The mental health benefits of storytelling for health care workers | Laurel Braitman

翻译人员: Wanting Zhong 校对人员: Lark Yu

For the last few years,

在过去的几年里，

I've been a writer in residence at the Stanford Medical School.

我一直在斯坦福医学院里 担任一名驻校作家。

I was hired by an incredible woman,

而雇佣我的是一位了不起的女性，

she's a poet and an anesthesiologist,

她是一位诗人和麻醉师，

named Audrey Shafer,

叫奥黛丽·谢弗（Audrey Shafer），

and she started the Medicine and the Muse Program

她创办了“医学与缪斯”计划 （Medicine and the Muse），

重新将人文科学融入了 医学教育和培训中。

to reintroduce humanities back into medical education and training.

My job was to teach writing, storytelling

我的工作是把写作、故事叙述

and general communication skills

和通用沟通技巧

to physicians, nurses, medical students

教授给医师、护士、医学生，

and other health care workers.

以及其他医护人员。

And I thought I'd get a ton of great student essays

我以为我会收获大量优秀的

about dissecting cadavers and poems about the spleen.

关于尸体解剖的学生论文， 或是关于脾脏的诗歌。

And I did.

我确实收到了。

But almost immediately,

但与此同时，

I started getting more essays that made me really anxious

我也开始收到更多 让我感觉非常忧虑

and really worried.

和担心的文章。

My students were writing about their crushing anxiety,

我的学生写下了 他们令人窒息的焦虑，

the unbearable pressure on them to succeed,

为追求成功而面对的 不堪忍受的压力，

their mental health diagnoses,

他们的精神健康诊断书，

their suicide attempts,

他们多次的自杀企图，

how alone and isolated they felt

他们感到多么孤独，

and wondered if they'd gone into the right profession,

怀疑自己是否入错了行，

and they weren't even doctors yet.

然而他们都还没有走上医生岗位。

This is my student Uriel Sanchez.

这是我的学生， 尤利尔·桑切斯（Uriel Sanchez）。

(Audio) Uriel Sanchez: The choice you are given through medicine,

[ 音频 ] 尤利尔·桑切斯： 你在学医期间，包括从许多导师那里

from a lot of your mentors even, is like,

获得的选择，给人的感觉就像是，

you have to choose,

你必须做出抉择，

like, being a really good person or a really good doctor.

是成为一个好人， 还是成为一个好医生。

(Music)

[ 音乐 ]

Laurel Braitman: Physicians' own humanity and emotional well-being

劳瑞尔·布莱特曼： 医生们自身的人性和情感健康

are almost never made a core part of their training

在他们的职业培训中 几乎从来不是重点，

or even acknowledged.

其重要性甚至也从未得到认可。

And real vulnerability,

而表现出真正的脆弱，

like sharing certain mental health diagnoses, for example,

比如分享某些精神健康诊断结果，

can be absolutely career-ending.

绝对意味着职业生涯的终结。

But nearly 30 percent of American medical students are depressed,

但将近三成的美国医学生精神抑郁，

and one in 10 have thought about suicide.

十分之一的人想到过自杀。

And it's actually even worse for practicing physicians.

而执业医师的情况更加糟糕。

There's really widespread job dissatisfaction,

医疗从业者普遍对工作感到不满，

high rates of depression,

精神抑郁者的比例很高。

and doctors have one of the highest suicide rates

在美国所有的职业中，

of any profession in the United Sates.

医生的自杀率居高不下。

This is scary.

这很惊人。

Not just for them but for us, too.

对于他们和我们来说都是这样。

I really think doctors have the most important job.

我真心觉得医生们从事的是 最重要的工作。

And if their lives are at stake,

如果他们的生命岌岌可危，

ours are, too.

我们的生命也同样如此。

Now, I am absolutely not a mental health professional,

我完全不是精神健康领域的专业人士。

I'm a writer,

我是个作家，

大多数时间和精神健康专家 （的工作内容）完全相反。

which most days is absolutely the complete and total opposite.

But I can tell you that the more opportunities

但我可以告诉各位，

that I give health care workers

当我给医疗工作者更多机会

to share their daily frustrations, their fears, their joys,

分享他们日常的挫败、恐惧、喜悦，

what surprises them, what they resent,

让他们感到惊喜和憎恶的事情，

the better they seem to feel.

