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It's an ordinary day.
这是平常的一天。
You may be entirely relaxed, settling down to watch some TV.
你放松身心，专心地看着电视。
Suddenly you begin to feel scared.
突然你感到恐惧。
Everything around you is becoming unreal.
身边的所有事物都变得不真实。
Your heart isracing, your head spinning, your hands tingling.
你的心跳加速，天旋地转，手臂发麻。
An overwhelming sense of despair and anguish hits you like a wave.
一种歇斯底里的绝望和痛苦像海浪一样侵袭着你。
What on earth is going on?
这到底是怎么回事？
If you have had an experience like this, it's possible you were having a “panic attack.”
如果你有类似的经历，很可能你患有“惊恐发作”症。
Some peopleexperience panic attacks in tense situations, such as before giving a speech.
一些人在紧张的情况下会经历惊恐发作，例如在演讲之前。
For others it comescompletely out of the blue.
有些则会在完全意外的情况下经历。
But panic attack is a very real condition, and not at all the samething as just “getting flustered.”
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。
What causes it?
那么这是什么引起的呢？
Panic attack begins in the oldest parts of our brain.
惊恐发作始于我们大脑里最古老的部分。
Before we had evolved rational thought, we still needed to be able to survive in the world.
在我们形成理性思维之前，我们仍然需要在在世界上生存。
The ability to either fight or flee from a dangeroussituation is perhaps the most basic behavior required of any animal.
战斗和逃离危险或许是人和动物都必备的最基本的能力。
Panic attacks occur when the bodily systems responsible for dealing with dangerous situations kick in at the wrong time.
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。
There is no danger in relaxing on your couch, and no real danger ingiving a speech.
在沙发上休息并不危险，演讲也并不是真的危险。
But in some people, the “fight or flight” responses can be triggered accidentally.
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。
Heart rate increases, breathing becomes shallow, adrenaline shoots to your arms.
心跳加速，呼吸困难，肾上腺素直冲手臂。
These areuseful responses to have, if you really are in danger.
如果你真的处于危险情况之下，这些都是很有利的反应。
For people with panic attack, though, theycan be both confusing and terrifying.
然而对于有惊恐发作的人来说，他们会感到混乱和恐惧。
Several different therapies now exist for panic attack, from anti-anxiety medications to behaviormodification.
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。
So take heart-there's no need to panic.
所以，鼓起勇气-没必要恐慌。
