间让他们最脆弱。 Here are 15 myths and facts about depression and suicide. 以下是15条关于抑郁症和自杀的迷思和真相。 Suicides peak during holidays 节日期间自杀的人最多 Myth 迷思 \"There is a time of year when suicides are more common,\" says Marcia Valenstein, MD, research scientist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development Service. \"But it\'s not when everyone thinks.\" “一年中确实有一个时段自杀现象更常见，”退伍军人事务部医疗服务研发部门的研究员玛西娅·瓦伦斯坦医学博士表示，“但不是在人们认为的那个时间。” Most people think the winter holidays are a risky time, but suicides are lowest in December and peak in the spring. 大多数人认为冬季假期自杀风险高，但实际上，12月的自杀率最低，春天自杀率最高。 It\'s not clear why, but it could be due to changing levels of natural light. \"It could be that they have more energy to attempt suicide,\" says Dr. Valenstein, who is also an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Depression Center, in Ann Arbor. 这个原因尚不明确，但它可能与自然界的光照变化有关。“这也许是因为他们有更多的精力去实施自杀行为。”瓦伦斯坦博士表示，她同时还担任着密歇根大学安娜堡分校抑郁症中心精神病学副教授一职。 Suicide rates climb with altitude 自杀率随海拔升高而上升 Fact 事实 The greater the elevation of a person\'s home, the higher the risk of suicide, according to a recent study. Suicide rates are about 70% higher in regions 2,000 meters in elevation, for example, compared to at sea level. 据一项最新研究显示，在海拔越高的地区，其居民自杀的风险也越高。例如，海拔2千米的地区与零海拔的地区相比，自杀率（译注——文中“自杀率”指的是死于自杀的比率，commit suicide是指成功自杀身亡，未遂的都是用attempt一词）大约要高70%。 The effect appeared to hold even after researchers accounted for risk factors such as greater gun ownership and lower population density. 即使在研究人员排除了枪支持有率更高和人口密度更低等风险因素之后，这一效果仍然维持不变。 Teens are at greatest risk 青少年自杀风险最高 Myth 迷思 Teenage suicides make headlines, but the elderly are more likely to take their own life than any other age group, says Dr. Valenstein. 青少年自杀常登上报纸头条，但瓦伦斯坦博士说，老年人的自杀倾向比其他任何年龄组的人都要高。 At particularly high risk are white men over the age of 85, who have a suicide rate of 49.8 deaths per 100,000, compared with about 14 per 100,000 in people over 65, and 11 per 100,000 in the general population. 自杀风险尤其高的是85岁以上的白人男性，他们平均每10万人当中有49.8人死于自杀，而65岁以上年龄组的自杀率是14人/10万人，总人口的自杀率则是11人/10万人。 Still, teenagers remain a high-risk group. One in five high school students says he or she has considered suicide in the past year and 1 in 12 attempts to take his own life. (The suicide rate for 15- to 19-year-olds is 6.9 per 100,000.) 不过，青少年仍然是自杀高危群体。1/5的中学生说他们在过去的一年中考虑过自杀，1/12的人尝试过自杀。（15-19岁年龄组的自杀率是6.9人/10万人。） Whites attempt suicide more often than other races 白人尝试自杀的比率高于其他种族 Fact 事实 Suicide is more common among whites in the U.S. than blacks, Asians, or Hispanics. 在美国，自杀现象在白人中比在黑人、亚裔或西班牙裔中更普遍。 \"No one is quite sure why whites are at a higher risk,\" says Dr. Valenstein. \"It might have to do with differences in social support.\" “没有人确切知道为什么白人自杀风险更高，”瓦伦斯坦博士说，“这可能和社会支持系统的差异有关。” The only group at higher risk is American Indian/Alaskan Natives, who have a suicide rate of 14.3 per 100,000 compared to 13.5 per 100,000 for whites and about 5 to 6 per 100,000 for other groups. 唯一一个自杀风险更高的群体是印第安人/阿拉斯加土著居民，他们的自杀率是14.3人/10万人，白人的自杀率是13.5人/10万人，其他群体的自杀率大约是5-6人/10万人。 Writing style is linked to suicide risk 写作风格与自杀风险有关 Fact 事实 Creativity, depression, and suicide have long been linked, so it may come as no surprise that some of history\'s most creative individuals suffered from a mental illness. Depression affected great minds such as Charles Dickens, John Keats, and Tennessee Williams. 创造性、抑郁和自杀长期以来都被相互联系在一起，所以一些历史上最富创造力的人物患有精神疾病也许不足为奇。