他们感觉就会更好。

So at Medicine and the Muse, we offer evening, weekend

在“医学与缪斯”项目中， 我们开设了晚间、周末

and day-long storytelling workshops

和白天的故事叙述训练营，

at farms and other places with really good food.

地点选在农场 和其它有优质餐食的地方。

I invite other journalists, writers, producers,

我会邀请其他记者、作家、制片人、

podcasters and poets,

播客和诗人，

and they teach writing,

他们为参与者教授写作、

communication and storytelling skills to our participants.

沟通和故事叙述的技巧。

And those participants practice being vulnerable

而学员们则会大声分享自己的故事，

by sharing their stories out loud with one another.

练习如何表现自己的脆弱。

And in doing so,

这么做的同时，

they reconnect with what drew them to medicine in the first place.

他们开始与最初吸引他们从医的 某种东西重新建立了连接。

These are the skills they'll draw on

当他们认识到，并面临着

when they realize and are confronted with the stressful, messy reality

他们所选择的职业中 充满压力和混乱的现实，

of the work they've chosen.

他们就会利用这些技能。

This is how they realize it's a calling.

这样一来，他们就能够 意识到，这是一种召唤。

So I have a prescription here for you today.

今天，我给大家带来了一副“处方”，

It's not from physicians, it's for them,

并非出自医生之手、 而是为他们准备的。

and I asked my students for help.

我的学生也参与并提供了帮助。

And before I start, let me just say I work with doctors,

开始之前，请允许我说一句， 我和医生共事，

but I'm absolutely convinced

但我非常确信

that this applies to almost any profession,

这个“处方”也适用于几乎所有职业，

especially those of us who are so committed to our work,

尤其是那些对工作全力投入的人，

and it can be so intense and overwhelming,

而很多工作又是那样繁重， 令人难以喘息，

that sometimes we forget why we chose to do it in the first place.

有时我们甚至会忘记 最初为何选择这份职业。

[ 1. 升起你的旗帜 ]

To me, sharing a true vulnerable story

对我来说，分享一个真实的脆弱故事 很像在旗杆上升起一面旗帜。

is a lot like raising a flag up a flagpole.

Other people see it,

其他人看见了旗帜，

if they agree with it and it resonates with them,

如果他们对此表示认同 并产生了共鸣，

they come and stand under it with you.

就会走过来和你一起站在旗下。

That's what my student Maite Van Hentenryck did.

我的学生麦蒂·冯·亨敦里克 就是这么做的。

(Audio) Maite Van Hentenryck: I mean, it was super anxiety-inducing,

[ 音频 ] 麦蒂·冯·亨敦里克： 这让我超级焦虑，

and I shared parts of myself

我分享了自己的部分经历，

that I really have probably told five classmates.

很可能告诉了五个同学。

LB: When Maite was a baby, she had to have her leg amputated.

劳瑞尔：当麦蒂还是婴儿时， 就不得不面对一条腿被截肢的残酷现实。

When she got to medical school,

当她入读医学院时，

she was taking just a standard class quiz,

参加了一次普通的课堂测验，

and she got asked the question,

测验的问题是，

"Please tell us about the first time

“请告诉大家你第一次

you encountered someone with a disability."

遇到一个残疾人的经历。”

She wondered if her supervisors had ever considered

她在想，她的导师们是否曾考虑过

that the person with the disability was her, the doctor.

“身体有残疾的人”就是她，医生本人。

So she talked about it in front of about 100 of her friends, peers,

于是她在大概 100 个朋友和 同龄人面前讲述了这件事，

which is a big deal, because, you know, she's really shy.

这对她来说是件大事，因为她很害羞。

And afterwards, what happened,

而随后，

is a number of students with disabilities,

几个她不认识的

that she didn't know,

身体残障的学生

came up to her and asked her to colead a group on campus

找到了她，邀请她共同领导一个

that's now advocating for more visibility and inclusion in medical training.

