module 8 hypnosis and drugs

Module 8

Hypnosis and Drugs

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

HYPNOSIS (CONT.)

HYPNOSIS (CONT.)

• 20% of adults have low susceptibility– means they cannot be easily hypnotized

• 65-70% of adults have medium susceptibility• 10-15% have high susceptibility

• Who can be hypnotized?– not correlated with introversion, extraversion, social

position, intelligence, willpower, sex, compliance, gullibility, being highly motivated, or being a placebo responder

HYPNOSIS (CONT.)

• 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

HYPNOSIS (CONT.)

• How is someone hypnotized?– hypnotic induction– refers to inducing hypnosis by first asking a person to

either stare at an object or close his or her eyes and then suggesting that the person is becoming very relaxed

HYPNOSIS (CONT.)

• Theories of hypnosis– Altered States Theory of Hypnosis

• holds that hypnosis puts a person into an altered state of consciousness, during which the person is disconnected from reality, which results in being able to experience and respond to various suggestions

– Sociocognitive Theory of Hypnosis• behaviors observed during hypnosis result not

from being hypnotized, but rather from having the special ability of responding to imaginative suggestions and social pressures

HYPNOSIS (CONT.)

• 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 (CONT.)• Behaviors

– Posthypnotic amnesia• not remembering what happened during hypnosis

if the hypnotist suggested that, upon awakening, the person would forget what took place during hypnosis

• people who are instructed to not remember anything usually report not remembering, but when pressed, many of these same people admit they do in fact remember the information

HYPNOSIS (CONT.)• Behaviors

– 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 (CONT.)• 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

DRUGS: OVERVIEW

• Reasons for use– include obtaining pleasure, joy, and euphoria; meeting

social expectations; giving in to peer pressure; dealing with or escaping stress, anxiety, and tension; avoiding pain; and achieving altered state of consciousness

• Psychoactive drugs– affect nervous system– may alter consciousness and awareness, influence

how we sense and perceive things, and modify our moods, feelings, emotions, and thoughts

DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.)• Definition of terms

– Addiction• a person has developed a behavioral pattern of drug

abuse that is marked by an overwhelming and compulsive desire to obtain and use the drug; even after stopping, the person has a strong tendency to relapse and begin using the drug again

– Tolerance• after a person uses a drug repeatedly over a period of

time, the original dose of the drug no longer produces the desired effect so that a person must take increasingly larger doses of the drug to achieve the same behavioral effect

DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.)

• Definition of terms– Dependency

• refers to a change in the nervous system so that a person now needs to take the drug to prevent the occurrence of painful withdrawal symptoms

– Withdrawal symptoms• painful physical and psychological symptoms that

occur after a drug-dependent person stops using the drug


• Use of drugs– most recent national statistics show that almost 20

million Americans spend over $62 billion on illegal drugs each year

– drug treatment programs are more cost effective than imprisonment

– many health professionals recommend reducing illegal drug use by spending more on:

• drug education• counseling• treatment


• Effects on nervous system– drugs affect neurotransmitters– Neurotransmitters

• chemical keys that search for and then either open or close chemical locks to either excite or inhibit neighboring neurons, organs, or muscles

– Mimicking• some drugs produce their effects by mimicking the

way the neurotransmitters work– Reuptake

• some drugs block reuptake


• Effects on nervous system– drugs affect brain’s reward/pleasure center– includes the nucleus accumbens and ventral

tegmental area and involves dopamine– some drugs directly activate the brain’s

reward/pleasure center– also activated when one eats food, has sex, and does

other pleasurable activities

STIMULANTS

• Definition– stimulants, including cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine,

and nicotine, increase activity of the central nervous system and result in heightened alertness, arousal, euphoria, and decreased appetite and fatigue

