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

The Mouse Party

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