美国历史上充斥着关于心理状况会让身体生病,或者能够治愈疾病的故事。很多畅销书、医学作品和百老汇的节目传播着这种观念。二十世纪四十和五十年代,医生和心理分析师弗朗茨·亚历山大说,压抑情感会引起清疡、哮喘和高血压等疾病。一九五○年,百老汇音乐剧《红男绿女》开玩笑说,婚姻受挫对上呼吸道不利。一九六○年,诺曼·梅勒用刀刺伤他妻子之后辩称,如果压抑怒火的话会得癌症。从电视上目睹了世贸中心双塔的倒塌的美国人报告说他们后来感到焦虑,在随后三年中患心脏病的几率也增高了。 History in the United States is full of stories about the psychological conditions that will make the body sick or cure the disease. A lot of bestsellers, medical works, and Broadway shows have spread that idea. In the forties and fifties of the 20th century, doctor and psychologist analyst Franz Alexander said repressing emotions could cause diseases such as ulcers, asthma and high blood pressure. In 1950, the Broadway musical “Red Man and Green Girl” joked that setbacks in marriage were detrimental to the upper respiratory tract. In 1960, after Norman Meller stabbed his wife with a knife, he argued that cancer could develop if the anger was suppressed. Americans who witnessed the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center from television reported that they later became anxious and had a higher risk of heart disease in the next three years.