十大最難以改變的的不良習慣(上)

If you don't smoke or do drugs you may think you're clear of bad habits. But what if you bite your nails or pop gum repeatedly? Bad habits aren't addictions. They're repetitive, negative behaviors that often start as coping mechanisms -- ways to reduce stress, relax and generally feel better. They aren't generally dangerous, just annoying to those around you.

也許你會認爲，自己不抽菸不吸毒，就與不良習慣絲毫不沾邊。但如果你沒事就愛啃自己的指甲或者嚼口香糖吹泡泡呢？不良習慣並不是指對事物着迷上癮， 而是一系列重複而負面的行爲。它們起初是作爲一種減輕壓力、放鬆身心和提高個人舒適度的方式而存在。一般情況下，這些不良習慣並不會危害你的健康，只是會讓你周圍的人覺得很反感而已。

So, how do you stop doing them? It's not so easy. Habits can trigger the release of dopamine, a chemical that's part of the brain's reward system. You get positive reinforcement from your brain for performing these habits, so that compels you to keep going. In addition, researchers have found that habits form familiar neural pathways in your brain. If a behavior is routine, this frees your brain to concentrate on other things. That's great if you've gotten into the practice of meditating each evening, but it can be bad news if you're downing a pint of ice cream in front of the TV instead. We've got a list of 10 really hard habits to break and ways you might overcome them. And speaking of ice cream, let's kick off our look with one that plagues most of us.

那麼，究竟如何才能改掉這些不良習慣呢？這真的很困難。這些習慣可以觸發人體釋放一種名叫多巴胺的化學物質，它是大腦“回報機制”的組成部分。在做這些習慣性動作時，你體驗到快感增強，這又反過來促使你繼續保持這一習慣。此外，研究人員發現習慣可以在大腦內構建熟悉的神經通道。當行爲成爲習慣之時，大腦就可以被解放出來去專注於其他事務了。如果你已經形成了每晚都要冥想的習慣，那太棒了；反之，如果你每晚在看電視時能不知不覺吞下一品脫(約0.58升)的冰淇淋，那可就太糟了。本文列舉了10個最難改變的惡習以及可能克服它們的方法。既然已經談到了冰淇淋，那麼我們就先來看看這個使絕大多數人都深受困擾的不良習慣。

king

10.吃零食

I mentioned eating ice cream at night because snacking is not only one of my bad habits; it's my hardest one to break. If I chose to snack on nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables, it'd be one thing. But chips and ice cream call my name. So why do we snack, and why do we reach for the high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie foods?

在上文中我已經提到了晚上吃冰淇淋這一例子,這是因爲吃零食不僅是我的衆多不良習慣之一，更是最難改變的一個。如果我進食的是諸如水果和蔬菜這類有營養的食物，那便罷了;但問題是，薯條和冰淇淋總是在向我招手。那麼，究竟我們爲什麼會吃零食？又爲什麼非要選擇那些高脂，高糖，高熱量的食物呢？

One simple reason: Our brains tell us to because they make us feel good. Foods high in fat and carbohydrates raise our mood by producing neurotransmitters like serotonin and anandamide. Back in prehistoric times, when eating was all about survival, it made sense for your brain to reward you for seeking out high-caloric foods. These brain chemicals work with others like opioids that can relieve stress and even physical pain. But these are temporary effects; the negatives, like feeling sluggish and guilty or even gaining weight, aren't worth it. For those times when you're legitimately hungry between meals, the solution is to make sure you have satisfying foods on hand that will fill you up, like small amounts of nuts. If you find yourself mindlessly snacking in front of the TV, make a rule only to eat when you're focused on your food. Look for other ways to make yourself feel better -- hanging out with a friend, going for a walk or watching your favorite show on TV. If only carbs will do, keep the serving as small as you can.

其實原因很簡單：大腦指揮我們如此，因爲吃零食的感覺實在是太棒了！富含脂肪和碳水化合物的食物可以產生諸如五羥色胺和大麻素等神經遞質，從而使我們的情緒高漲。回望史前時期，在飲食與生存息息相關的情況下，大腦自然會激勵你尋找高熱量的食物。這些腦神經化學物質與類鴉片活性肽等其他物質共同作用，可以起到緩解壓力，甚至減輕生理性疼痛的作用。然而這些好處都只是一時的；若是因爲吃零食使人萎靡不振，內疚不已，甚至引發體重增加等負面效果，那就得不償失了。當然，在兩餐之間會產生飢餓感是人之常情，解決方法就是保證你手邊有可以使你產生飽腹感的食物，比如少量的堅果。如果你發現自己有時百無聊賴地坐在電視機前，不假思索地吃着零食，你該考慮養成一個習慣：只有注意力放在食物上時，才吃東西。此外，你還可以尋找其他替代方法來使自己更加愜意——比如與朋友共度美好時光，出去散散步，或者看你最喜歡的電視節目。但如果只有碳水化合物纔可以解你心憂，那麼請儘可能地控制攝入量吧!

