Soft addictions 软瘾

After a tough day, do you come home and flop in your easy chair, grab a bag of chips and zone out in front of the television? Or maybe you compulsively check your e-mail, spend hours surfing the net or stay up late chatting with strangers on Facebook or Twitter. Whether you get lost in cyberspace, over shop, watch too much TV, gossip, bite your nails, daydream excessively, procrastinate or over-exercise, you may be caught in a “soft addiction”.

奔忙一天以后，你是不是一回家就窝在舒适的椅子里，顺手拿包薯片，然后就在电视机前把它们消灭光？或者，你会时不时不自觉地查邮箱、长时间泡在网上，跟社交网站上的人们聊天到很晚？不管你是迷失在网络空间、过度消费、或者看电视时间太久、八卦、咬指甲、成天做白日梦、总是拖延或运动过度，你都很有可能是染上了“软瘾”。

Soft addictions are seemingly harmless habits that rob us of our time, zap our energy, numb us from our feelings, mute our consciousness and keep us from living the satisfying, meaningful lives we desire.

“软瘾”是一些并无明显害处的习惯，只是这些习惯会消耗我们的时间和精力，让我们感觉麻木、失去意识，阻止我们追求我们想要的那种有意义的、满足的生活。

Soft Addictions can be activities, moods or ways of being, avoidances, and things-edible and consumable. Many soft addictions involve necessary behaviors like eating, reading, and sleeping. They become soft addictions when we overdo them and when they are used for more than their intended purpose.

“软瘾”可以是某些活动、情绪或存在方式，也可以是某种逃避心理或者可食用、可消耗的事物。很多“软瘾”都不可避免地与进食、阅读及睡觉有关。当我们做某件事过了头，违背了这件事初衷的时候，我们就是患上了“软瘾”。