全情投入追完一部剧、看完一本好书之后，发现自己陷入了一种忧郁、失落的状态，仿佛失恋一般？

 

你不是一个人！英语中还专门有描述这种状态的术语，“书后忧伤综合征”（post-book blues¹）或“剧后忧伤综合征”（post-series blues），中文网络上被称作“完结综合征”。

 

这种综合征是指在阅读一本书或观看一部剧以后出现忧郁、空虚的感受，当你知道这段旅程已经结束，却并不希望它结束时的苦涩感觉。

 

We all have those pangs² of stress around the last few episodes of our current favorite TV show, about the junction³ where there will be no “Next Episode” button to click. For many hours, days, and weeks, we invest ourselves in the plot, characters, and the world of the show, only to realize that it — after all — exists inside a screen.

在最喜欢的电视剧快到尾声的时候，我们都有过这种苦闷之感，因为即将没有“下一集”的按钮可点击了。在过去的几小时、几天和几周的时间里，我们全情投入到一部剧的剧情、人物和那个世界中，却意识到它终究只存在于一方屏幕中。

 

You get a story, escapism, possibly even life-changing revelations. In return they get your undivided attention. But what happens when you finally re-emerge from that transaction? The longer it goes on for, the harder the end seems to be.

你获得了一个好故事、一个逃离现实的世界，甚至可能是改变人生的重要启示。作为回报，这些故事获得了你全心全意的关注。然而，当你从这场交换中大梦初醒时，会发生什么？你沉浸其中的时间越长，离别就越难以面对。

 

对于这种症状的一种解释是，你在读书或追剧的过程中，认识了故事中的人，共情于他们的喜怒哀乐，仿佛和他们成了朋友。

 

It's a sense of loss that you feel at the end of a book and you're grieving. It's like saying goodbye to so many friends you've made, because you've got to know this person over the course of the book and now there's no more connection, and this is why sequels do so well – it's that continuity.

在读完一本书后，你会感受到一种失落感，就像和你结识的许多朋友告别一样。因为你在读这本书的过程中与角色相识，而合上书后你们之间却再无瓜葛。这也是为什么续集往往能获得成功的原因，因为它有这种情感上的连续性。

 

有时，为了逃避失去这种情感联系，一些人甚至故意选择弃书、弃剧。

 

One key to emotional connection is the all-important protagonist⁴. It's why some people deliberately⁵ don't finish certain books, because either they may not want to know what happens to a favourite character, or the end of a special read is worth prolonging…forever.

这种情感联系的关键之一是剧中至关重要的主角。这也是为什么有些人故意不读完某些书，因为他们可能不想知道喜欢的角色发生了什么，或者想将这段阅读旅程的结尾无限延长......直到永远。

 

不过，无论分离多么伤感，我们还是要感谢一个好故事给我们造的梦，然后带着它留给我们的精神食粮，回到现实中，过好自己的人生。

 

Fiction and non-fiction stories have always been there to help catch our fall during troubled times. It's pure, healthy escapism.

在人生困顿的时刻，虚构和非虚构类的故事总能在我们坠落时稳稳地接住我们。这是一种纯粹的、健康的逃避主义。

 

Perhaps the best way to get over the post-book or post-series blues is to be grateful for what you've learnt, and enjoy where your imagination has taken you.

也许度过完结综合征最好的办法是感激你所获得的，享受那片任由想象力翱翔的天空。

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