Your cell phone is ringing. Your inbox is overflowing. Your friend wants to discuss her son's glue-sniffing habit. Martha Beck has news for you—you don't have to Be There for all people all the time. Just follow her escape routes.

    手機鈴聲響個不停，收件箱爆滿，朋友想討論她兒子吸強力膠（以達麻醉、迷幻效果）的習慣。Martha Beck告訴你——你不必事事、時時幫助每個人，遵循她的“逃跑”路線吧。

    The great English writer E.M. Forster may have valued connection above all else, but for us 21st-century folks, disconnection is as necessary as connection for creating a healthy, happy life. When we force ourselves to connect against our heart's desires, we create false, resentful relationships; when we disconnect from the people who deplete us, we set them free to find their tribes while we find ours. I've listed some of my favorite disconnection strategies below, in the hope that you might find them useful.

    偉大英國作家愛德華·摩根·福斯特也許把關系看得比什么都重要，但是對21世紀的我們來說，想要過健康快樂的生活，脫離關系和擁有關系一樣必要。違背心愿建立的關系是虛假、怨恨的關系；當我們脫離那些損耗我們的人，我們給了他們尋找同類的自由，也給了我們自己尋找同類的自由。下面列出了一些我最喜愛的脫離方法，希望有用。

    1. Hide. Blame my high school English teacher—I'll call her Mrs. Jensen—who married at 17, bore her first child at 19, and was a farmwife and mother of four by age 22. When she felt overwhelmed, she'd retreat into a field of tall corn near her house and hide there, listening to her children search for her, until she heard a cry of genuine pain or felt ready to reconnect, whichever came first. "Martha," Mrs. Jensen told me, "every woman needs a cornfield. No matter what's happening in your life, find yourself a cornfield and hide there whenever you need to."

    隱藏。想出這點子，都怪那個叫Jensen夫人的高中英語老師。她十七歲嫁人，十九歲生下第一個孩子，二十二歲時，這農婦是四個孩子的媽。當她感到無法應對時，她會躲入她家附近一片高玉米地，聽著孩子尋找她的聲音，直到聽見真正痛苦的哭喊，或自己準備恢復與現實生活的聯系。Jensen曾告訴我：“Martha，每個女人都需要一片玉米地。不管發生了什么，找到自己的一片玉米地，需要的時候躲起來。”

    I've used hundreds of other "cornfields" over the years: cars, forests, hotels, bathrooms. I've been known to hide for days, but even a few minutes can calm my strung-out nerves—or yours. If you don't already have a cornfield, find one now.

    長期以來，我用了很多“玉米地”：汽車、森林、賓館、浴室。我能消失好幾天，這一點讓我出名了。但是即便幾分鐘也能平靜我緊繃的神經。或者你也可以。如果你還沒有一片玉米地，現在就找一個。

    2. Go primitive. We all know that technological advances have made connection easier than ever before. They've also led some people to think that breaking away is a violation of the social order. At such times, I become downright Amish, religiously committed to avoiding all modern communication technology. I unplug phones, computers, intercoms and fax machines, risking opprobrium, because I know that if I don't lose touch with some of the people who are trying to reach me, I'll lose touch with myself. The over-connected me is a cranky, tired fussbudget. Silence is golden if it keeps me from broadcasting that fretful self into my network of treasured relationships.

    回歸原始。我們都知道技術進步讓聯系比以往任何時候都要容易。也讓一些人認為逃避是對社交秩序的侵犯。這時候，我干脆變成一名門諾派教徒，虔誠地回避一切現代通訊技術。我冒著被罵的危險，把電話、電腦、對講機、傳真機都關了。因為我知道，如果我不躲開那些要聯系我的人，我將失去自己。在過渡聯系中的那個“我”是易怒、疲倦、吹毛求疵。如果沉默能避免煩躁的我損害珍貴的關系，那么它就是金。
 
    3. Play favorites. Your ability to connect is a resource much more precious than money, so manage it well. Make a list of everyone to whom you feel bonded, then consider what kind of return you're getting on your investment. It may sound cold-blooded to say you must divest yourself of the relationships that give you consistent losses, but unless you do this, you'll soon run out of capital, and you'll have no connection energy left to invest in anybody. So, please, decide now to deliberately limit the time and attention you spend on "low yield" relationships. Above all…

    選寵。聯絡能力是一種比金錢更珍貴的東西，所以要好好管理。列出一份你感覺關系密切的人名單，然后考慮，從你的投資中會得到哪類回報。也許要讓自己脫離那些無益你的關系。這么說聽上去冷血，但是如果你不這么做，你將耗盡資本，無法投資給任何人。所以，請現在就有意識地限制對“低產”關系花的時間和注意力。首要一點......

