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Low self-esteem makes us feel bad about ourselves. But did you know that over time it also can cause the development of serious mental conditions such as depression?自卑让人自我感觉极差。你知道吗，长期自卑会导致抑郁等严重的精神问题。
Self-esteem is, very simply, the set of feelings you have about yourself. It's developed by your experiences, thoughts, feelings, and relationships.自信心是什么？简单来说，就是你的经历、思想、感觉和人际带来的对自身的感受。
Unlike self-knowledge, which refers to how much you know about yourself, the core of self-esteem is formed around whether you like yourself or not. 不同于自我认知，自尊心的关键点在于你是否喜欢自己，而自我认知主要是指人对自身的了解程度。
Depression is much more than just feeling sad. It saps your energy, makes everyday activities difficult and interferes with your eating and sleeping patterns. Psychotherapy and/or medication are highly effective in treating depression. 抑郁不仅仅是心理感伤那么简单。抑郁症会让人身心疲倦、难以进行日常活动、食欲不振、睡眠不好。心理疏导和药物是治疗抑郁的有效方法。
There are several types of depressive disorders, including major depression, persistent depressive disorder, psychotic depression, postpartum depression, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). 抑郁症包括重度抑郁、反复性抑郁、精神病性抑郁、产后抑郁和季节性抑郁等。
Clinicians use low self-esteem as one possible symptom when they diagnose the psychiatric condition of major depressive disorder. They don't necessarily care whether low self-esteem causes the depression or vice versa.临床医生在诊断重度抑郁症患者精神状况时，常把自卑作为一个可能的依据。医生不会太关注患者到底是因为自卑导致抑郁症，还是因为抑郁症而感到自卑的问题。
However, personality researchers have long wondered about the chicken-and-egg problem of self-esteem and depression. Certainly, if you dislike yourself, you'll be more likely to be depressed. Conversely, if you're depressed, you'll be more likely to feel bad about who you are as a person. 但是，人格研究人员一直以来对自信心和抑郁症两者间的因果关系感到十分疑惑。事实也确实如此，如果你不喜欢自己，你更可能感到抑郁。相反地，如果你感到沮丧，你也更可能会否定自己。
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The only way to disentangle the highly related concepts of self-esteem and depression is through longitudinal research, in which people are followed up over time. A study on depression, conducted by University of Basel researchers Julia Sowislo and Ulrich Orth, contrasted the competing directions of self-esteem to depression vs depression to self-esteem.要解开自信心和抑郁这两个高度相关的概念问题，唯一的方法是通过纵向研究，长期跟踪研究对象。（瑞士）巴塞尔大学研究院人员Julia Sowislo 和 Ulrich Orth 进行了一项关于抑郁症的研究，比较了自信对抑郁的影响和抑郁对自信的影响。
The findings almost all overwhelmingly support the vulnerability model of self-esteem and depression. Over time, low self-esteem is a risk factor for depression, regardless of who is tested and how. The study indicated that low self-esteem causes depression but not vice versa.几乎所有的研究结果都有力证明了自信心和抑郁的脆弱程度。无论被测试者的身份和研究方法如何，自卑都是抑郁症的诱因。这个研究证实自卑会导致抑郁症，反之则不成立。
Therefore, if a person has low self-esteem, there's an increased risk of developing depression. This is a very important discovery because it shows that improving a person's self-esteem can make him or her feel better.因此，如果一个人自卑，TA患上抑郁症的风险就更高。这是一个重大发现，说明提高一个人的自信心，会让TA的自我感觉好很多。
The study concluded that there is convincing evidence to support the vulnerability effect of low self-esteem on depression.研究得出结论，有令人信服的证据表明自卑对抑郁产生的负面效果。
According to Dr Lars Madsen, Australian clinical psychologist and self-esteem specialist, the reality often is that self-esteem is a key factor in both the development and maintenance of depression. A person with low self-esteem takes things personally, and in a negative way.澳大利亚临床心理学和自信心研究专家Lars Madsen 博士表示，自信心是抑郁发展和持续的主要原因。自卑的人往往会以消极的方式看待事物。
People with low self-esteem try not to disprove but to verify their negative self-concept by seeking negative feedback from the people in their network. They think about their inadequacies, focus on the negative feedback they receive from others, ponder that feedback, and as a result become more depressed. Their negative mood also leads them to be perceived more negatively by others, which leads them to feel hurt and rejected.自卑的人往往不善于反驳，他们把别人对自己的负面评价进行消极的自我评估。他们思考自己的不足，只在意思考别人的负面评价。如此一来，别人也会感到他们很消极，他们自己则会感到受伤和被排斥。
Madsen also confirms the rarity of studies on self-esteem and depression that allow for any causal arguments to be made. However, the comprehensive study noted above concluded that the best way to protect your positive mood is to find ways to boost your self-esteem.Madsen 博士还证实，由于缺乏研究案例，很难轻易给自信和抑郁下结论。但上述研究指出，保持乐观情绪的最佳方案就是增强自信。
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There are two reasonably straightforward approaches:这里有两个简单合理的方法：
Don't try too hard to boost your self-esteem. Focusing on why you feel bad about yourself may actually make you feel worse, as pointed out by Oliver Burkeman, in his book The Antidote.不要过分给自己鼓劲。Oliver Burkeman在他的《解药》一书中提到，过分关注不佳情绪的来源只会让你感觉更糟。
Take the long view. You may have messed up at the moment or be going through a slump. You don’t have to feel this way forever. 要目光长远。也许在某一时刻你把事情搞砸了，或者你在经历一段低谷期，但这只是短时间的经历，你不用一直都为此感到压抑。
综合来源：Psychology Today, Verywellmind, Psychcentral
编辑：张曦
实习：苏艳雷
来源：China Daily
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