倡导在医学训练中 增加可见度和包容性的校园组织。

[ 2. “创造性”不是一个职衔 ]

In English, we tend to call people creatives

在英语中，如果人们拥有某种工作， 像设计师、建筑师或艺术家，

if they have a certain job.

Like, designer or architect or artist.

我们更倾向于称呼他们创造性人才。

I hate that term.

我讨厌那种称呼。

I think it's offensive and exclusionary.

我觉得它既冒犯又排外。

Creativity doesn't belong to a certain group of people.

创造力并不专属于某一特定的群体。

A lot of my work with physicians and medical students

我与医师和医学生们 进行的大量工作，

is just reminding them that no matter what profession we choose,

就是为了提醒他们， 无论我们选择了哪个职业，

we can make meaning,

我们都可以创造意义，

find beauty in the hard stuff and create.

在困难之中发现美好， 并不断进行创造。

This is medical student Pablo Romano.

这位是医学生帕布罗·罗马诺。

(Audio) Pablo Romano: My parents immigrated here from Mexico

[ 音频 ] 帕布罗·罗马诺： 我的父母多年前

从墨西哥移民到这里，

many years ago,

我上大学时，他们去世了。

and when I was in college, they passed away.

I was 18 when my dad died and then 20 when my mom died.

爸爸去世时，我十八岁。 我二十岁时，妈妈去世了。

LB: Not only has Pablo been talking publicly for the first time

劳瑞尔：这不仅是帕布罗第一次

about being an orphan,

公开讲述身为孤儿的经历，

but together, we started a live storytelling series we're calling Talk Rx,

他还和我们一起创立了一个叫 “故事处方（Talk Rx）” 的故事直播系列，

and it's become a really popular place for his peers

该系列目前已成为了他的同龄人

to show their most vulnerable and powerful thoughts and feelings.

展现他们最脆弱和最有力的 想法和感情的主要途径。

(Audio) PR: I go to a school

[ 音频 ] 帕布罗：我所在的学校

that cares so much about data and research and numbers.

对数据、研究和数字非常重视。

At the end of the day, what moves people is stories.

不过归根结底， 最打动人的还是故事。

[ 3. 如果某件事塑造了你， 它就值得讲述 ]

LB: Arifeen Rahman is a second-year medical student.

劳瑞尔：阿尔芬·拉曼 是一名二年级的医学生。

And before she was born,

她的父母在她出生前 就从孟加拉国移民到了美国。

her parents immigrated from Bangladesh to the United States.

She grew up in a really beautiful home in Northern California,

她在北加州一个很漂亮的家中长大，

very safe and stable,

家庭环境非常安全和稳定。

her parents are still together,

她的父母感情融洽，

she never went hungry, and she graduated from Harvard.

她衣食无忧，还是哈佛毕业生。

(Audio) Arifeen Rahman: I didn't feel like the stories I had

[ 音频 ] 阿尔芬·拉曼： 我觉得我的故事

were worth telling or that they mattered.

并不值得讲述，也无关紧要。

LB: Arifeen did have stories, though.

劳瑞尔：不过阿尔芬的确有故事。

Recently, she gave a talk about being maybe

最近，她进行了一次演讲，

the only Bangladeshi American girl

讲述她可能是唯一一名

to win an essay contest

在“美国革命女儿”组织

from the Daughters of the American Revolution --

举办的论文大赛中夺魁的 美籍孟加拉裔女孩——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

and then dress up for Halloween as the Declaration of Independence.

还在万圣节时装扮成了《独立宣言》。

And I love Arifeen's story so much,

我非常喜欢阿尔芬的故事，

because to me it represents all that is good and bad

因为对我来说，它代表了

and hard and exhausting

新的美国梦中包含的

about representing the new American dream.

好的、坏的、困难的、辛苦的一切。

(Audio) AR: The hardest thing was coming up against that voice

[ 音频 ] 阿尔芬： 最困难的事情是

that was telling me no one wants to hear my stories,

反抗那个告诉我 “没人想听我的故事”的声音，

like, why invest the time in this thing

为什么要投入时间做这件

that doesn't really mean anything in the grand scale of life.

在宏大的人生图景中 根本毫无意义的事。

Maybe the biggest thing is, like, maybe it does.

