由英國精神健康基金會進行的一次覆蓋面最廣的研究指出，有四分之三的英國人認為，在過去的十年中，世界變得越來越令人恐懼；恐怖主義、持刀犯罪、病菌傳播以及禽流感等讓人們感到焦慮，經濟也因此受到不良影響。為了增加民眾安全感，英國政府在公共場所增裝監控攝像頭，而這一行為卻使英國民眾愈加焦慮。據英國政府公布的數據顯示，英國現在受到焦慮癥困擾的人群總數達700萬，比1993年增加了80萬。其中，女性焦慮的比例是男性的兩倍，而年輕人比老年人更容易焦慮。
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Britons are increasingly "living in fear" with record numbers suffering from anxiety and Government attempts to address the problem may be making it worse, new research suggests.
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Britons are increasingly "living in fear" with record numbers suffering from anxiety and Government attempts to address the problem may be making it worse, new research suggests.
In one of the most wide-ranging studies of its kind, three quarters of people said they thought the world had become a more frightening place over the last decade.
Issues such as terrorism, knife-crime, MRSA and bird flu have all made people more anxious, which in turn is having an impact on the economy.
Government figures suggest 800,000 more people in Britain now suffer from anxiety disorders than in 1993, taking the total number of sufferers to above seven million.
Such a predominance of fear and anxiety is contributing to the economic crisis because emotion overrides logical thinking, according to the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) study.
"Individuals and institutions - keen to protect themselves - are now too afraid to lend, spend and invest, despite the fact that these actions could assist in ending the recession," it said.
Women were twice as likely to feel anxious and frightened as men, while young people were more likely than the older generation to be fearful.
A third of all people said fear had prevented them from doing things they want, but efforts to calm the public's fears over issues such as crime often have the opposite effect, the study found.
"Social policy aimed at controlling risk and quelling fear often seems to increase it," the report said.
"The UK Government has recently focused on tackling 'fear of crime', but measures based on installing visible signs of 'security' such asCCTV cameras appear to be counter-productive - they don't lead to people feeling safer.
"Creating visible signs of security may make some people more fearful, as they sense high security must mean high risk."
The study said 24-hour news, information about threats and the "catastrophic" language often used by politicians, pressure groups, businesses and public bodies all contributed to anxiety.
High levels of fear and anxiety are linked to depression as well as heart disease, and even conditions such as asthma and allergies.
The MHF report, entitled In the Face of Fear, surveyed 2,246 adults and found that 66 per cent of people were worried about the current financial situation and 49 per cent specifically about money.
Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the MHF, urged the Government and businesses to reduce "institutionally-driven" fear.
"This report shows that fear is having a serious negative impact on the mental and physical health of the nation," he said.
"The more fearful people feel in the general population, the more people will be tipped over into diagnosable anxiety disorders.
"The modern world will test our resilience again and again, and people need to know how to process their emotions better to prevent harm to their mental and physical health.
"Prevention campaigns about physical illnesses like heart disease and cancer are often mounted but we have seen little investment in educating people about how they can look after their mental health."
相關閱讀
經濟低迷期 糖果撫人心
經濟衰退 英倫興起易貨潮
英政府擬監控社交網站用戶信息
(Agencies)
Vocabulary:
MRSA: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus 抗藥性耐甲氧西林金黃色葡萄球菌
CCTV: closed-circuit television 閉路電視
（英語點津 Helen 編輯）
