Christina Costa: How gratitude rewires your brain | TED

Transcriber:

翻译人员: A. D. 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

When I was middle school science teacher,

当我还是个初中科学老师时，

I would often ask my students to kiss their brain.

我常让学生们去亲吻他们的脑袋。

I got this idea from visiting my friend's kindergarten classroom.

我是在参观朋友幼儿园课堂时 获得的灵感，

She would ask her students to kiss their brain,

她会让她的学生们亲吻他们的脑袋，

and they would take their fingers,

而他们会伸出他们的手指，

tap them to their mouth and then to the top of their head.

轻触一下他们的嘴， 再触碰一下脑袋。

And it truly was as cute as you can picture it to be.

这画面就像你想象得那样可爱。

So I decided to bring it back to my middle school classroom,

于是我决定把这个动作 带回我的初中课堂，

which could have gone one of two ways,

这么做的效果可好可坏，

but it ended up being a really fun ritual for us, too.

但最终这也成为了我们的一个 非常有趣的仪式。

And I would ask them to kiss their brain for all the work they did in class

作为一种感恩的实践，

我会让我的学生去亲吻他们 辛勤运作了一整节课的头脑。

as a practice of gratitude.

After teaching middle school,

在教完初中之后，

I came back to grad school to get my PhD in psychology.

我回到了研究生院 攻读心理学博士学位。

My research is within the area of positive psychology,

我的研究领域是积极心理学，

which is the science that investigates the strengths and factors

这是一门研究使个人和社会 茁壮成长的力量与因素的科学。

that allow individuals and communities to thrive.

I also get to teach psychology to undergrad students

同时，我也会 向本科生和高中生教授心理学。

and high school students.

I love teaching psych,

我热爱教授心理学，

and my absolute favorite unit to teach In Intro Psych is the brain.

而我最喜欢教的 心理学基础课程正是大脑。

But while I love teaching about the brain,

虽然我热爱教授有关大脑的知识，

I thought it would be pushing it to ask my undergrads, aka adults,

但我认为对于我的本科生， 也就是一群成年人来讲，

to kiss their brains.

亲吻他们的头脑这件事 或许有点强人所难。

So three years would go by

因此，需要等到 3 年之后，

before I would remember that fun phrase.

我才会再次想起那句有趣的话。

One day after teaching last year,

去年某一天，在教完课后，

I had a terrible migraine that left half of my face numb

我经历了严重的偏头痛， 这让我的半边脸变得麻木，

and blurred my vision.

也让我的视线变得模糊。

The migraines kept happening.

偏头痛不断发生。

I saw multiple doctors,

我看了很多医生，

and then I started experiencing dizzy spells.

然后我开始出现头晕目眩的症状。

The neurologist ordered an MRI,

神经科医生要求我做核磁共振，

and I remember being so excited

我记得当时我非常兴奋，

because then I would be able to use my own brain pictures

因为这样我就用自己的脑成像 给学生上课了。

when I taught brain imaging to my students.

But as it turns out,

但事实证明，

my MRI wasn't too picture perfect.

我的核磁共振成像 看着并不是特别理想。

The doctor called me and asked me to go to the ER

医生打电话给我，让我去急诊室，

because there was a large mass in the right hemisphere of my brain,

因为我的右脑 有一个大面积的阴影，

and that's where I saw the image for the first time.

我就是在那里 第一次看到了这个图像。

I have never been more scared in my life than I was that night,

我这辈子从来没有 像那天晚上那样害怕过，

and with tears dripping down my face,

在医院里，泪水不断从我的脸颊滴落。

in the hospital,

I kissed my brain for the first time

自从离开我的初中教学课堂以来， 我第一次亲吻了我的脑袋。

since I had left my middle school classroom.

I made it my mantra,

我把这当成了每日祈祷，

and I kissed my brain every single day,

而且在手术前后的每一天， 我都会亲吻我的脑袋。

leading up to and after surgery.

Then, two weeks later, after surgery,

然后，在手术两周后，

the pathology reports came back

病理报告出来了，

and I was diagnosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma.

我被诊断为 间变性恶性星形细胞瘤。

The weeks following were very difficult.

在这之后的每一周都无比的艰难。

I tried to figure out what I was struggling with the most

我试图通过回顾所有 我写过的有关这段经历的文字，

by looking back on all the things I had been writing about this experience.

