接納自己，會讓我們認識到，我們的痛苦，是人類本身就很容易遭受的正常情況。沒有人能夠逃避麻煩，所有事情都是不完美的，我們天生就會犯一些錯誤，我們的慾望總是會超過現實，我們會傷害我們愛的人。如果我們能夠接納我們本身就不完美，我們就會更容易接受自己的不適，不會因為沒有工作而感到過分內疚，也不會因為沒有完成的要求過分自責，我們會更加關愛自己，相信自己值得善待和尊重。
中英字幕
One of the great contributing factors to mental illness is the idea that we should at all costs and and all times be well。 We suffer far more than we should because of how long it can take many of us until we allow ourselves to fall properly and usefully ill。
心理疾病的一大促成因素是一種“我們必須不惜一切時刻保持健康”的想法，我們承受的遠超我們能夠承受的範圍，因為我們中的許多人要花很長時間才能允許自己真正的倒下，好好生一次病。
In a crisis， our chances of getting better rely to a significant extent on having the right relationship to our illness； an attitude which is relatively unfrightened by our distress， which isn’t overly in love with the idea of seeming at all times ‘normal’， which can allow us to be deranged for a while in order one day to reach a more authentic kind of sanity。
在危機中，我們能恢復的機率很大程度上取決於我們是否跟生病有著保持適當的關係，這種態度往往不會被我們的痛苦嚇倒，也並不喜歡永遠保持“正常”。這可以讓我們混亂一段時間，以便有一天達到一種更真實的理智。
It will help us immensely in this quest if the images of mental illness we can draw on at this time do not narrowly imply that our ailment is merely a freakish and pitiable possibility， if we can appeal to images that tease out the universal and dignified themes of our state， so that we do not – on top of every thing else – have to fear and hate ourselves for being unwell。 We stand to heal a great deal faster if there are fewer associations like those created by Goya （of madness as the seventh circle of hell） and more of men and women a little like you and me， sitting on the sofa， able to combine our inner wretchedness with other， more temperate and attractive qualities – so that we remain every bit human， despite our terrifying convulsions， absences of mind， catastrophic forebodings and sense of despair。
在這個過程中，這樣做會有很大幫助，如果我們此時可以利用的精神疾病的形象，而不是狹隘地暗示：我們的疾病是畸形的、可悲的。如果我們能夠藉助那些可以梳理出我們狀態的普遍的，莊嚴的形象，我們就不會一直害怕或討厭自己的“不太舒服”，我們就能夠恢復的更快一些。如果我們能夠少產生一些好似地獄裡的魔鬼創造出來的形象，多創造一些像你我一樣的人們，和像你我這樣的女人，坐在沙發上，能夠把自己的內心的痛苦與其他更溫和、更吸引人的品質結合起來，這樣我們就可以做一個更好的人。儘管我們會因為害怕而抽搐，有時心不在焉會產生災難性的預感和絕望感。
The best philosophical background against which to wrestle with mental unwellness would be one that conceived of the human animal as intrinsically rather than accidentally flawed， a philosophy that would resolutely reject the notion that we could ever be perfect and would instead welcome our griefs and our errors， our stumbles and our follies as no less a part of us than our triumphs and our intelligence。 It is Japan’s Zen Buddhism that has historically perhaps best put forward such notions， with its bold declaration that life itself is suffering， and its veneration in the visual arts – and by extension in its psychology – of what is imperfect and un-glossy： rainy autumn evenings， sadness， moss covered roofs， stained wooden panels， tears and， most famously， misshapen and irregular pieces of pottery。
與精神不健康作鬥爭的最好的哲學依據是，認為人類這種動物有著天生的內在缺陷 而不是後天偶發缺陷。這種哲學將堅決反對人類是可以完美的這種觀點，而認可和接受人們的痛苦和錯誤。我們的失誤，我們的愚蠢和我們的勝利，智慧是一樣的。日本的禪宗可能是歷史上最好的解釋這樣的理念的哲學，它強調生命本身就是一種承受，在禪宗的視覺藝術以及其延伸的心理學中，對不完美、不光鮮的事物表示崇敬：秋夜多雨，憂傷，青苔覆蓋，屋頂，斑駁的木板，眼淚，以及最著名的形狀不規則的陶器。
