英语翻译AN EPINEMIC OF ATTENTION DEFICITDR.EDWARD HALLOWELL,A PS

英语翻译
AN EPINEMIC OF ATTENTION DEFICIT
DR.EDWARD HALLOWELL,A PSYCHIATRIST in Sudbury,Massachusetts has seen the fallout of multitasking mania:it walks through his door five days a week.Over the past decade,he says he has seen a tenfold rise in the number of patients showing up with symptoms that closely resemble those of attention-deficit disorder (ADD),but of a work-induced variety.“They complained that they were more irritable than they wanted to be,” he says.“Their productivity was declining.They couldn’t get organized.They were making decisions in black-and-white,shoot-form-the-hip ways rather than giving things adequate thought,all because they felt pressured to get things done quickly.” But Hallowell,and ADD expert and co-author of several best-selling books on the subject,including 1994’s Driven to Distraction,noticed something different about his new cases.Unlike patients with typical ADD,which persists no matter the setting,the new patients felt frantic only in certain situations-mainly in the workplace or,for at-home moms while managing the home front.
In a Harvard Business Review article last January,Hallowell gave the condition a name:attention-deficit trait,or ADT.He explains that ADT takes hold when we got so overloaded with incoming message and competing tasks that we are unable to prioritize.The result is not only distractibility,impulsiveness and haste but also feelings of guilt and inadequacy.“People think it’s their fault that they’re falling behind,” he says.“They think they have to sleep less and work harder and stay later at the office,which only makes it worse because they’re not taking care of their brain by getting enough sleep.” How common is this phenomenon?“It’s rampant,” says Hallowell,who believes that corporate downsizing and job insecurity contribute to the problem.“When I give lectures around the country,there’s always instant identification with what I’m saying.People in the audience immediately say,‘Oh yes,that’s me,’ or ‘My whole office is like that.’ ”

来自马萨诸塞州萨德伯里市的心理学家爱德华•哈洛韦尔博士注意到有同时做多件事的癖好的人常常不可自拔.他指出,过去10年来,这类患者的数量增长了10倍,他们的症状有点类似于注意力缺陷障碍（ADD）.实际上,这种症状是由工作太多导致的.“他们抱怨说,他们比想象中更急躁”,哈洛韦尔博士说,“他们的效率在下降,工作没头绪,未经缜密的思考便作决定,原因是他们有压力,必须把事情很快解决掉.”
作为注意力缺陷障碍方面的专家,哈洛韦尔曾出过几本畅销书（合作者）,他在书中提到一些不同的新案例.与典型的注意力缺陷障碍患者同的是,新出现的这类病人只在某种特定的场合感觉"狂躁",比如在工作场所.或作为全职母亲在家管理家务时.
在去年一月的＜＜哈佛商业评论＞＞中,哈洛韦尔给这种情况下了一个新定义：注意缺乏特质（ADT）.当各种信息压得我们喘不过气,当我们面临一大堆任务而又不能区分优先次序时,注意缺乏特质就会出现.当事人不仅集中不了精力、易冲动、着急,还会感到内疚和自卑.“当事人会认为自己落伍了,所有错都是咎由自取,”哈洛韦尔说,“这时候,他们觉得应该睡少一点,更加努力工作.这样一来,情况只会更糟糕,因为缺乏睡眠,他们的大脑得不到足够的休息.”那么,这种医学现象在现代社会有多普遍呢?哈洛韦尔的回答令人大吃一惊：“如潮成风.”他认为,公司精简机构、员工工作缺乏保障等社会现状加剧了这种现象的蔓延.哈洛韦尔深有感触地说：“当我在全美巡回演讲时,台下观众对我演讲的内容不断做出肯定的回应.他们会说,‘天哪,那就是我,’或者是,‘我的办公室就是这样的情景.’”