恋爱、交友、阅读，何以解忧？

2017-11-22ByGermaineLeece

英语学习 2017年10期

By+Germaine+Leece

16世紀的法国作家蒙田说，治愈孤独有三种可能的方法：恋爱、交友和阅读。但他进一步阐释：性爱上的欢愉转瞬即逝，而背叛稀松平常；友情更佳，却会随着其中一方的死亡戛然而止。因此，唯一能伴随终生的疗法就是与文学为伴。原以为阅读只是逃离自我的一种方式，但其实我们是在探索自己内心深处的世界。

The understanding that literature can comfort， console and heal has been around since the second millennium1 BC. It is no coincidence that Apollo2 was the god of medicine as well as poetry.

As a bibliotherapist， Im interested in the therapeutic value stories have to offer us，3 particularly during times of stress. Here the intent around reading is different； the value of the story lies solely in our emotional response to it.

One of the greatest arguments for using literature as therapy was posited by the Renaissance essayist Michel de Montaigne4， who believed there were three possible cures for loneliness： have a lover， have friends and read books. But he argued sexual pleasure is too fleeting and betrayal too common， and while friendship was better it always ended with death. Therefore， the only therapy that could endure through life was the companionship of literature.

Why were the ancient Greeks and Romans right to suppose literature heals the soul？ Why did Montaigne trust we could endure loneliness through a lifelong relationship with books？ Why， despite all the distractions of modern life， do books still get published and writers festival events get sold out？ The answer lies in the power of stories.

Stories have been around since time began； they tell us what it is to be human， give us a context for the past and an insight towards the future. A narrators voice replaces our stressed， internal monologue5 and takes us out of our life and into the world of a story. Paradoxically6， we think we are escaping ourselves but the best stories take us back deeper into our interior worlds. Freud7， who believed the “reading cure” came before the “talking cure”， once wrote that wherever he went he discovered a poet had been there before. It is difficult to access emotional language and this is why we have writers. They remind us of the universality8 and timelessness of emotions， helping us better understand our own.

What stories have shaped you？ Its a question worth reflecting on， as this shaping is often subconscious. The act of making it conscious will allow your future reading to perhaps have a different intent； you will be“reading” your life from now on， allowing you to live it more fully and better understand it.

Recently， more studies are telling us what the ancient Greeks and Romans already knew： reading improves our mental health. In 2009， research out of the University of Sussex found reading could reduce stress levels by 68%， working better at calming nerves than listening to music， going for walks or having a cup of tea. Subjects only had to read silently for six minutes to slow down the heart rate and ease tension in muscles.endprint

A 2013 study found reading literary fiction can help you become more empathetic， by giving you the experience of being emotionally transported to other places and relating to new characters. Other studies have shown reading can improve sleep quality and ease mild symptoms of depression and anxiety.

As a bibliotherapist， I am continually reminded that all forms of literature can help people in all sorts of ways. A person who is grieving may need a predictable plot and an ordered fictional world； a man searching for direction or coming to terms with retirement may need a novel that reflects and explores the transience of life； a mother of young children may reach for a novel that illustrates the arc of life and reminds her she is in just one—albeit messy and tiring—chapter for now.9

Sometimes it is not the content of the stories themselves but just knowing you have control by choosing to read or listen that provides the calming effect. All stories offer a safe， contained world with a beginning， middle and end. We have the power of when to start or stop and choose how long we stay in this storys world.

Time spent listening to authors talk about their work and their own understanding of the power of literature also allows us， as readers， to reflect on stories that have shaped us.

“Why do stories matter so terribly to us， that we will offer ourselves up to， and later be grateful for， an experience that we know is going to fill us with grief and despair？” questions Helen Garner in her latest collection， Everywhere I Look.10

Robert Dessaix， in his memoir What Days Are For，11 explores narrative as an “optimistic form”： “Is that why Im reading a novel in the first place？ Its not a Pollyannaish form， its not devoid of unravellings and pain，12 but its optimistic in the sense that you keep turning the pages， one after the other… in the hope of something transforming happening. Isnt that it？ In the hope of a transforming answer to your particular questions.”

Both authors are exploring their identity as readers and the impact reading can have. The writers festival is more than an event celebrating authors； it also celebrates the power of literature and the power of you， the reader.

