經濟危機 心理也危機

The US government should roll out a team of mental health professionals to soothe Americans anguished over the economic losses and encourage them to spend and invest, a New York psychiatrist says.

Dr. Richard Friedman of the Cornell Weill Medical Center in New York said he is treating 25 percent more people because of the recession, with patients suffering from insomnia due to anxiety and some even being diagnosed with clinical depression.

"It creates a culture of anxiety and fears. So you are not talking about a handful of people, you are talking about a situation in which the environment is fearful," Friedman told reporters in an interview.

"It's contagious. Even people whose jobs are secure feel frightened that they, too, could lose their jobs."

The US economy, in recession since December 2007, is buckling under a heavy burden of rising unemployment.

Data released on Thursday showed jobless numbers rose to a record high in early February of 4.99 million, a rate of 3.7 percent. Washington has put forward an array of measures, including a $787 billion stimulus package, to revive the bleeding economy.

Friedman said people's anxieties need to be addressed immediately and on a national scale. His answer: Replace assurances and explanations from economists and politicians with advice from mental health professionals.

Fear of the economic climate should be confronted in the same way as an irrational fear, he said.

"Say you are afraid of the dark, you walk in a dark room and turn on the lights and see that there is nothing terrible there," he said.

"You're afraid of heights, you climb higher and higher, you get exposed and you see nothing awful is going to happen to you. You're afraid the market is going to collapse, you go out and you spend money."

紐約一位精神病學家日前稱，美國政府應組織心理健康專家幫助受經濟危機打擊的人們調整情緒，並鼓勵他們進行消費和投資。

紐約康奈爾•威爾醫學院的理查德•弗裏德曼博士稱，經濟危機發生後，他收治的病人增加了25%， 有些病人因焦慮而失眠，有些人則患上了抑鬱症。

弗裏德曼在接受記者採訪時說：“經濟危機導致了一種焦慮和恐慌的氛圍。所以我們針對的並不是某一羣人，而是一種恐慌的境況。”

“這種恐慌的情緒會傳染。即便工作很穩定的人也會擔心自己失業。”

美國經濟於2007年12月陷入衰退，目前正受到不斷上升的失業率的重壓。

本週四公佈的數據顯示，美國失業人口於本月初增至歷史新高，達到499萬人，增幅爲3.7%。爲重振經濟，美國政府出臺了一系列措施，其中包括7870億美元的經濟刺激方案。

弗裏德曼稱，政府應立即在全國範圍內採取措施，解決人們的心理焦慮問題。爲此他建議：不要再向人們灌輸經濟學家和政客的允諾和解釋，而要請心理健康專家爲人們提供幫助。

他表示，應將對經濟環境的恐慌視爲一種非理性的恐慌來對待。

他說：“如果你怕黑，就去一間黑屋子裏走走，然後把燈打開，你會發現沒什麼可怕的。”

“如果你恐高，那就去爬高，你去經歷了就會發現其實沒什麼危險。如果你害怕市場崩潰，那就出去花錢吧。”

Vocabulary:

buckle under:屈服；投降；讓步