来找出到底是什么 最令我感到煎熬。

I wrote and posted this on Instagram

在收到那份病理报告大约一周后，

about a week after I received that pathology report:

我写下了这句话并把它 发到了Instagram上：

"I will keep fighting.

“我会继续抗争。

I will keep loving, I will keep living,

我会继续热爱，我会继续生活，

I will keep loving. I will keep living."

我会继续热爱，我会继续生活。”

And then about a week after that, I wrote this:

大约一周之后，我写道：

"Fighter.

“斗士。

I tried it on to see how it felt

我试图成为一名斗士 看看感觉怎样，

because I kept hearing those words next to my name,

因为我总会听到这些词 出现在我名字旁边，

like a job, like an identity, like a role.

像是一个工作，像是一个身份， 像是一个角色。

Fighter.

斗士。

I look at myself in the mirror.

我看着镜子里的自己。

It felt OK at first,

起初，这感觉还可以，

but soon it became exhausting,

但不久后这就变得太令人疲惫、

too heavy to lift,

太沉重、

too much to carry, too burdensome to bear.

太多、太令人压抑。

I took it off and left it on the floor.

我把它抛在了身后。

War was not for me.

一场并非我所期望的战争。

A body is not a battlefield."

一个不想沦为战场的身体。”

I realized that I had been introduced to the fight narrative.

我意识到我经常 被灌输 “斗争” 的思维。

When people heard my diagnosis, I became a fighter.

当人们听到我的诊断时， 我便成为了一个斗士。

"You're a fighter," "Keep fighting,"

最多的评论包括 “你是一个斗士”，

“继续抗争吧”，

"Beat this tumor," were the top comments.

“战胜肿瘤”。

And then there was the internet,

在网上，

the place I so desperately searched

我迫切地寻找着

for people who were doing well with their diagnosis.

确诊后依然活得很好的人。

But the top hashtags to search for were #braintumorssuck,

但是搜索度最高的话题分别是

#braintumorssuck (#脑瘤烂透了)，

#cancersucks and #cancerfighter.

#cancersucks (#癌症烂透了)

和 #cancerfighter (抗癌斗士)。

I understand completely why those hashtags exist,

我完全理解 为什么这些话题会存在，

but I was so eager to find the hashtag

但我迫切地想找到一个类似

“#嗨我有一个可能永远不会消失的脑瘤 但我仍然我活着并且茁壮地成长着”的话题，

#hiIhaveabraintumorthatmightnevergoaway andImstilllivingandthriving

and I guess there just isn't a ring to that one.

但貌似大家并不怎么关注这个话题。

I hated the idea that I was going to be at war with my brain

我很讨厌 “与自己的大脑抗争” 的说法，

because I had spent months and years kissing it instead.

因为我花了数月、 数年的时间亲吻它。

I hated the suggestion of naming my tumor something awful

我很讨厌他人试图给我的肿瘤 一个罪大恶极的命名，

because the reality is

因为事实是

that it was going to be my neighbor for the rest of my life,

它将会在我的余生一直做我的邻居。

and I hated the guided imagery training

我不喜欢引导性意象训练，

that asked me to picture chemo as an army coming to battle the cancer cells

它要求我把化疗想象成 一支来与癌细胞作战的军队，

because I didn't want to spend over a year of my life

而我不想把生命中一年多的时间 花在与自己的身体抗争上。

at war with my own body.

I can see how these elements of the fight narrative

我明白这种有关 “抗争故事”的元素 或许能够激励人们，

can be empowering for people,

but for me, I knew it wasn't going to work.

但我知道对我来讲， 这是不会管用的。

So I started to reference well-being practices

于是，我开始参考我从自己的研究中 所学到的有益身心健康的实践方法。

that I had learned from my own studies.

Doctors always laugh with me

当发现我的专业是 生物心理学和神经科学，

when they find out that I'm a bio-psych and neuroscience major

and psych PhD student.

并且还是一名心理学博士生时， 医生们总是会和我一起大笑。

Then when they ask what I'm studying

然后当他们问我我在研究什么，

and I tell them I study resilience and well-being,

而我回答我研究 心理韧性和幸福感时，

they either laugh again, say something like,

他们要么再次开始笑起来， 要么说一些类似

"Oh, that's irrelevant,"

“哦，这好像不太相关” 的话，

or go, "Aw."

或者说： “哎。”

The irony was never lost on me.