    4. Get rid of squid. Squid is my word for people who seem to be missing their backbones but possess myriad sucking tentacles of emotional need. Like many invertebrates, squid appear limp and squishy—but once they get a grip on you, they're incredibly powerful. Masters at catalyzing guilt and obligation, they operate by squeezing pity from everyone they meet. Getting a squid out of your life is never pretty. Tell them straightforwardly that you want them, yes them, to leave now, yes, now. This will be unpleasant. There will be lasting hurt feelings. Don't worry. Squid love hurt feelings. They hoard them, trading them in for pity points when they find another victim—er, friend. Let them go, their coffers bulging.

    除掉魷魚. 在我的詞匯力，魷魚是那些似乎沒骨頭，卻長了無數“情感需求”吸吮盤的人。和許多無脊椎動物一樣，魷魚看上去柔軟黏糊——可是一旦它們將你抓住就變得無比有力。身為催成罪惡感和義務感的大師，他們的伎倆是從每個見到的人那里博得同情。要從你的生活中除去一只魷魚不容易。直接告訴他們，你希望他們，對，正是他們，現在離開，馬上離開。這令人不快，會有持久受傷的感覺。別擔心，魷魚喜歡受傷感覺。他們在囤積它們，在找到另一個受害人（呃，朋友)時，用它們來換取憐憫。讓他們去，你充實了他們的“囤積”。

    5. Be insensitive. This is a very compassionate way to use your own psychological instincts. Instead of connecting with every person's problems, let yourself feel whether someone really needs your attention, or whether the best gift you can give might be a little abruptness.

    漠然。這是運用心理本能時很慈悲的做法。不要去關心每個人的麻煩，而是讓自己感受別人是否是需要你的關注；也許你能給予的最好禮物是一點魯莽。

    6. Rehearse escape lines. When I'm overextended, I paradoxically become worse at setting boundaries. I end up resorting to rehearsed exit lines. Take the time to rehearse several reliable alternatives. Because, when you're exhausted, a practiced excuse can keep you from wading deeper into relationships you don't need and can't handle.

    排練逃跑臺詞。當我把關系網拉得過大，我設置界限的能力會變糟。最終，我會排練逃避臺詞。花時間排練幾種可靠選擇。因為當你精疲力竭時，一個經過準備的借口能防止你淌入更深的渾水，避免你卷入既不需要也無法處理的關系。

    7. Be shallow. Even staying in touch with a reasonably small number of high-quality people can be overwhelming if you tend toward emotional intensity. In such cases, shallowness can be a delightful alternative. E-mail a stupid joke. Gather your friends to watch TV shows in which strangers paint one another's rooms the color of phlegm and then feign mutual delight. Once you know you can swim in the deep end of human connection, it's fun to splash around in the shallows.

    膚淺。和陽春白雪的人群呆在一起，就算他們人數不多，如果你感性一點，就會覺得精神緊崩、喘不過氣。這時候，膚淺可以是一個愉快的選擇。發一封傻傻的笑話郵件。邀朋友一起看電視節目（節目中有人把別人房間漆成和痰一樣的顏色，然后假裝出大家同樂的樣子）。既能在關系“深”處暢游，也能在“淺水”中嬉戲。

    I hope you find these disconnection strategies as useful as I do. By striking a balance between the imperative to "only connect" and the need for individuation, you really will relax your psyche and your relationships, making your life as a whole more joyful, more loving.

    我發現這些脫離策略很有用，希望你也這樣認為。命令自己有選擇地和他人聯系，同時和對個性的需求保持平衡，你就將能放松心情和關系，讓生活整體上更快樂、更有愛。