Biting

9.啃指甲

Biting your nails isn't as unhealthy a habit as snacking, but it's still a bad one. It's embarrassing to have ragged, chewed nails. And since it's a habit associated with anxiety, it can feel like people learn all about your mental state just by glancing at your hands.

啃指甲並非像吃零食一樣不健康，但這仍然是個壞習慣。被啃過的指甲周邊參差不齊，看起來很不得體，試想如果在某個重要場合被人看到這樣的指甲，將會多麼難爲情啊！而且由於啃指甲一般是焦慮所致，似乎人們只要掃一眼你的雙手便能瞭解你的精神狀態。

Interestingly, the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classifies nail biting as a body-focused repetitive behavior disorder, along with hair twirling and skin picking and relates them all to behaviors characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). One big difference is that most people with OCD want to stop their practices because they don't get any pleasure from obsessively lining up their shoes or washing their hands. Nail biters, on the other hand, usually find gnawing on their tips pleasurable and stress-relieving. While nail biting is not generally harmful, if you attack the cuticles you can risk bleeding and bacterial infection. One way to stop the habit is to keep your nails impeccably manicured, so you won't want to ruin them. Some people put bitter-tasting polish or even a bandage on a finger to remind themselves to stop the biting and find something else to do.

有趣的是，美國精神病學會出版的第五版《精神疾病診斷與統計手冊》將啃指甲、抓頭髮和摳皮膚歸爲一種聚焦於軀體的重複性行爲障礙症，並且認爲這些症狀都與強迫症的典型行爲相互關聯。二者最大的一個區別是，大部分強迫症患者都希望自己不再受那些習慣的困擾，因爲他們無法從把鞋子排列得過度整齊或者過度清潔雙手的過程中得到一絲一毫的快感。而恰恰相反，咬甲癖患者卻常常很享受這個在指尖上啃咬的過程，這能讓他們舒緩壓力，心情愉悅。雖然啃咬指甲通常不會使人受傷，但如果你咬傷了指甲周圍的皮膚，仍然會導致出血並可能造成細菌感染。戒掉這一惡習的一種方法就是定期精心修剪指甲，保持其整潔美觀的狀態，這樣你就捨不得毀掉它們了。有些人會塗上苦澀的指甲油，甚至在手指頭上綁上繃帶，以此提醒自己停止啃指甲，並找些其他事情來忙活。

rastinating

8.拖延症

I've put off this article because I work best under pressure! OK, not really. Although we often joke about procrastinating, it can be a really bad habit. Procrastinators sabotage themselves to avoid doing something that they don't want to do. They're the ones who cram all night for a test, routinely pay late fees for bills and buy gifts on the way to the party. The outcome is often poor test marks, wasted money and a late arrival at the event. It's not about running out of time; it's about failing to regulate behavior. It's difficult to understand the motivation behind procrastination but here are some common reasons.

“我之所以延期完成這篇文章，是因爲在高壓下我能做得更好”——拖延症患者常常這樣安慰自己，但事實並非如此。雖然我們經常拿拖延症來調笑，但它確實是一個壞習慣。拖延症患者總會找出一些藉口來避免做自己不想做的事情。他們往往會臨陣磨槍，到了最後關頭才爲了應付考試通宵達旦；常常會因爲拖延而繳付滯納金罰單，抑或是在參加聚會的路上纔開始準備禮物。這樣做的結果往往就是考試成績不如人意，浪費金錢，參加聚會遲到。造成這種局面的原因往往不是時間不夠，而是拖延症患者無法規制自己的行爲。人們很難弄懂拖延症背後的動機因素，但這裏列舉一些常見的原因：

Fear of failure or success; Fear of making a bad decision; Seeking a pressure-fueled adrenaline rush; Rebelling against controlling parents or other authority figures. No matter what the reason, if procrastinating is a problem in your life, you have to be proactive. Set clear goals, with rewards if necessary, and imagine how great you'll feel when you finally complete that project with time to spare. You might even consider enlisting somebody to keep you honest and check in with you on your progress. And you have to do it right now.

對成敗得失的恐懼；害怕做出錯誤的決定；尋求高壓下腎上腺素激增的快感；反抗父母或者其他權威人士的控制；無論出於什麼原因，如果你有拖延症，那就必須同時具有前瞻性。設定清晰的目標，有必要的話，也可以在自己達成目標後給予一定獎勵，試想一下自己提前達成既定目標的滿足感，那時你一定會如沐春風吧！你甚至可以考慮召喚小夥伴來監督你如實完成任務，同時記錄你的進展情況。那麼，還猶豫什麼！此時此刻就開始行動吧！

ring

7.爆粗口

When a character starts swearing on TV or in a movie, it can be pretty funny. But it's often not so funny in real life. Many people consider swearing vulgar, low class and unprofessional. They see the swearer as lacking in self-control and unable to express himself properly.