我从来没有忘记过这种讽刺。

I have read so many stories and studies of resilience,

我读过很多关于 心理韧性的故事和研究，

but I never pictured the day that I would have to personally experience it.

但我从未设想过有一天 我必须亲身感受它。

I read and taught about gratitude practices,

我阅读并教授了有关感恩的实践法， 特别是作为一种提升幸福感的途径。

specifically as a well-being strategy,

and even though I knew the positive effects,

尽管我知道感恩法的积极效果，

I had never seriously practiced them myself.

我从未在严格意义上践行过它。

I started to incorporate some of these exercises into my life.

我开始将这些实践方法中的 一部分融入我的生活。

I tried to stop focusing on what my body had done "wrong"

我试图不再仅仅关注 我的身体做了什么 “错事”，

and focus on the gratitude I had for my body instead.

而是开始专注于感恩自己的身体。

And really, I realized this is something I had been doing

我意识到这实际上是 我在术前和术后的日子里

when I was kissing my brain those days

亲吻我的头脑时， 所一直在做的事情。

leading up to and after surgery.

Gratitude became the tool

当全世界都在告诉我 我应该与疾病和残疾斗争时，

that helped me restructure my vision of illness and disability

when the world was telling me I should fight it instead.

感恩的心成为了帮助我重新调整 自己对它们的看法的工具。

Instead of thinking about if I would be able to have kids one day,

我没有思考将来我是否能生孩子。

I thought of how amazing it was that my brain, despite its trauma,

我想到的是我的大脑 尽管受到了损伤，

was able to deliver the perfect amount of hormones to my body

但却仍能神奇地向 我的身体输送适量的荷尔蒙 ，

to produce enough eggs to save for a later date.

让我得以产生足够的卵子， 以备日后之需。

Every time I went to radiation and was put in my mask,

每次我去做放射治疗， 被戴上面罩时，

I kissed my brain and I focused on the resident

我都会亲吻我的头脑， 并专注地听住院医生告诉我

telling me how the healthy cells would be able to repair over time

“健康的细胞将能 随着时间的推移自我修复，

and the cancer cells could not.

而癌细胞则不能”。

And when the operative notes came back for my surgery,

而当我的手术记录出来时，

a day that I remember very well and had been scared to think about,

我大声把它读了出来。我很清楚地 记得这一天，也曾很畏惧这一天。

I read the note out loud,

sobbing, happy and grateful tears,

我啜泣着， 流下了喜悦和感恩的泪水，

thinking about what my neurosurgeon's team did.

想着我的神经外科医生团队 所做的一切。

I started to feel such an immense sense of gratitude

我开始对科学、医学和我的 医疗团队产生了巨大的感恩之情，

for science, medicine and my medical team,

that those thoughts started to drown out

这些想法开始淹没 “我以后的 生活会是什么样子？” 的想法。

the "What is my life going to be like?" thoughts.

The more I practiced gratitude, the more peace I felt in my situation,

我越是践行感恩，越会在自己 所处的境遇里感到平静。

and this got me interested in what could be happening

而这让我对感恩科学在 神经学层面上的体现产生了兴趣。

with the science of gratitude at a neurological level.

There are several positive psychological and social outcomes of gratitude,

感恩之心在心理与社交方面 有许多正向的影响。

like increases in happiness, decreases in depression,

比如提升幸福感、减少抑郁情绪、

having stronger relationships and experiencing positive emotion.

拥有更牢固的关系以及 更积极的情感。

And fMRI studies show us

功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）研究表明，

that several parts of our brain and pathways are activated

当我们体验和表达感恩时，

when we experience and express gratitude.

我们大脑的多个部位 和神经通路都会被激活。

One of these parts is the medial prefrontal cortex,

这其中包括内侧前额皮层，

an area associated with the management of negative emotions.

一个与管理负面情绪有关的区域。

Together, these changes in neurotransmitters and hormones

总体上，这些神经递质和 荷尔蒙的变化

combined with activated neural pathways,

与被激活的神经通路相结合，

help us cognitively restructure potentially harmful thoughts

帮助我们在认知上 调整潜在的有害思想，

to better manage our circumstances.

从而更好地应对我们所处的境况。

And the cool thing is

而最酷的是，我们可以有意地去 激活我们大脑中的这些感恩回路。

that we can intentionally activate these gratitude circuits in our brain.

In general, the more we do something, the easier it becomes,

一般来说，一件事情我们 做得越多，它就会变得越容易。

and our brains work the same way.

