高中英语教学：Tracking packages is unhealthy obsession.docx

Tracking packages is unhealthy obsession Jenna Ryu USA TODAY There’s a child-like joy that comes with ordering?something online – whether it be clothes or kitchen?gadgets. We sit refreshing the U.S. Postal Service or?FedEx pages to see when our items will arrive, and we?become overly excited, hopeful and anxious. But why? According to Owen O’Kane, a psychotherapist and?author of “Ten to Zen: Ten Minutes a Day to a Calmer,?Happier You,” even the smallest positive future events?can motivate us when we’re feeling down–especially?during the pandemic, which has been filled with unexpected disappointments. This is why people look forward to dinner reservations, hair appointments and yes, receiving packages. “It’s anticipatory pleasure that something positive?and good is going to happen when you get this parcel,?and a lot of people realize that placing that order and?waiting for it does feel good,” he says. But it’s not the purchase itself that elicits this happiness. Experts say there’s something about the anticipation of waiting that is exciting for those in need?of change in their lives. ? Something positive to look forward to When our package finally arrives, many of us are?satisfied. But that initial excitement has probably?waned because our obsession with our parcel represents much more than the item we purchased. “What we’re talking about here is hope and having?something to look forward to,” O’Kane explains. “Having something to look?forward to can help some feel a?sense of, ‘OK whatever is going on in the moment isn’t?forever,’ and reassures that things can improve.” For some people, the arrival of a package may also?represent “an imagined positive future where you can?control your needs for a book or blender or blouse,”making life feel more manageable and less monotonous. “It can be helpful to anticipate good things in the?future,” says Ryan Howes, a clinical psychologist from?Pasadena, California. “You had a hard week at work,?but you keep yourself going because