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，长时间自卑会导致郁闷等严峻的精力问题。
Self-esteem is, very simply, the set of feelings you have about yourself. It's developed by your experiences, thoughts, feelings, and relationships.
自傲心是什么？简略来说，便是你的阅历、思维、感觉和人际带来的对本身的感触。
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，自尊心的要害点在于你是否喜爱自己，而自我认知主要是指人对本身的了解程度。
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.
郁闷不仅仅是心思感伤那么简略。郁闷症会让人身心疲倦、难以进行日常活动、食欲不振、睡觉欠好。心思引导和药物是医治郁闷的有用办法。
There are several types of depressive disorders, including major depression, persistent depressive disorder, psychotic depression, postpartum depression, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
郁闷症包含重度郁闷、反复性郁闷、精力病性郁闷、产后郁闷和季节性郁闷等。
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.
临床医师在确诊重度郁闷症患者精力情况时，常把自卑作为一个或许的根据。医师不会太重视患者究竟是因为自卑导致郁闷症，仍是因为郁闷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.
可是，品格研讨人员一直以来对自傲心和郁闷症两者间的因果关系感到非常疑问。现实也的确如此，假如你不喜爱自己，你更或许感到郁闷。相反地，假如你感到懊丧，你也更或许会否定自己。
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.
要解开自傲心和郁闷这两个高度相关的概念问题，仅有的办法是经过纵向研讨，长时间盯梢研讨目标。（瑞士）巴塞尔大学研讨院人员Julia Sowislo 和 Ulrich Orth 进行了一项关于郁闷症的研讨，比较了自傲对郁闷的影响和郁闷对自傲的影响。
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.
简直一切的研讨结果都有力证明晰自傲心和郁闷的软弱程度。不管被测验者的身份和研讨办法怎么，自卑都是郁闷症的诱因。这个研讨证明自卑会导致郁闷症，反之则不建立。
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.
因而，假如一个人自卑，TA患上郁闷症的危险就更高。这是一个严重发现，阐明进步一个人的自傲心，会让TA的自我感觉好许多。
The study concluded that there is convincing evidence to support the vulnerability effect of low self-esteem on depression.
研讨得出结论，有令人信服的依据标明自卑对郁闷发生的负面作用。
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.
澳大利亚临床心思学和自傲心研讨专家Lars Madsen 博士表明，自傲心是郁闷开展和继续的根本原因。自卑的人往往会以消沉的办法看待事物。
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辩驳，他们把他人对自己的负面点评进行消沉的自我点评。他们考虑自己的缺少，只介意考虑他人的负面点评。如此一来，他人也会感到他们很消沉，他们自己则会感到受伤和被排挤。
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 博士还证明，因为缺少研讨事例，很难容易给自傲和郁闷下结论。但上述研讨指出，坚持达观心情的最佳计划便是增强自傲。
There are two reasonably straightforward approaches:
这里有两个简略合理的办法：
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.
不要过火给自己打气。Oliver Burkeman在他的《解药》一书中说到，过火重视欠安心情的来历只会让你感觉更糟。
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.
要目光久远。或许在某一时间你把工作搞砸了，或许你在阅历一段低谷期，但这仅仅短时间的阅历，你不必一直都为此感到压抑。