而我们的大脑也是如此。

The more we activate these gratitude circuits,

我们越经常激活这些感恩回路，

the less effort it takes to stimulate those pathways the next time,

下次刺激这些通路 所需的工夫就越少，

and the stronger those pathways become.

这些通路就会变得越强大。

Neuroplasticity is a term I teach my students

“神经可塑性” 是我教给我学生的一个术语，

that refers to our brain's ability to form new neural connections throughout life.

它指的是我们的大脑终生 能够形成新的神经连接的能力。

Which means this is something that anyone can practice

这意味着这是一件任何人 都可以加以练习，

and get better at over time.

并且随着时间的推移 变得更好的事情。

So I kept practicing gratitude even when it seemed impossible.

所以我一直在践行感恩， 即使是在看似不可能的时候。

I continue to thank my brain for the amazing work it does

我继续感谢着我的大脑，

as I prepare for 12 more rounds of chemo this year.

感谢它在我准备今年的 12 轮化疗时 所做的令人惊喜的工作。

I write down three things I'm grateful for

每天早上醒来，我都会雷打不动地

and why I'm grateful for them, no matter what,

写下我感恩的三件事， 以及我为之感恩的原因。

every morning that I wake up.

I write "thank you" notes to my heroes and health care,

我给许多人写了 “感谢信”， 这其中包括我的健康护理英雄们、

nurses who get the IV in the first time.

那些静脉注射扎针一次性 就成功的护士、

The anesthesiology resident,

那位在我手术中意识清醒时 握着我手的麻醉科住院医生、

who held my hand during the awake portions of my surgery,

radiation therapist that play my playlist during treatment

在治疗期间播放 我的歌单的放射治疗技师，

and administrative staff that makes me smile

以及每次走进医院时 都令我喜笑颜开的行政人员。

every time I walk into the hospital.

I do want to take a second here and practice what I teach

在此，我要将我教授的理论 付诸于实践，

to shout out my doctors and their teams

致敬密歇根大学医学院跨学科 脑瘤诊所的我的医生们及其团队。

from the Michigan Medicine Multidisciplinary Brain Tumor Clinic.

I have never met such intelligent,

我从来没有遇到过如此聪明、

kind and patient people.

善良和耐心的人。

Thank you for making me feel brave

谢谢你们在我感到畏惧时 让我变得勇敢。

when I sometimes felt the opposite.

I think the universe might think it's funny

我想全宇宙可能都会觉得

that a psych instructor and researcher who studies well-being

一个研究幸福感的心理学导师和研究 人员最后得了脑瘤这件事很可笑。

ended up with a brain tumor.

The truth is that we need more awareness and more research

事实是，我们需要更多 对于脑瘤和脑癌的关注与研究。

regarding brain tumors and brain cancer.

Doctors can't exactly predict how my tumor will behave,

医生们无法精确地预测 我的肿瘤将如何发展，

and really, none of us

说实话，我们任何人都无法精确地 预测我们的生活将会是什么样子，

can predict what our lives are going to be like exactly.

But what I hope I can show you is that we can also be grateful

但我希望我能向你证明我们也可以 对意外的挑战感到感恩。

for the unexpected challenges.

I don't want to dismiss people

我并不想否定那些觉得 “抗争故事” 很有激励性的人。

who may find the fight narrative empowering.

I also don't want to suggest that it's by any means easy

我也绝不是想说在面对逆境时， 找到感恩的方法是件容易的事，

to find ways to be grateful in dealing with adversity.

This has been the hardest thing that I've ever had to do.

这是我这辈子做过的 最困难的事情。

But I do want to empower those that feel like me,

但我想激励那些和我有同样感受的人，

that there's another way to go through whatever your journey may be,

告诉他们有另一种渡过难关的方式，

that loving your body doesn't have to be conditional.

爱自己的身体不一定需要前提，

And that by practicing gratitude

并且，通过践行感恩，

we can actually wire our brains to help us build resilience.

我们实际上可以改变 我们大脑的结构，

从而帮助我们建立心理韧性。

And lastly,

最后，

I hope everyone, no matter where you are or what you are doing,

我希望每个人， 无论你在哪里，在做什么，

can take a second to kiss your own brain

都能花一些时间去亲吻自己的脑袋，

and thank it for all that it does for you.

并感谢它为你所做的一切。