215 The Cure for Seasonal Depression
215 季节性抑郁症的治疗
Every fall, like clockwork, Linda Krentz of Beaverton, Oregon, felt her brain go on strike. “I just couldn’t get going in the morning,” she says. “I’d get depressed and gain 10 pounds every winter and lose them again in the spring.” Then she read about seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression that occurs in fall and winter, and she saw the light literally. Every morning now she turns on a specially constructed light box for half an hour and sits in front of it to trick her brain into thinking it’s still enjoying those long summer days. It seems to work.
每到秋天,居住在俄勒冈州比顿的琳达·克兰兹就会感觉她的大脑在罢工。这就像钟表一样地准时。“我的大脑在早晨就是无法运转，”她说：“每年冬天我都会变得情绪低落，而且体重也会增加10磅，但是春天又会瘦下来。”接着她阅读了有关季节性情绪障碍的书籍，书上说这是一种发生在秋冬季节的抑郁症。于是，她逐渐意识到了问题之所在，并接受了光疗法。现在每天早晨，她都会打开—个构造独特的光盒，然后坐在这个盒子前面长达半小时，以此来引导她的大脑，让它认为自己还在享受那漫长而又快乐的夏日时光。这种方法似乎很有效。
Krentz is not alone. Scientists estimate that 10 million Americans suffer from seasonal depression and 25 million more develop milder versions. But there’s never been definitive proof that treatment with very bright lights makes a difference. After all, it’s hard to do a double-blind test when the subjects can see for themselves whether or not the light is on. That’s why nobody has ever separated the real effects of light therapy from placebo effects.
克兰兹的这种情况并非个别现象。科学家们估计，有1000万美国人深受季节性抑郁症之苦，而且还有2500万多人为轻度患者。但是以前并没有确凿的证据可以证明这种使用亮光的治疗方法可以起作用。毕竟，要做双盲试验很难，因为被试者自己可以看到灯是否还亮着。这就是为什么还没有人把光疗法的真实效果和安慰剂效应区分开来的原因。
Until now, in three separate studies published last month, researchers report not only that light therapy works better than a placebo but that treatment is usually more effective in the early morning than in the evening. In two of the groups, the placebo problem was resolved by telling patients they were comparing light boxes to a new anti-depressant device that gives off negatively charged ions. The third used the timing of light therapy as the control.
在上个月发表的三个独立开展的研究中，研究人员报告说，光疗法不仅比安慰剂效果好，而且通常早晨的治疗效果比傍晚好。在其中的两个研究小组里，研究人员告诉患者说，他们的试验目的是比较光盒和一种能释放出负离子的新的抗抑郁装置的治疗效果，这样就解决了安慰剂效应的问题。第三组摄制光治疗的不同时间作为控制条件。
Why does light therapy work? No one really knows. “Our research suggests it has something to do with shifting the body’s internal clock,” says psychiatrist Dr. Lewey. The body is programmed to start the day with sunrise, he explains, and this gets later as the days get shorter. But why such subtle shifts make some people depressed and not others is a mystery.
为什么光疗法会起作用？没有人真正知道。心理学家勒威博士说：“我们的研究表明，这与改变人体内的生物钟有关。”他懈释说。人体总是习惯性地把日出作为短的时候，日出的时间也会随之变晚。但为什么这些细微的变化使一些人情绪低落，而对其他人却不产生影响，这还是个谜。
That hasn’t stopped thousands of winter depressives from trying to heal themselves. Light boxes for that purpose are available without a doctor’s prescription. That bothers psychologist Michael Terman of Columbia University. He is worried that the boxes may be tried by patients who suffer from mental illness that can’t be treated with light. Terman has developed a questionnaire to help determine whether expert care is needed.
但这个谜并没有终止众多的冬日抑郁症患者试图治愈自己的步伐。为此而设计出来的光盒即使没有医生的处方也能买得到。这使哥伦比亚大学的心理学家麦克尔·特曼很不安。他提心这些光盒可能会被那些患者有心理疾病的患者使用，但是其实光盒是不能治疗这些疾病的。特曼设计了一份调查问卷，来帮助患者确定自己是否需要专业护理。
In any event, you should choose a reputable manufacturer. Whatever product you use should give off only visible light, because ultraviolet light damages the eyes. If you are photosensitive, you may develop a rash. Otherwise, the main drawback is having to sit in front of the light for 30 to 60 minutes in the morning. That’s an inconvenience many winter depressives can live with.
无论如何，你应该选择信誉良好的产品，无论你选用哪一款光盒产品，它们都应该只发出可见光，因为紫外线会损伤眼睛。如果你对光过敏，你有可能会起疹子。除此之外，这一疗法的主要缺点就是患者必须早晨坐在光盒前长达30到60分钟。不过，许多冬日抑郁症患者还是可以忍受这种不便的。