第1496期:Help yourself

I need help! I have to fix a leaking pipe in my bathroom but I'm not sure where to begin. I know I lack the necessary DIY skills, but luckily there are numerous books and online videos that will hopefully give me the information I need. Publications that help us to help ourselves are nothing new, but the range of them is increasing with advice being given far beyond practical tasks around the house.

我需要帮助！我必须修理浴室漏水的管道，但我不知道从哪里开始。我知道我缺乏必要的 DIY 技能，但幸运的是，有许多书籍和在线视频有望为我提供所需的信息。帮助我们自助的出版物并不是什么新鲜事，但它们的范围正在增加，提供的建议远远超出了家庭周围的实际任务。

Bookshops these days are full of titles which claim to boost your self-confidence, your wealth, your love life or your career. Some claim to improve your life within seven days! It's big business and it's thought that the self-help industry is worth $10bn in the US alone.

现在的书店里到处都是声称可以增强你的自信、财富、爱情生活或事业的书名。有人声称可以在 7 天内改善您的生活！这是一项大生意，人们认为自助行业仅在美国就价值 100 亿美元。

The first self-help book called 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' was published in 1936, and has since sold 30 million copies and is still popular now. It includes guidance on how to make people like you and how to make your life happier. It might seem strange to think that we need a book to tell us how to live our lives but self-help books remain a go to remedy for those of us looking for enlightenment.

第一本名为《如何赢得朋友和影响他人》的自助书于 1936 年出版，至今已售出 3000 万册，至今仍广受欢迎。它包括关于如何让人们喜欢你以及如何让你的生活更快乐的指导。认为我们需要一本书来告诉我们如何生活似乎很奇怪，但对于我们这些寻求启蒙的人来说，自助书籍仍然是一种补救措施。

There are, of course, trends in what we need help with. Emma Marshall, who works at British bookshop Waterstones, says "at the moment we're in the tidying up, getting rid of things trend… I think the trend right now is about slowing down in your life."  It seems there is always something we need help with, and reading about it can be very therapeutic – it makes us feel good, even if we don't do anything about it.

当然，在我们需要帮助的方面存在一些趋势。在英国书店 Waterstones 工作的 Emma Marshall 说：“目前我们正在整理、摆脱趋势……我认为现在的趋势是放慢生活节奏。”似乎总有一些事情我们需要帮助，阅读它可以很有治疗作用——它让我们感觉很好，即使我们对此不做任何事情。

Of course, the internet has become the place to go to for salvation. We've got used to searching for solutions online, and now these solutions even include how to fix or improve our lives. Interestingly, psychologist Caroline Beaton, says people called 'millennials' are self-critical – they are aware of their own faults – which also means they're more likely to spend time and money on self-help. There's also a theory that the self-help industry does well during a recession – people are perhaps even more likely to reach for self-help to improve their situation.

当然，互联网已经成为人们寻求救赎的地方。我们已经习惯了在网上搜索解决方案，现在这些解决方案甚至包括如何修复或改善我们的生活。有趣的是，心理学家卡罗琳·比顿（Caroline Beaton）说，被称为“千禧一代”的人是自我批评的——他们意识到自己的错误——这也意味着他们更有可能将时间和金钱花在自助上。还有一种理论认为，自助行业在经济衰退期间表现良好——人们可能更有可能通过自助来改善他们的处境。

Whatever the reason for the continued interest in self-help, it's good to know help is at hand when we need it. The alternative to finding a happier life is just to come to terms with yourself as you are – I know, I read about it in a book! Do you believe in self-help books?

无论出于何种原因继续对自助感兴趣，当我们需要帮助时，知道帮助就在手边是件好事。找到更幸福的生活的另一种选择就是像你一样接受自己——我知道，我在一本书中读到过它！你相信自助书籍吗？

词汇表

DIY 自己动手
publication 出版物
practical 实用的
title 标题，名称
self-confidence 自信
big business 赚钱的行当
guidance 指导，引导
remedy 解决办法，疗法
enlightenment 开导，启发
trend 动向，趋势
therapeutic 有益健康的
salvation 解救，救助
psychologist 心理学家
millennial 千禧一代
self-critical 自我批评的，自律的
recession （经济）衰退期
help is at hand 帮助、援助就在眼前