• Amphetamines– 1960’s: heavily prescribed to treat a wide range of

problems, including fatigue, depression, and being overweight

– 1971: FDA outlawed the prescription of amphetamines for everything except attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Amphetamines• following a “drug war” on cocaine in the late 1980’s,

there was a dramatic increase of a form of amphetamine called methamphetamine– manufactured in illegal home laboratories– in many countries, use or possession of

methamphetamine is illegal– use is still spreading worldwide

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Amphetamines– drug – Methamphetamine (D-methamphetamine)

• close to amphetamine in both chemical makeup and its physical and psychological effects

• can be smoked, or snorted• produces almost instant high• causes marked increase in blood pressure and

heart rate• produces feelings of enhanced mood, alertness,

and energy

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Amphetamines– nervous system– increases the release of dopamine and also blocks

reuptake• Dangers

– periods of restless activity and performing repetitive behaviors

– later, euphoria is replaced with depression, agitation insomnia, and development of true paranoid feelings

– long-term risks include stroke, liver damage, memory loss, and extreme weight loss

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Cocaine– drug– from coca leaves– cocaine can be sniffed or snorted– absorbed by many of the body’s membranes– concentrated cocaine is called crack– effects are very similar to amphetamines– higher doses can produce anxiety, emotional

instability, and suspiciousness

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Cocaine– nervous system– blocks reuptake of dopamine– excites dopamine receptors to produce

pleasure/euphoria and glutamate to produce cravings for more drug

– increased physiological and psychological arousal– can be used for a local anesthetic when applied to

external areas of the body

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Cocaine– Dangers

• moderate doses• Short acting high (10-30 minutes); includes bursts

of energy, arousal, and alertness– Heavy doses

• results in serious physical and psychological problems, which may include hallucinations and feelings of bugs crawling under the skin as well as addiction

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Cocaine– dangers

• physical problems resulting from cocaine abuse• lack of appetite• headaches• insomnia• irritability• heart attacks, strokes, seizures• damage to cartilage of the nose• HIV risk• respiratory failure leads to sudden death (can result from

low dosages)

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Caffeine– drug– mild stimulant, produces moderate physiological and

psychological arousal, including decreased fatigue and drowsiness, feelings of alertness and improved reaction times

– Nervous system• caffeine belongs to the chemical class called xanthines• blocks certain receptors (adenosine receptors) in the

brain• mild physiological and psychological arousal

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Caffeine– Dangers

• mild to heavy doses of caffeine can result in addiction and dependency similar to those produced by alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine (two cups of coffee)

• higher doses result in depression, tension, and anxiety

STIMULANTS (CONT.)

• Nicotine• U.S. over 70 million people use tobacco products• 2 million teens begin using cigarettes each year

– drug– stimulant that triggers the brain’s reward/pleasure

center to produce good feelings– low doses improve attention, concentration, and short

term memory– regular use causes addiction and dependency– leads to withdrawal

STIMULANTS (CONT.)• Nicotine

– nervous system• stimulates the production of dopamine• also stops other controlling cells from turning off the

pleasure areas– Dangers

• very addicting• Over 400,000 American smokers die each year from lung

and heart problems• causes sexual problems including impotency• withdrawal symptoms range in severity and include

nervousness, irritability, difficulty in concentrating, sleep disturbances, and strong craving

OPIATES

• Opium, morphine, heroin– opiates are classified as narcotics– About 136,000 Americans use heroin– drug– opiates such as opium, morphine, and heroin produce

three primary effects:• analgesia (pain reduction)• opiate euphoria (state between waking and

sleeping)• constipation

OPIATES (CONT.)

• Opium, morphine, heroin– nervous system– brain has naturally occurring receptors for opiates– produces feelings of euphoria and analgesia– gastrointestinal tract has opiate receptors

(constipation) – brain also produces morphinelike chemicals called

endorphins

OPIATES (CONT.)

