Over the past decade, a number of bodies have published thought-provoking data on mental health. Some of these reports have identified that levels of mental distress are rising across the western world and — more controversially — that there is a stark difference between nations.
过去十年中，一些机构发布了引人深思的精神健康数据。一部分报告指出西方世界中精神苦闷程度正在普遍增长，更有争议的是，指出各国的精神苦闷程度有显著不同。
According to the World Health Organization, almost 25 per cent of the US population has suffered from mental stress, while in Australia, the UK, New Zealand and Canada the level hovers around 20 per cent. In Japan, the figure is below 10 per cent; so too in Germany, Spain and Italy — well below the US level.
据世界卫生组织(World Health Organization)报告，几乎四分之一的美国人受精神紧张困扰，而澳大利亚、英国、新西兰和加拿大的这一比例为大约五分之一。在日本，这个比例不到十分之一，德国、西班牙和意大利亦是如此——比美国要低得多。
Why? An anthropologist might attribute this to different cultural concepts of individualism, happiness and self-expression. An economist might point to differing commercial incentives: in a country such as the US, where private sector companies make money by selling antidepressant drugs, there are profits to be made by increasing the proportion of reported and self-reported people suffering from “stress”, “anxiety” or “depression”.
为何如此？人类学家或将其归咎于不同文化对于个人主义、幸福与自我表达的不同概念；经济学家或将其归责于不同的商业动机：在私营企业通过销售抗抑郁药品盈利的国家，譬如美国，自测或被诊断为“紧张”、“焦虑”或“抑郁”的人愈多，商机也愈多。