英语听力文摘 English Digest 292、恐慌?有何可怕！

　　No Need to Panic

惊恐发作（ panic attacks），亦称为急性焦虑发作。患者突然发生强烈不适，可有胸闷、气透不过来的感觉、心悸、出汗、胃不适、颤抖、手足发麻、濒死感、要发疯感或失去控制感，每次发作约一刻钟左右。发作可无明显原因或无特殊情境。还有一些人在某些特殊情境如拥挤人群、商店、公共车辆中发作。后者称为广场恐怖症伴发惊恐发作（agoraphobia with panic attacks）。

　　It’s an ordinary day. You may be entirely 1 relaxed, settling down to watch some TV.

Suddenly you begin to feel scared. Everything around you is becoming unreal. Your heart is racing 2, your head spinning, your hands tingling 3. An overwhelming sense of despair and anguish 4 hits you like a wave. What on earth is going on?

If you have had an experience like this, it’s possible you were having a “panic attack.” Some people experience panic attacks in tense situations, such as before giving a speech. For others it comes completely (1)out of the blue. But panic attack is a very real condition, and not at all the same thing as just “getting flustered 5.” What causes it?

Panic attack begins in the oldest parts of our brain. Before we had evolved rational thought, we still needed to be able to survive in the world. The ability to either fight or flee from a dangerous situation is perhaps the most basic behavior required of any animal.

Panic attacks occur when the bodily systems responsible for dealing 6 with dangerous situations (2)kick in at the wrong time. There is no danger in relaxing on your couch, and no real danger in giving a speech. But in some people, the “fight or flight” responses can be triggered accidentally. Heart rate increases, breathing becomes shallow, adrenaline shoots to your arms. These are useful responses to have, if you really are in danger. For people with panic attack, though, they can be both confusing and terrifying.

Several different therapies now exist for panic attack, from anti-anxiety medications to behavior modification 7. So take heart –there’s no need to panic.

译文：

这是平常的一天。你放松身心，专心地看着电视。

突然你感到恐惧。身边的所有事物都变得不真实。你的心跳加速，天旋地转，手臂发麻。一种歇斯底里的绝望和痛苦像海浪一样侵袭着你。这到底是怎么回事？

如果你有类似的经历，很可能你患有“惊恐发作”症。一些人在紧张的情况下会经历惊恐发作，例如在演讲之前。有些则会在完全意外的情况下经历。但是惊恐发作是一种真实存在的健康问题，与所说的心慌完全不同。那么这是什么引起的呢？

惊恐发作始于我们大脑里最古老的部分。在我们形成理性思维之前，我们仍然需要在在世界上生存。战斗和逃离危险或许是人和动物都必备的最基本的能力。当身体系统对在不适当的时间里发生的危险情况作出反应时就会产生惊恐发作。在沙发上休息并不危险，演讲也并不是真的危险。但是对于一些人来说，会意外地触发他们“战斗还是逃走”的心理反应。心跳加速，呼吸困难，肾上腺素直冲手臂。如果你真的处于危险情况之下，这些都是很有利的反应。然而对于有惊恐发作的人来说，他们会感到混乱和恐惧。

针对惊恐发作，有好几种不同的治疗方法。从抗焦虑药到行为矫正。所以，鼓起勇气-没必要恐慌。

Notes:

(1)out of the blue突然地；意外地

There are so many things out of the blue in our life.

生活就是有那么多的出乎意料。

(2)kick in踢开；支付；开始生效；腿打水游进；死亡

As mentioned earlier, telepathy is most likely to kick in under circumstances of emergency.

正如前面提到的，心灵感应很可能要在危急关头才会出现。