Depressed? Do What You Love

About 350 million people around the world suffer from depression. Therapists can use many different techniques to help, but none has more accurate scientific evidence behind it than cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This “inside-out” technique focuses mainly on thought patterns, training patients to recognize and reframe their thinking.【小题1】

BA is an outside-in technique in which therapists focus on adjusting actions rather than thoughts. “The idea is that what you do and how you feel are linked,” says David Richards, a health services researcher at the University of Exeter in England. If a patient values nature and family, for example, a therapist may encourage him to schedule a daily walk in the park with his family members.【小题2】This could create an alternative to more negative pastimes such as thinking on loss. BA has existed for decades, yet until now it has never been tested with the scale and exactness needed to assess its relative strength as a stand-alone approach.

In one of the largest studies of its kind, Richards led a group of 18 researchers working at three mental health centers in the U.K. who put BA and CBT head-to-head. They assigned 440 people with depression to about 16 weeks of one of the two approaches, then followed the patients’ progress at six, twelve and eighteen months after treatment began.【小题3】A year on, about two thirds of the patients in both groups reported at least a 50 percent reduction in their symptoms.

【小题4】For instance, patients with depression could begin with simpler therapies such as BA, and then seek out more specialized care if they do not respond to that treatment. “We believe that BA is a good first step in treatment, and the report addresses that point,” says George Alexopoulos at Weill Cornell Medical College, a key member of the team.

In addition, Richards and his colleagues found that junior health workers could provide BA after a brief training period, which makes it significantly cheaper compared with CBT, for it requires highly specialized therapists.【小题5】

Most of us are used to the sound we hear in daily life, such as music, the middle of the night. 【小题1】. However, when these sounds of television, people talking on their phones and even pet dogs barking in the night keep you from sleeping all night or the traffic starts to give you a headache, they turn into noise pollution. For many of us, the concept of pollution is limited to nature an resources. However, noises that tend to damage the natural rhythm of life make environmental pollutants.

【小题2】. Man-made noises such as horns, airplanes and even cars can be too loud for our hearing range. Constant exposure to loud noise can easily result in the damage to our eardrums (耳膜) and lead to our loss of hearing.

Too much noise pollution in working areas such as offices, construction sites, bars and even in our homes can influence psychological health. Studies show that the occurrence of aggressive behavior, sleep disturbance, and constant stress can be linked to excessive (过度的) noise levels. 【小题3】.

Loud noises can certainly influence our sleeping pattern. 【小题4】, if we don’t have a good sleep at night. For example, our performance may go down i the office as well as at home. It is therefore recommended to take a sound sleep to give our body proper rest.

As of now, there do not exist many solutions to such pollution. 【小题5】, when it comes to what an individual can do. Only when our understanding of noise pollution is complete can we take steps to get rid of it completely.

We should all have at least one fire extinguisher somewhere in our home, but it’s not enough to simply keep one under the kitchen sink. If there is a fire, your safety — and the safety of your home — depends on knowing how to use that fire extinguisher correctly. In case your fire extinguisher has been sitting around collecting dust, here’s everything you need to know before brushing it off and fighting a fire in your home the right way.

Steps for proper extinguisher use

Once you understand the different types of fire extinguishers and their uses, you need to be able to properly operate one.

Step 1: Identify a clear exit/escape route

Before operating the fire extinguisher, make sure you have a clear evacuation path. If you cannot put out the fire, you’ll need to make a safe exit. Also, make sure everyone else is being evacuated from the building.

Step 2: Call the fire department

Even if the fire appears manageable, you should always have the fire department on the way. Once firefighters arrive, they can double-check whether the fire has been completely extinguished.

Step 3: Stand back

Face the fire and keep your back to the clear exit. You should stay between 1.8 and 2.5 meters away from the flames as you prepare to operate the fire extinguisher.

Step 4: Operate the extinguisher

It can be difficult to think clearly during an emergency. Thankfully, there is a long-standing acronym (首字母缩略词) — PASS — to help you recall the steps involved in operating your fire extinguisher.

P: Pull the pin (保险销) on the fire extinguisher.

A: Aim low. Point the nozzle at the base of the fire instead of the flames.

S: Squeeze the handle or lever to discharge the extinguisher.

S: Sweep the nozzle back and forth until the flames are extinguished.

Step 5: Keep an eye on things

After the flames appear to be out, continue to watch the fire area to make sure it doesn’t reignite. If the fire does start up again, repeat the “PASS” process.

Step 6: Get to a safe place

Once the fire is out, or if you are unable to put it out, leave the scene. Find a place out of reach of the fire.