Host: Soft addictions—what are they? They are not drugrelated, but if you can’t stop doing things like shopping, or going on Facebook, or eating chocolate, you might have a soft addiction. So now, what’s the difference between…like an addiction or compulsive[强迫的] behavior?
　　Gail Saltz (Psychiatrist): Right, with an…a true addiction like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, when you stop doing it you feel a physical withdrawal[戒断]—you feel nauseous[作呕的] and sweaty, and you have a tremor[抖颤] and so on. But with things we’re calling “soft addictions” or really what I mean is compulsive behavior, you might not feel good but you don’t have a physical withdrawal. It’s just something you want to keep doing, and it’s sort of emotionally driven. So maybe you are doing this compulsive behavior because you’re depressed or you’re anxious, and you are trying to fend off[挡开] those feelings, but it also can be something in the environment. So say, your mom was a big shopper and she handled everything by going out and shopping, that could really affect you and you could grow up to be a compulsive shopper. Host: So there are some questions you say you should ask yourself.
　　Saltz: Yes.
　　Host: And first of all…the first question is, are you planning and really preoccupied[全神贯注的] about planning to do the behavior?
　　Saltz: It’s not just how often you’re doing it, but are you thinking about it all the time?
　　Host: And if this behavior impacts other parts of your life, that’s a problem as well.
　　Saltz: Absolutely. This is…this is probably the primary[第一位的] one: Is this affecting your relationships? Is this affecting your work, your finances?
　　Host: So then how do you…how do you break this?
　　Saltz: First off, you have to admit you really have a problem. No behavior changes until you actually admit that you have a problem. That’s…that’s a big feature of it.
　　Host: And then what’s driving the behavior?
　　Saltz: So is this mood-generated[产生的]? Like, are you low? Does it run in the family? You have to look at what’s driving it so that you can stop that. Compulsions are repetitive[重复的], and they thrive on[以……兴旺] a pattern. So if you basically pull back and say, instead of checking my e-mail every hour on the hour, I’m gonna shake it up, I’m gonna do ten minutes one day, I’m gonna be two hours the next day, I’m gonna be...you know, break the pattern, just do it differently. Instead of eating the sweets all the time, go for the apple. If this is really affecting your life and you’ve tried these things and they’re just not working, you probably need professional help. So it’s something that you…you want to think about, because it can actually be very damaging in your life.
　　主持人：软瘾——什么是软瘾呢？这类行为与毒品无关，但如果你无法停止做某些事情，如购物、上“脸谱”，或是吃巧克力，你也许已经染上软瘾了。请问两者的区别……（一般的）上瘾与强迫行为有什么不同呢？
　　盖尔·萨尔察(精神病学家)：好的，真正的成瘾，比如酒瘾、烟瘾、毒瘾，当你停止摄入该物，你会有身体上的戒断反应——你会感到恶心、多汗、发抖等等。但对于我们所谓的“软瘾”——实际上我指的是强迫行为，你也许觉得不舒服，但你不会有戒断反应。你只是受到某种感情驱使，想不断重复某种行为。也许这种强迫行为的产生是因为你很沮丧或是焦虑，试图逃避这种感觉，但它也可能受到环境的影响。比如说你妈妈是个购物狂，她处理一切问题的方式就是外出购物，那就很有可能对你造成影响，你长大以后也有可能成为强迫性购物狂。
　　主持人：所以你说我们应该问自己一些问题。萨尔察：是的。
　　主持人：首先……第一个问题是，你准备进行这种行为吗，而且总是想着如何做准备？
　　萨尔察：不仅是这种行为的频率，你会一直想着这件事吗？
　　主持人：如果这种行为对你生活的其他方面产生了影响，这同样是个问题。
　　萨尔察：当然了。这是……这也许是最主要的问题：这种行为是否对你的人际关系有影响？会否影响你的工作和经济状况？
　　主持人：接着就是你怎样……怎样才能摆脱这种行为？
　　萨尔察：首先，你必须承认自己确实有问题。只有当你真正承认这一点，才能纠正行为。这是很重要的一点。
　　主持人：接下来的问题，是什么驱使你做出这种行为的呢？
　　萨尔察：这行为是某种情绪触发的吗？比如意志消沉？你的家里一直有这毛病吗？你必须看看是什么驱使这种行为，才能找到停止的办法。强迫症是不断重复的行为，其成瘾源于某种固定习惯。所以如果你抽身出来——我不要每隔一个小时就准点查一次邮箱，我要改掉这个习惯，第一天只用十分钟查邮箱，第二天则是两个小时，我要……你知道，打破定式，另辟蹊径。不要老是吃甜食，去吃苹果吧。如果这种行为确实对你的生活造成了影响，你已经试过这些办法，却没有效果，你也许就要寻求专人帮助了。这是一件……你要思考的事情，因为软瘾真的会给你的生活带来很大问题。