Don't feel guilty about guilty pleasures偶尔享受乐事莫自责

　　You might have heard of the expression 'a guilty pleasure' – maybe it's the chocolate bar you buy on the way home from work, or the new clothes that you don't really need. It comes from the idea that when we treat ourselves, it can sometimes leave us feeling guilty. Perhaps we don't feel we deserved it, or we don't think it was a responsible way to spend our money. But should we feel like this? Do we really have to feel guilty about treating ourselves?

　　Perhaps not. Psychologists have suggested that buying things for yourself can make you feel better as it provides an opportunity to take control of your situation. It can give you social contact as well as a confidence boost from changes you make to your self-image. It may be that as well as lifting your mood, when you buy a treat, you might just be looking after yourself.

　　Of course, there are also examples of people turning to destructive behaviour when faced with stressful circumstances. People might spend money that they don't have or turn to dangerous addictions. Psychologist Leon Seltzer considers the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurturing. Self-indulgence can be reckless and have negative consequences, while self-nurturing is taking responsible decisions to satisfy our needs and take care of ourselves in ways that don't have a significant impact.

　　One stress that people may need to deal with is exam stress. Many universities publish guides with advice for coping with exam stress. Reflecting the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurture, they recommend rewarding yourself for your efforts, doing things that you enjoy and are good at so that you can feel accomplishment and to avoid things that may make you feel worse afterwards.

　　So perhaps, as long as we make responsible decisions, we shouldn't feel guilty about our guilty pleasures.

　　词汇表

　　treat 善待，犒劳

　　deserve 配得上，应得

　　responsible 负责任的

　　social contact 社会联系，社交

　　confidence boost 增强自信，信心的提升

　　self-image 自我形象

　　lift your mood 振作你的精神，让你心情愉快look after 照顾，照料

　　destructive behaviour 自毁行为

　　stressful 有压力的，让人紧张的

　　addiction 成瘾，上瘾

　　self-indulgence 自我放纵，自我纵容

　　self-nurturing 自我呵护，自我照顾

　　reckless 轻率的，不顾后果的

　　consequences 后果

　　satisfy 使满足

　　cope with 应对，处理

　　reward 奖励，奖赏

　　accomplishment 成就