文學作品的安抚、慰藉和疗愈功效，早在公元前两千年就为人所知了。难怪太阳神阿波罗被同时尊为医药之神和诗歌之神。

作为一名阅读治疗师，我对文学故事带来的疗愈效果（尤其是在我们倍感压力时）颇感兴趣。处于压力之下时，阅读目的是不同的，而故事的价值则仅取决于人们对它的情感反应。endprint

文艺复兴时期的散文家蒙田曾提出了将文学作品作为疗愈方法的伟大言论。蒙田认为，遏制孤独感有三种方法：恋爱、交友和阅读。但他认为，性爱上的欢愉转瞬即逝，而背叛稀松平常；友情更佳，却会随着其中一方的死亡戛然而止，唯一能伴随终生的疗法就是与文学为伴。

为何古希腊人和古罗马人认为文学能疗愈灵魂的观点是正确的？为何蒙田相信如果我们终身与书为伴，便能忍受孤独？为何在纷纷扰扰的现代生活中，书籍依旧在出版，作家节活动门票依然售罄？答案都在于故事的力量。

自有时间以来，就有故事。故事告诉我们何为人类，教我们了解历史，展望未来。叙述者的声音取代了我们焦虑的内心独白，让我们跳出当下的生活，跳进故事的世界。矛盾的是，我们认为阅读时能逃离自我，但最好的故事却让我们更深入自己的内心世界。弗洛伊德认为早在“谈话治疗”之前便已有了“阅读疗法”。他曾写道，无论自己去到何处，都会发现这是诗人所到之处。想要掌握情绪这门语言着实困难，所以才有了作家。他们提醒着人们情感的普遍与不朽，帮助人们更深刻了解自己。

哪些故事塑造了你？这一问题值得审慎思考，因为故事对人的塑造通常是在潜意识中进行的。有意识的阅读行为可能会让你未来的阅读目的发生改变；从今往后，你就是自己人生的“阅读者”，这会让你更充实地度过自己的一生，并且更好地理解自己的人生。

近来，越来越多的研究证实了古希腊人和古罗马人的说法：阅读能改善我们的精神健康。2009年，萨塞克斯大学的一项研究发现，阅读能减少68%的压力，在镇静安神方面比听音乐、散步或喝茶更有效。研究对象只需安静阅读六分钟，就能降低心率、缓解肌肉紧张。

2013年的一项研究表明，阅读文学作品能提高人的移情能力，因为在阅读过程中，读者情感转移至别处，并与作品中新的人物产生联系。其他研究则显示阅读能改善睡眠质量，缓解轻度抑郁和焦虑症状。

作为一名阅读治疗专家，我向来知道，不同类型的文学作品能以五花八门的方式给予人们帮助。一个深陷悲痛的人需要沉浸在一个情节老套、有条有理的小说世界里；一个正在寻找人生方向或即将退休的人大概需要读一本反映、探讨生命稍纵即逝的书；一位年幼孩子的妈妈则需要一本阐明人生轨迹的小说，以此来鼓励自己，当前的生活虽是一团乱麻、让人心力交瘁，但这只是小说中的一个章节而已。

有时候，并非故事的内容让人平静，而是你对于阅读或聆听的掌控感让人安稳。所有故事的开端、高潮和结局，都为读者提供了一个安全可控的世界：我们可以自己决定阅读何时开始、何时结束，以及在故事世界里徜徉多久。

花时间听作家讲述自己的作品，以及他们如何理解文学的力量，能让作为读者的我们反观那些影响过自己的文学作品。

作家海伦·加纳在她的最新作品集《我目光所及之处》中问道：“为什么故事对我们如此重要，以至于我们明知它会让我们充满悲伤和绝望，仍要全身心投入其中，并读到感激涕零呢？”

罗伯特·德赛在回忆录《何为岁月》中探讨了作为“乐观主义形式”的叙事：“这就是我会首选看小说的原因吗？小说叙事并非盲目乐观，有时候情节还错综复杂，让人痛苦。之所以说它是一种“乐观主义形式”，是因为你一页接一页地翻下去，希望转机发生。这不就是乐观主义吗——期待自己的特定問题会有柳暗花明的答案。”

两位作家都在书中探索自己的读者身份，探索阅读对人的影响。作家日并不只是作家的节日，它还同时欢庆文学的力量和你作为读者的力量。

1. millennium：一千年，千年期（尤指公元纪年）。

2. Apollo：阿波罗，宙斯之子，是古希腊神话中司掌光明、预言、音乐、医药、诗歌等之神。

3. bibliotherapist：阅读治疗专家；therapeutic： // 有助治疗的，有疗效的。

4. Michel de Montaigne：蒙田（1533—1592），法国文艺复兴时期人文主义思想家、作家，以《随笔集》（Essais）三卷留名后世。

5. monologue：独白，独角戏。

6. paradoxically：自相矛盾地。

7. Freud：西格蒙德·弗洛伊德（1856—1939），奥地利精神病医师、心理学家、精神分析学派创始人，著有《梦的解析》（1899年）。