電視或者電影中的人物爆粗口是一件看似很有趣的事情，但這要是發生在現實生活中，就絕不是那麼有趣了。很多人覺得講髒話是一件低俗、沒品且不道德的事情，他們認爲那些隨意爆粗的人缺乏基本的自控能力，不會用合適的方式來表達自己。

On the positive side, swearing has been shown to calm a person down and let her express anger without hurting anybody. A British researcher found that swearing helped his subjects to bear pain better than those who said a neutral word. Swearing turned on the subjects' fight-or-flight responses, allowing surges in adrenaline. However, the researcher cautioned that swearing loses its emotional potency the more it's done, lessening its ability to dull pain. That's probably true of swearing in general – it has less potency the more you do it. One way to stop is through using a "swear jar." Put in a set amount of money every time you swear when you shouldn't, and make it enough to hurt. Decide what you're going to do with the money, and make it something that's not fun, like putting it into your retirement account or paying off a debt. (Otherwise you've just given yourself a good reason to keep on swearing). You could also try substituting innocent words. Everyone will be laughing for real when you yell "Suffering Succotash!" next time something goes wrong at work.

從積極的層面來看，一個人爆粗時表明他想要冷靜下來，他想在不傷害任何人的情況下通過咒罵來釋放自己的怒氣。一位英國的研究人員發現，爆粗的人比不爆粗的人能承受更多的痛苦，這是因爲人在說髒話時會觸發開啓“還擊——逃跑”反應機制，使得腎上腺素的分泌激增。但同時，研究人員也告誡人們：說髒話的次數越多，其調節情緒的功能就越差，減輕痛苦的功效也就會越弱。一般來說這多半是正確的——你咒罵的次數越多就越無濟於事。停止說髒話的方式之一就是使用“爆粗處罰罐”，在你每次不該爆粗而爆粗時，就放入一筆數額不少、足夠讓你肉疼的錢。你還要考慮一下怎樣使用這些錢，最好用它們來做一些無趣的事情，比如存入你的退休金賬戶或者用來償還債務（否則你只是爲自己可以繼續爆粗找了一個絕好的理由）。你也可以嘗試用委婉無害的語言替換掉爆粗時常說的一些話，當你下次在工作中遇到麻煩而大喊“苦難的豆煮玉米”時，同事都會被你逗樂的。

Snapping

6.嚼口香糖

Learning how to blow bubbles is one of those childhood rites of passage, like whistling or riding a bike. But by the time we reach adulthood, we're not normally chewing bubble gum, but the kind that freshens breath. That gum isn't ideal for blowing bubbles, so some people resort to snapping, or popping it instead. Much like nail biting or hair twisting, gum snapping can become an unconscious behavior used to relieve stress or boredom. However, there are some positives of gum chewing. Researchers found that it made people focus better on tests of mental agility for about 20 minutes. Maybe that's why some people do it at work. The problem is, the endless popping sound can be so distracting for the people around you that they may be tearing their hair out or even complaining to their human resources manager.

像吹口哨、騎自行車一樣，學吹泡泡是童年時代必做的事。但長大之後，我們卻不嚼泡泡糖，轉而喜歡可以清新口氣的口香糖。如果想要吹泡泡，口香糖並不十分理想，因此有些人就使勁嚼，讓它們發出“嘣嘣”的聲音。就像啃指甲、擰頭髮一樣，嚼口香糖也會成爲人們在釋放壓力或者打發無聊時光時的一種無意識行爲。然而，嚼口香糖也並非一無是處。研究人員發現，這種行爲在思維敏捷度測試中有助於人們提高注意力達20分鐘以上。也許這就是爲什麼有些人在工作時喜歡嚼口香糖的原因吧。但問題在於，嚼口香糖帶來的噪音很容易使你周圍的人分心，會讓他們抓狂甚至向人力資源經理投訴你。

If you're a gum-snapper, think about why you're doing it and find a quieter way to deal with that emotion. If you're worried about bad breath, stock up on mints or keep a toothbrush at work.

如果你喜歡嚼口香糖，也許應該認真思考一下自己爲什麼會這樣，然後最好找一個安靜點兒的方式來處理你的情緒。如果你很擔心自己口臭，那就在辦公室放一把牙刷或放點兒薄荷糖吧。

審校:落月 編輯:旭旭 來源:前十網