万花筒 2011-09-14&09-16 假期后综合症

 Remember these? Sunshine, waves, lazy days, lounging in lazy rivers. It wasn't that long ago but now you are back to this. 

 

If you are feeling run down, cranky, a little bit depressed¹ these days, you may be suffering from something called PVS, Post Vacation Syndrome². PVS isn't found in any reputable medical journals, but it's gaining attention among psychologists who say they really do see a spike³ in people in need of help every year around this time. 

 

You start having people complain almost immediately right around this time of the year, right after the Labor⁴ Day, people are anticipating a change in the weather. 

 

Just a few weeks ago you are boogie boarding with the kids, now those kids are back in school, which means parents are busy helping⁵ with homework and after school activities. Temperatures are starting to dip and the sun is setting earlier. 

 

The lack of sunshine seems to help us produce melatonin, makes us feel sluggish⁶, more lethargic⁷. We start to eat a little bit more...

 

Dr. Scott Bea of the Cleveland Clinic says one way to beat post vacation syndrome is to get moving. A doctor recent study found exercise may work as well as anti-depressant for some people. And just because the big summer vaca is over, doesn't mean you can't work in a few mini breaks. 

 

Have a movie night, get a board game night,going little ways that you can take breaks, and maybe even schedule in days off. 

 

Change can be good, even if you go from walking the dunes⁸ to pounding the pavement.

 

Erika Edwards, NBC news.

1 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

2 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

3 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

7 lethargic   

adj.昏睡的，懒洋洋的

参考例句：

• He felt too miserable and lethargic to get dressed.他心情低落无精打采，完全没有心思穿衣整装。
• The hot weather made me feel lethargic.炎热的天气使我昏昏欲睡。

8 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。