The US government should roll out a team of mental health professionals to soothe¹ Americans anguished² over the economic losses and encourage them to spend and invest, a New York psychiatrist³ says.

Dr. Richard Friedman of the Cornell Weill Medical Center in New York said he is treating 25 percent more people because of the recession, with patients suffering from insomnia⁴ due to anxiety and some even being diagnosed with clinical depression.

"It creates a culture of anxiety and fears. So you are not talking about a handful of people, you are talking about a situation in which the environment is fearful," Friedman told reporters in an interview.

"It's contagious⁵. Even people whose jobs are secure feel frightened that they, too, could lose their jobs."

The US economy, in recession since December 2007, is buckling⁶ under a heavy burden of rising unemployment.

Data released on Thursday showed jobless numbers rose to a record high in early February of 4.99 million, a rate of 3.7 percent. Washington has put forward an array of measures, including a $787 billion stimulus⁷ package, to revive the bleeding economy.

Friedman said people's anxieties need to be addressed immediately and on a national scale. His answer: Replace assurances and explanations from economists⁸ and politicians with advice from mental health professionals.

Fear of the economic climate should be confronted in the same way as an irrational⁹ fear, he said.

"Say you are afraid of the dark, you walk in a dark room and turn on the lights and see that there is nothing terrible there," he said.

"You're afraid of heights, you climb higher and higher, you get exposed and you see nothing awful is going to happen to you. You're afraid the market is going to collapse¹⁰, you go out and you spend money."

纽约一位精神病学家日前称，美国政府应组织心理健康专家帮助受经济危机打击的人们调整情绪，并鼓励他们进行消费和投资。

纽约康奈尔•威尔医学院的理查德•弗里德曼博士称，经济危机发生后，他收治的病人增加了25%， 有些病人因焦虑而失眠，有些人则患上了抑郁症。

弗里德曼在接受记者采访时说：“经济危机导致了一种焦虑和恐慌的氛围。所以我们针对的并不是某一群人，而是一种恐慌的境况。”

“这种恐慌的情绪会传染。即便工作很稳定的人也会担心自己失业。”

美国经济于2007年12月陷入衰退，目前正受到不断上升的失业率的重压。

本周四公布的数据显示，美国失业人口于本月初增至历史新高，达到499万人，增幅为3.7%。为重振经济，美国政府出台了一系列措施，其中包括7870亿美元的经济刺激方案。

弗里德曼称，政府应立即在全国范围内采取措施，解决人们的心理焦虑问题。为此他建议：不要再向人们灌输经济学家和政客的允诺和解释，而要请心理健康专家为人们提供帮助。

他表示，应将对经济环境的恐慌视为一种非理性的恐慌来对待。

他说：“如果你怕黑，就去一间黑屋子里走走，然后把灯打开，你会发现没什么可怕的。”

“如果你恐高，那就去爬高，你去经历了就会发现其实没什么危险。如果你害怕市场崩溃，那就出去花钱吧。”

Vocabulary:

buckle under:屈服；投降；让步