From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
这里是VOA慢速英语《健康和生活方式报道》节目。
Since the pandemic started, experts have warned of a mental health crisis facing American children.
自疫情爆发以来,专家们就一直警告称,美国儿童面临心理健康危机。
That is now happening in the form of increased depression, anxiety, eating disorders, fights, and thoughts of suicide.
心理健康危机现在以抑郁、焦虑、饮食失调、打架和自杀的念头增加的形式发生。
Last December, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy spoke about "the urgent need to address the nation's youth mental health crisis."
去年12月,美国卫生局局长维维克·穆西谈到“迫切需要解决美国青少年的心理健康危机”。
He said that in early 2021, emergency room visits in the U.S. for suspected suicide attempts were 51 percent higher for teenage girls and 4 percent higher for teenage boys compared to the same period in 2019.
他说,与2019年同期相比,2021年初,美国因疑似自杀未遂而去急诊室就诊的十几岁的少女和十几岁的少年的人数分别增加了51%和4%。
Sharon Hoover is a professor and co-director of the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland.
莎伦·胡佛是马里兰大学国家学校心理健康中心的教授和联合主任。
She said child abuse and neglect increased during the pandemic.
她说,在疫情期间,虐待儿童和忽视儿童的情况有所增加。
Students who lacked technology or good internet connections were isolated more than others.
缺乏技术或良好互联网连接的学生比其他学生更孤独。
They fell behind in their studies and socially.
他们在学习和社交方面都落后了。
And returning to school increased the anxiety of some children.
返校也增加了一些孩子的焦虑。
"We cannot assume that 'OK, we're back in school, it's been a few months and now everyone should be back to normal.' That is not the case," said Hoover.
胡佛说:“我们不能想当然地认为‘好了,我们回到学校了,已经几个月了,现在每个人都应该恢复正常了。’但事实并非如此。”
The silver lining -- which means a good thing to come from a bad situation -- is special mental health training for teachers.
一线希望——意思是从糟糕的情况中产生的好事——是对教师进行特殊的心理健康培训。
This training helps teachers learn warning signs of mental health risks and substance abuse in children, and how to prevent a tragedy.
这项培训帮助教师了解儿童心理健康风险和药物滥用的警告信号,以及如何防止悲剧发生。
The program is run by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and is available in every state in the U.S.
这项计划由国家心理健康委员会运营,在美国的每个州都可以使用。
One teacher taking the training is Benito Luna-Herrera.
贝尼托·露娜-埃雷拉是一名正在接受该培训的教师。
He teaches seventh-grade social studies in a high-poverty area of the Mojave Desert, a two-hour drive from Los Angeles, California.
他在莫哈韦沙漠的一个高度贫困地区教七年级学生社会学,该地区距离加利福尼亚州洛杉矶有两个小时的车程。
Just two weeks after the training, he saw a student arguing online with her then-boyfriend.
就在接受培训两周后,他看到一名学生在网上与她当时的男友争吵。
"I asked her if she was OK," he said.
他说:“我问她是否还好”。
Little by little, the girl told Luna-Herrera about problems with friends, her boyfriend, and at home.
渐渐地,那个女孩向露娜-埃雷拉讲述了她和朋友、男友以及家里的问题。
She said she felt alone.
她说她感到孤独。
The 12-year-old told Luna-Herrera she had considered hurting herself.
这个12岁的女孩告诉露娜-埃雷拉,她曾考虑过伤害自己。
The training taught him how to handle such a crisis: Raise the alarm.
这项培训教会了他如何处理这样的危机:发出警报。
Get expert help.
向专家寻求帮助。
Do not leave a person thinking about suicide alone.
不要让一个想自杀的人独处。
As Luna-Herrera continued talking to the girl, he texted school officials.
当露娜-埃雷拉继续与这个女孩交谈时,他给学校官员发了短信。
They called an emergency number sending police to the girl's home.
他们拨打了紧急电话,派警察去了这个女孩的家里。
The police spoke with her mother, who was surprised about her daughter's suicidal thoughts.
警方询问了她的母亲,她对女儿自杀的想法感到惊讶。
Katherine Aguirre who leads the Mojave Unified school system said, "He absolutely saved that child's life."
莫哈韦联合学校系统的负责人凯瑟琳·阿吉雷说:“他绝对救了那个孩子的命。”
The training helps teachers recognize the difference between normal ways of dealing with pressure and warning signs of serious mental suffering.
这项培训帮助教师认识到处理压力的正常方式和严重心理痛苦的警告信号之间的区别。
Those warning signs can be clear, or they can be hidden.
这些警告信号可以是清晰的,也可以是隐藏的。
For example, warning signs include talking about death or suicide.
例如,警告信号包括谈论死亡或自杀。
But saying, "I can't do this anymore," or "I'm tired of this," could be warnings, too.
但是说“我再也做不下去了”或“我受够了”也可能是警告。
Changes in behavior could be cause for concern.
行为上的变化可能会引起关注。
For example, a teacher might be concerned if a child:
例如,如果一个孩子有以下行为,可能会引起教师的关注:
stops an activity they loved without replacing it with another
停止一项他们喜欢的活动,而不用其他活动代替它
is usually tidy but starts looking untidy
通常是整洁的,但开始看起来不整洁
has falling grades or stops completing assignments
成绩下降或停止完成作业
eats lunch alone every day
每天一个人吃午饭
stops spending time with friends
不再与朋友共度时光
After seeing that something might be wrong, the training teaches the next steps: Ask the student about their situation without pressure or judgment; let them know you care; let them know you want to help.
在观察到某些学生可能有问题后,该培训教授的接下来的步骤是:在没有压力或判断的情况下询问学生的情况;让他们知道你关心他们;让他们知道你想帮助他们。
The training tells adults to ask open-ended questions.
这项培训告诉成年人要问开放式问题。
These questions need more than simple yes or no answers.
这些问题需要的不仅仅是简单的“是或否”的答案。
The goal is to keep the child talking.
目的是让孩子继续说话。
The adults are advised to see the importance of the problem and avoid saying, "You'll be fine," or "It's not that bad."
建议成年人认识到这个问题的重要性,避免说“你会没事的”或“没那么糟”。
They are also advised to not put themselves into a child's problems with comments such as, "I went through that, too."
他们还被建议不要把自己带入孩子的问题中,比如说:“我也经历过这样的事情。”
And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.
以上是本期《健康和生活方式报道》节目的全部内容。我是安娜·马特奥。
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!