Haggett Ali
Centre for Medical History, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Palgrave Commun. 2016 Oct 18;2:16075. doi: 10.1057/palcomms.2016.75.
Given the supremacy of the biomedical model in defining our understanding and treatment of a wide range of physcial and psychological disorders, it is perhaps curious that simultaneously, scientists, clinicians, governments and patients routinely employ the concepts of "lifestyle" and "balance" to try to explain the causes of bodily disease and psychological disorder. Concurrently, the health advantages that are assumed to be inherent in a "balanced life" have been exploited by a rapidly expanding consumer market in "wellbeing"-by companies and individuals promoting food supplements, "wearable fitness", diet trends and the self-help material. Exploring the tension between the biomedical doctrine and the parallel preoccupation with balance and lifestyle has provided the impetus for this special issue. Emerging originally from papers presented at an interdisciplinary conference held at the University of Exeter in June 2015, and augmented by two further comment pieces, the collection of articles aims to explore the ways in which changing notions of "balance" have been used to understand the causes of mental illness; to rationalise new approaches to its treatment; and to validate advice relating to balance in work and family life.
鉴于生物医学模式在界定我们对广泛的身体和心理疾病的理解及治疗方面占据主导地位，或许令人好奇的是，与此同时，科学家、临床医生、政府和患者却经常运用“生活方式”和“平衡”的概念来试图解释身体疾病和心理障碍的成因。与此同时，“平衡生活”被假定具有的健康优势已被一个迅速扩张的“幸福”消费市场所利用——这个市场由推广食品补充剂、“可穿戴健身设备”、饮食潮流及自助材料的公司和个人构成。探究生物医学理论与对平衡和生活方式的类似关注之间的矛盾，为本期特刊提供了动力。这些文章最初源自2015年6月在埃克塞特大学举行的一次跨学科会议上发表的论文，并通过另外两篇评论文章加以扩充，其目的在于探讨“平衡”观念的变化是如何被用于理解精神疾病的成因；使精神疾病治疗的新方法合理化；以及验证与工作和家庭生活平衡相关的建议。