Against such a background， it becomes a great deal easier for us to accept ourselves in our unwell state。 We feel less guilty that we are not at work and are not playing up to the roles demanded of us by responsible others。 We can be less defensive and frightened， more inclined to seek out proper care – and more likely to recover properly in time。
在這樣的背景下，我們更容易接受自己的不適狀態，我們不會因為沒有工作而感到過分內疚，也不會因為沒有做到上司給我們的要求過分自責，我們會減少自我防禦和害怕，我們會更好的關愛自己，就更有可能及時恢復。
With a philosophy of acceptance in mind， we can recognise that whatever the particularities of our crisis （which will naturally need to be investigated in due course）， our pains fit into a broad picture of a crisis-prone human condition。 No one is spared。 No life can escape significant troubles。 Everything is imperfect。 We don’t have to know the details of someone’s life to be able to guess at the scale of the difficulties they too will have encountered。 We have all been born to inadequate parents， our desires will always exceed reality， we will all make some appalling errors， we will hurt those we love and anger those with power over us， we will be anxious and confused， woeful and lost。 We should accept both that we are profoundly unwell – and that our ailments are entirely normal。
本著接受的哲學，我們可以認識到，無論我們的危機有何特殊之處，這些危機會在之後適當的時機去處理。我們的痛苦可以被歸納為人類本身就容易遭受的正常情況，沒有人例外，人生都無法逃避重大的麻煩。所有事情都是不完美的，我們不需要去知道某個人的生活細節，才能夠猜測他們將遇到的困難程度。我們都是天生的不稱職的父母，我們的慾望總是會超過現實，我們會犯一些可怕的錯誤，我們會傷害我們愛的人，激怒那些控制我們的人，我們會焦慮和困惑、悲傷和迷失。我們應該接受兩點：一是我們本身就不完美；二是我們的病痛完全正常。
Japanese philosophy has another lesson for us at this point： we will probably one day be fixed but there are likely to be substantial and ineradicable marks。 And yet， these marks can be worn with pride and self-respect。 According to Zen Buddhism’s tradition of kintsugi， an accidentally smashed bowl isn’t to be thrown away in embarrassment， its pieces can be carefully collected and reassembled with glue inflected with gold。 The traces of repair are made obvious， celebrated and cherished， as if to suggest to us – as we bring a cup to our lips – that we do not have to give up on ourselves or be ashamed of our own brokenness。
在這一點上，日本哲學對我們還有另一個教誨：我們可能有一天會被修正，但很可能會有大量的無法消除的痕跡，然而，這些痕跡是可以成為我們的驕傲和自尊的，根據日本禪宗的金繼技術，不小心摔碎的碗不會被就這樣地扔掉，它的碎片可以小心地收集起來，可以用金粉膠水粘合，修復的痕跡故意被做的明顯、稱頌和珍視。當我們用杯子喝水時，好像是在告訴我們，我們不必放棄自己，或因為自己的不足而覺得羞愧。
We can confront our illness without panic or fear， with a quiet intelligent sadness perhaps best captured by the word melancholy。 If we were searching for a patron saint of such a melancholy relationship to mental difficulty， we could do worse than pick the Welsh artist Gwen John， who combined a brilliant career as a painter with moments of harrowing mental collapse – but remained all the while fundamentally on the side of life。 From her self-portrait， John implies that she would understand whatever we might be going through， her eyes hint that she has been there too， that she could be our guide to the underworld of our minds – and that， however much we might hate ourselves at this moment， we deserve gentleness， patience and respect as we feel our way towards repair。
我們可以面對我們的疾病，無需害怕驚慌，以一種安靜的智慧的悲傷去接受。這種哲學可以被稱為：物哀哲學。如果我們要尋找一位物哀哲學與內心痛苦關係的大師，我們可以找到威爾士藝術家格溫·約翰，他將輝煌的職業生涯與精神痛苦與崩潰的時刻結合在一起，同時又完全敬畏生命，從她的自畫像可以看出，約翰暗示，她理解人所可能經歷的一切，她的眼睛暗示她也曾經歷過，她可以成為我們通往思想深處的嚮導，無論我們當時多麼憎恨自己，我們都值得善待，耐心和尊重，這些將會陪伴我們逐漸恢復健康。
翻譯：KazuR
稽核：Leon Yong