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Most psychotherapists would agree that depression is anger and sadness that has been repressed. And it can lead to a state where the afflicted feel there is nothing they can do to change their situation. A hopelessness emerges.
Another key characteristic is anxiety. But scientists have recently focused on a specific type of worry that is significantly linked to depression. This is anxiety about feeling anxiety. Here a person thinks that something catastrophic is going to happen if they allow themselves to feel anxious.
The scientists had 94 above-average worriers take a variety of anxiety questionnaires and two tests for levels of depression. But they controlled for worry and generalized anxiety in order to isolate specific anxiety about feeling anxious. The research is published in the December issue of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders.
The two dimensions of so-called anxiety sensitivity that are most strongly linked to depression are fear of loss of cognitive control and fear of revealing anxious symptoms in public. The other dimensions, fear of respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms showed no link to depression.
The authors note that current depression therapies focus on depressive symptoms and not anxiety sensitivity. They suggest therapists might want to consider helping people change their perception of anxious emotion, to not see it in such a negative light.
Of course, this reminds us of Franklin D. Roosevelt's sage words at his first inaugural address: "…let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
恐惧本身的恐惧
大多数心理治疗师都认同抑郁症是由于愤怒和悲伤被压抑所致。对愤怒和悲伤的压抑能导致患者感到他们对改变他们的处境无能为力，绝望也因此出现。
抑郁症的另外一个重要特点就是焦虑。不过科学家们目前把精力集中在研究一种与抑郁症有显着联系的焦虑上。这就是对感到焦虑的焦虑。在这种情况下，人们认为如果他们感到焦虑的话，一些极其可怕的事情就要发生。
科学家们让94名焦虑患者（焦虑程度在平均水平以上）参加各种焦虑问卷调查，同时还让他们参加两种焦虑水平测试。不过为了找出感到焦虑而焦虑的特定类型，科学家们的研究控制在一定的担忧类型和一般化的焦虑。该项研究发表在12月份的《焦虑综合症杂志》（Journal of Anxiety Disorders）上。
与抑郁症有很强关联的所谓焦虑敏感的两个方面是：害怕失去认知控制能力以及害怕在公众场合透露出焦虑症状。呼吸和心血管症状方面的害怕属于焦虑敏感的另外一方面，这与抑郁症没有联系。
该项研究的作者注意到，目前的抑郁症治疗集中在抑郁症状而不是焦虑敏感。他们建议，治疗师也许想帮助人们改变他们对焦虑情绪的感受，不要过于消极地看待它们。
当然，这让我们想起富兰克林·D·罗斯福在他第一次总统就职演说中的警言：：" ……我表明我坚定的信念：我们惟一不得不害怕的就是害怕本身-种莫明其妙的、丧失理智的、毫无根据的恐惧，它会把转退为进所需的种种努力化为泡影。"
Vocabulary:
Anxious:焦虑的
Depression:抑郁症
Psychotherapist:心理治疗师
Repressed: 压制的；抑制的
Afflict: 折磨；使痛苦
Hopelessness: 绝望
Emerge: 出现；浮出
Characteristic: 特点
Anxiety: 焦虑
Specific: 特定的；具体的；独特的
Significantly: 显着地
Catastrophic: 灾难性的
Questionnaire: 问卷调查表
Isolate: （使）隔离，孤立，脱离
Cognitive: 认知的
Reveal: 显示；透露；揭示
Symptom: 症状
Respiratory: 呼吸的
Cardiovascular: 心血管的
Perception: 感知
Negative: 负面的
Sage: 睿智的，贤明的
Inaugural: 就职的
Assert: 明确肯定；断言
Paralyze: 使瘫痪；使不能正常工作
Convert: 转变
Retreat: 失败；退却