被抑郁症困扰的伟大人物包括查尔斯·狄更斯、约翰·济慈和田纳西·威廉斯。 Several famous writers have committed suicide, including Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, and David Foster Wallace. This group also has something else in common: They all wrote in the first person, which has been suggested to be a sign of suicide risk. 包括欧内斯特·海明威、西尔维娅·普拉斯和大卫·福斯特·华莱士在内的一些著名作家都是自杀。他们之间还有另一个共同点：他们都以第一人称写作，这被视作自杀风险的一个表征。 Depression is always the cause of suicide 抑郁症总是自杀的原因 Myth 迷思 Two of every three people who commit suicide are depressed at the time they take their life. However, alcoholism plays a role in 1 in 3 completed suicides. 2/3自杀身亡的人在自杀时处于抑郁状态。不过，在自杀成功的案例中，有1/3和酗酒有关。 Major depression is the psychiatric diagnosis most commonly associated with suicide, with about 20 times the risk found in the general population. 重度抑郁症是最常与自杀相关联的精神病学诊断，其自杀风险比总人口的自杀风险高约20倍。 \"With much more active screening and treatment, depression carries less of a stigma now, but it remains one of the big risk factors for suicide,\" says Dr. Valenstein. 瓦伦斯坦博士表示，“随着更积极的甄别和治疗工作的展开，人们现在对抑郁症的误解减少了，但它仍是自杀的高风险因素之一。” Your family affects risk 自杀风险受家庭影响 Fact 事实 A family history of depression increases the chances that a child will suffer the same by a factor of 11. 有抑郁症家族病史的孩子，将来患抑郁症的几率比常人高11倍。 But families (and friends) can also play a significant role in preventing suicide. Strong social support is known to lower suicide risk. 但家人（和朋友）在防止自杀中也能起到重要的作用。人们已经知道，强有力的社会支持系统可以降低自杀风险。 Poor countries have higher suicide rates 穷国自杀率更高 Myth 迷思 In fact, many rich countries have higher suicide rates than developing nations. 实际上，很多富国的自杀率比发展中国家高。 Some of the lowest rates can be found in Latin American countries, such as Brazil and the Dominican Republic, while richer countries (based on their GDP per capita), such as Russia, Japan, and France, are among the highest. These nations report numbers between two and three times as high as the U.S. 自杀率最低的国家中包括巴西和多米尼加等拉美国家，而俄罗斯、日本和法国等一些富国（按人均GDP划分）则位列自杀率最高的国家之列。这些国家公布的自杀率数字是美国的2-3倍。 Approximately 54 of every 100,000 men in Russia, for example, commit suicide every year. (The region\'s high rates of alcohol consumption may be partly to blame.) 例如，俄罗斯每10万人中每年约有54人死于自杀。（该地区饮酒者比率高或许也是部分原因。） Most suicide attempts fail 大多数自杀尝试都未遂 Fact 事实 Fortunately, only 1 in every 10 to 25 attempts actually results in death, according to Dr. Valenstein. 据瓦伦斯坦博士说，幸运的是，每10-25例自杀尝试中只有一例会导致死亡。 To further lower that rate, Dr. Valenstein suggests \"taking away the means.\" 为了进一步降低这个比率，瓦伦斯坦博士建议“拿走自杀工具”。 \"Make sure people you\'re concerned about don\'t have stockpiles of meds or access to guns,\" she says. \"You want to make it difficult for them to enact a persistent suicidal thought.\" “确保你担心的人没有储备药品、也接触不到枪械，”她说，“你要让他们一直怀有的自杀念头难以付诸实施。” Suicide is more common than in the past 自杀比过去更普遍 Myth 迷思 Suicide rates in the U.S. have remained relatively constant over the past several decades, and may even have slightly decreased. 在过去的几十年里，美国的自杀率相对稳定，甚至还可能略有下降。 Still, youth between the ages of 15 and 24 are more than twice as likely to commit suicide today compared to 50 years ago. And, worldwide, suicide rates have increased by about 60% in the last 45 years, according to the World Health Organization. 不过，与50年前相比，如今15-24岁年龄段的年轻人的自杀率是那时的2倍多。而从全球范围来看，根据世界卫生组织的统计，在过去的45年中，自杀率上升了约60%。 