但或许最重要的事情是， 也许它真的有意义。

[ 4. 故事处方 ]

LB: Life is so short.

劳瑞尔：生命如此短暂。 对我而言，时间唯一的重要之处在于，

For me, the only thing, really, that matters with my time here

is feeling like I can connect with other people

感觉我可以和其他人建立连接，

and maybe make them feel slightly less alone.

或许能让他们稍微觉得没那么孤独。

And in my experience,

而根据我的经验，

that's what stories do absolutely the best.

讲故事的效果最好。

So, my student and a collaborator in a lot of these endeavors

在这方面，跟我一起 做了很多尝试的就是我的学生，

is Candice Kim.

坎迪斯·金。

She's an MD-PhD student in medical education.

她是一名医学教育专业的 医学及哲学博士。

She's written about #MeToo in medicine,

她写过关于医学界 #MeToo 运动的文章，

navigating her queer identity in a conservative field

详述了她在一个保守领域的 性别少数派身份，

and her mom's metastatic cancer diagnosis.

以及她母亲的癌症转移诊断。

And recently, she started also doing some really interesting research

最近，她开始针对我们的工作

about our work.

进行一些非常有趣的研究。

(Audio) Candace Kim: We've seen that students

[ 音频 ] 坎迪斯·金： 我们发现，

who participate in our storytelling opportunity

参与过我们讲故事项目的学生，

show between a 36 and 51 percent decrease in distress.

他们的精神压力 减轻了 36% 到 51%。

LB: If this was a mental health drug,

劳瑞尔：如果这是一种精神健康药物，

it would be an absolute blockbuster.

它绝对能一鸣惊人。

Results seem to last up to a month.

这种效果似乎能持续一个月之久，

It might be longer,

或许更长，

a month is just when Candice stopped measuring.

因为坎迪斯只搜集了一个月的数据。

So we don't even know.

所以我们不知道 这种效果到底能持续多久。

Not only that, but 100 percent of our participants

除此之外，几乎所有参与项目的学员

recommend these opportunities to a friend.

都把这样的机会推荐给了一个朋友。

For me, though, the most important thing that our work has done

尽管对我来说， 我们的工作最重要的成果

is create a culture of vulnerability

是在某个地方史无前例地

in a place [where] there was absolutely none before.

创造了一种脆弱的文化。

I think what this does

我认为这种文化

is that it allows doctors and other folks

为医生和其他人

an opportunity to envision a different kind of future for themselves

创造了一个机会， 为自己和他们的病人设想

and their patients.

一个完全不同的未来。

This is Maite again.

还是麦蒂。

(Audio) MVH: I want to be the doctor that remembers when your birthday is

[ 音频 ] 麦蒂：我想成为一名 不需要查看病历

without having to look at the chart.

也能记住你的生日的医生。

And I want to be the doctor who knows

我想成为一名

what my patient's favorite color is

知道病人最喜欢的颜色、

and what TV shows they like to watch.

爱看的电视节目的医生。

I want to be the doctor that's remembered for listening to people

我想成为一名因为倾听他人心声、

and making sure I take care of all of them

专注于关爱所有病人 而被记住的医生，

and not just treating their disease.

而不仅仅是因为我治好了他们的病。

LB: Being human is a terminal condition.

劳瑞尔：身而为人有终点。

We all have it, and we are all going to die.

我们都有，我们都会死去。

Helping health care professionals communicate more meaningfully

帮助医护专业人士更有意义地

with each other,

与彼此交流，

with their patients and with themselves

与病人和他们自己交流，

is certainly not going to magically change

当然不会奇迹般改变

everything that is wrong with the contemporary health care system,

当下医疗体系中存在的一切问题，

也无法分担我们加在 医生身上的巨大负担，

and it's not going to live to the immense burdens we place on our physicians,

but it is absolutely key

但关键在于，

in making sure that our healers are healthy enough

它可以保证我们的救人者 能够在身心健康的前提下

to heal the rest of us.

去拯救他人。

Communicating with each other with vulnerability,

我相信，用脆弱性来彼此交流，

listening with compassion,

用同理心去倾听，

is, I believe, the absolute best medicine that we have.

绝对是我们所能拥有的 最好的药物。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）