Post on 31-Dec-2015
Altered states of consciousness
Do Now 5 Questions 5 Minutes
Meditation
• Reduces stress
• Enter “trance” state
• Focus on some object
• Mantra
• deeper state of relaxation or awareness
• Prayer
Biofeedback
• Biofeedback is a form of alternative medicine that involves measuring a subject's quantifiable bodily functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, sweat gland activity, and muscle tension, conveying the information to the patient in real-time. This raises the patient's awareness and conscious control of their unconscious physiological activities.
Hypnosis
• Hypnosis definition– Procedure in which a researcher, clinician, or hypnotists
suggests that a person will experience changes in sensation, perceptions, thoughts, feelings, or behaviors
• Who is susceptible?– individuals with the remarkable ability to respond to
imaginative suggestions– best known test: Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale– asks individuals to carry out a series of both simple and
complex suggestions– high scorers are usually easily hypnotized
• Behaviors– Hypnotic analgesia
• refers to a reduction in pain reported by clients after they had undergone hypnosis and received suggestions that reduced their anxiety and promoted relaxation
– Posthypnotic suggestion• given to the subject during hypnosis about
performing a particular behavior to a specific cue when the subject comes out of hypnosis
Hypnosis
– Posthypnotic amnesia• not remembering what happened during hypnosis
if the hypnotist suggested that, upon awakening, the person would forget what took place during hypnosis
– Age regression• refers to subjects under hypnosis being asked to
regress, or return in time, to an earlier age, such as early childhood
– Imagined perception• refers to experiencing sensations, perceiving
stimuli, or performing behaviors that come from one’s imagination
Hypnosis
• Medical and therapeutic applications– Medical and dental use
• used to reduce pain through hypnotic analgesia, to reduce fear and anxiety by helping individuals relax, or to help patients deal with a terminal disease by motivating them to make the best of a difficult situation
– Therapeutic and behavioral uses• useful in helping clients reveal their personalities,
gain insights into their lives, and arrive at solutions to their problems
• Useful, temporarily, in cessation of smoking, weight loss
Hypnosis
DRUGS
Drug Tolerance
Psychological v. Physical dependence
• The diminishing effect with regular dose of the same dose.– Must take more of same drug to produce same effect
Withdrawal
Psychoactive Drugs• Psychoactive Drugs: chemical
substances that alter perceptions and mood
• Depressants: reduces neural activity and slow body functions.
• Stimulants: excite neural activity and arouse/speed up body functions.
• Hallucinogens: distort perceptions or evoke sensation without sensory input.
Depressants
Alcohol• Slows down sympathetic nervous
system.• Disrupts memory processing (short to
long term memory).• Impairs judgment• Reduces self-awareness.• Involved in up to 60% of all crimes.• The worst drug from a macro
perspective out there.
DepressantsBarbiturates• Tranquilizers• Mimic the effects of
alcohol• Taken to sleep (but reduce
REM sleep) and anxiety.• Impair judgment and
memory• Taken with other drugs-
you can get a synergistic effect.
Depressants
Opiates (opium)• Heroin and
morphine
• Breathing slows, user becomes lethargic
• Addition comes fast and the withdrawal symptoms are bad
Stimulants• Amphetamines (Speed)• Methamphetamines• Cocaine• Crack• Ecstasy• “the crash”
– Headaches– Irritability– Insomnia– Hypertension– Depression– Fatigue
Increased heart rate and breathing rate
Pupils dilate
Appetite diminishes
Energy and self confidence rise
Hallucinogens
LSD (Acid)• Can cause PTSD and
schizophrenia.• Geometric patterns• Hallucinations• Delusions• Flashbacks…trippin’
years after stop using
Hallucinogens
Marijuana• THC
(Tetrahydrocannabinl)• Difficult to classify• Can amplify senses• Impairs motor coordination,
perceptual skills, and reaction time
• Disrupts memory formation• Chemicals stay in the body
for a month or longer
Near Death Experiencesas altered states of consciousness
• Near-death experience is a state of consciousness reported after being close to death. These same experiences, such as seeing bright tunnels, are often experienced from LSD (drug hallucination) or oxygen deprivation. – Out-of-body sensations– Traveling toward the light
• Dualists interpret experiences as evidence of human immortality
• Monists believe that such experiences parallel reports of hallucinations and may be products of a brain under stress
Sleep Disorder Projects• Research information on a specific sleep disorder.
Once you have collected your information begin creating your visual (how you plan to present this information)
• By the end of your project you should have all requirements that are listed on the directions and rubric (self-check)
• After you create your presentation, practice and review– be prepared to present to the class