Treatment cuts suicide risk 治疗能降低自杀风险 Fact 事实 \"There are not a lot of ways to prevent suicide at this point,\" says Dr. Valenstein. \"But successful treatment of any underlying psychiatric disorder is very important and can reduce suicidal thoughts, particularly among older people.\" “目前还没有很多方法可以防止自杀，”瓦伦斯坦博士表示，“但对任何可能与自杀有关的精神疾患的成功治疗十分重要，它可以减少患者自杀的念头，这一点在老年人中表现得尤为明显。” She adds that a popular concern that antidepressants can actually raise the risk of suicide among patients under the age of 25 is most relevant during the first few weeks of therapy. 她补充说，人们普遍担心的抗抑郁药实际上会增加25岁以下患者的自杀风险的问题，最可能出现在治疗的头几周。 \"If you successfully treat depression,\" notes Dr. Valenstein, \"suicidal ideation declines.\" “如果成功治疗抑郁症，自杀的想法就会减少。” Suicides can trigger \"copy cat\" attempts 自杀可以引起仿效行为 Fact 事实 Exposure to others who have committed suicide may \"reduce some of the barriers to people thinking of doing it,\" says Dr. Valenstein. 瓦伦斯坦博士表示，接触那些自杀者的讯息可能会“为一些想自杀的人减少障碍。” She points out that this link has helped write new rules for responsible journalistic reporting. For example, journalists now typically refrain from going into detail or sensationalizing death from suicide. 她指出二者之间的关联对出台负责任的新闻报道的新规定起到了一定作用。比如，记者们现在报道自杀事件时通常都会比较克制，避免描述太多细节或对死亡过分渲染。 \"They usually finish up any story with a reference to a hotline so that distressed people reading it will reach out for help rather than being tempted to emulate,\" Dr. Valenstein adds. 瓦伦斯坦博士补充说，“他们通常在每篇报道的结尾附上热线电话，这样那些心情抑郁的人们读了这篇报道后会去向别人求助，而不是受到诱惑仿效这种行为。” Fewer people are calling hotlines 打热线求助的人少了 Myth 迷思 One way to reach out for help is to call a suicide hotline. Use of this support has been on the rise among veterans in recent years in response to increased publicity, says Dr. Valenstein. 向别人求助的一个途径是拨打自杀热线。瓦伦斯坦博士说，由于加大了宣传力度，近年来在退伍军人中使用这种方法求助的人增多了。 Veterans can call the general hotline at 800-273-TALK and press \"1\". 退伍军人可以拨打统一的热线电话800-273-TALK，然后按“1”。 \"But anyone can call the hotline for advice, even if they are worried about someone else,\" adds Dr. Valenstein. “不过任何人都可以打这个热线咨询，即使是因为替别人担心也可以。”瓦伦斯坦博士补充道。 Suicides are more common on weekends 自杀更多发生在周末 Myth 迷思 While Wednesdays are notorious for being \"bumpy,\" and Tuesdays, in some studies, have been found to be the deadliest for suicides, Dr. Valenstein and her colleagues identified a different weekly peak—Monday. 虽然星期三是出了名的“不顺”，还有一些研究指出星期二的自杀死亡率最高，但瓦伦斯坦博士和同事们发现了一个与上述结论不同的高峰日——星期一。 In an unpublished study that they recently completed, they found that the most suicides fall on Mondays. 在一篇最近完成、尚未发表的研究中，他们发现最多的自杀事件发生在星期一。 Dr. Valenstein says that, while it is not clear from studies so far which day is most common for suicides, they do seem to occur near the beginning of the week. \"I would assume that the start of the work week is a more stressful time for people.\" 瓦伦斯坦博士解释说，虽然从目前为止的研究中，还不能肯定哪一天自杀最常见，但它们似乎确实发生在临近一周开始的时候。“我会认为工作日的第一天带给人们更大的压力。” Men are at greater risk 男性自杀的风险更高 Fact 事实 While three times more women than men attempt suicide, four times more men than women actually kill themselves. 尽管尝试自杀的女性比男性多3倍，但自杀成功的男性比女性多4倍。 More than half of suicides in the U.S. are completed with guns. This violent and usually irreversible route is the choice of most men. However, Dr. Valenstein notes that the most common method among women is poisoning, typically an overdose of medication, the result of which is less often lethal. 美国超过半数的自杀事件都是用枪完成的。大多数自杀的男性选择的都是这种暴力且通常无法挽回的方式。而瓦伦斯坦博士指出，女性最常用的自杀方式是服毒，尤以服用过量药物为典型，这种自杀方式比较不致命。 |
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