• Opium, morphine, heroin– Dangers

• brain will produce less of its own endorphins• relies on outside opiates• person becomes addicted• withdrawal symptoms, include hot and cold

flashes, sweating, muscle tremors, and stomach cramps

• overdose results in depressed neural control for breathing and death from respiratory failure

HALLUCINOGENS

• Definition– Hallucinogens are psychoactive drugs that can produce

strange and unusual perceptual, sensory, and cognitive experiences, which the person sees or hears but knows are not occurring in reality

• LSD– d-lysergic acid diethylamide– drug– produces hallucinogenic experiences at very low doses– visual hallucinations, perceptual distortions, increased

sensory awareness, and intense psychological feelings

HALLUCINOGENS (CONT.)

• LSD– nervous system– resembles serotonin – LSD binds to receptors that normally respond to

serotonin, and the net effect is increased stimulation of these neurons

– receptors are mainly located on neurons in the cerebral cortex

– involved in receiving sensations, creating perceptions, thinking, and imagining


• LSD– Dangers

• psychological effects partially depend on the setting and the person’s state of mind

• if a person is tense or anxious or in an unfamiliar setting, he or she may experience a bad trip

• severe trips may lead to psychotic reactions (especially paranoid feelings) that require hospitalization

• users may experience flashbacks (after the experience)

• occur for no apparent reason


• Psilocybin– “magic mushrooms” (Psilocybe mexicana)– possession or use of psilocybin is illegal– drug– psilocybin in low doses produces pleasant and

relaxed feelings– medium doses produce perceptual distortions in time

and space– high doses produce distortions in perceptions and

body image and sometimes hallucinations


• Psilocybin– nervous system– chemically related to LSD– inhibits serotonin receptors– hallucinatory effects last half as long as LSD


• Psilocybin– Dangers

• no physical harm to the brain or body• potential for inducing psychotic states that may

persist long after the experience is expected to end• accidental poisonings are common from eating

poisonous mushrooms, mistaking them for magic mushrooms


• Mescaline– peyote cactus– contains about 30 psychoactive chemicals – most potent is mescaline– possession of mescaline is illegal for all except those

who belong to the Native American Church– drug– 2,000 times less potent than LSD– high doses: produce very clear and vivid visual

hallucinations– does not impair the intellect or cloud consciousness


• Mescaline– nervous system– reaches maximum concentration in the brain about

30-120 minutes after someone eats buttons of peyote cactus

– increases the activity of neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine

– activates the sympathetic nervous system– produces physiological arousal: increased heart rate,

temperature, and sometimes vomiting


• Mescaline– Dangers

• can last 6-8 hours• users may experience headaches and vomiting


• Designer drugs– manufactured or synthetic drugs that are designed to

resemble already existing illegal psychoactive drugs and produce or mimic their psychoactive effects

– drug– MDMA, ecstasy– resembles both mescaline and amphetamine– heightens sensations, gives a euphoric rush, raises

body temperature, and creates feelings of warmth and empathy


• Designer drugs– MDMA– nervous system– causes large amounts of dopamine and serotonin to

be released– afterward: users may feel depressed and have

attention memory deficits– MDMA may cause brain damage


• Designer drugs– MDMA– Dangers

• recreational trips can last 6 hours• include: euphoria, high energy, jaw clenching,

teeth grinding, increased body temperature, and insomnia

• higher doses include: panic, rapid heart beat, high body temperature, paranoia, and psychotic-like symptoms

ALCOHOL

• History and use– first brewery appeared in Egypt in about 3700 B.C.– safe alcohol to drink is ethyl alcohol – level of alcohol is measured in percentage in the

blood: blood alcohol content or BAC– national legal definition of being drunk is 0.08 (after

possibly 3-4 drinks)– effects the nervous system and results in behavioral

and emotional changes

ALCOHOL (CONT.)– drug– ethyl alcohol is a psychoactive drug classified as a

depressant– depresses activity of the central nervous system– alcohol seems like a stimulant but later depresses

physiological and psychological responses– after a few drinks (0.01-0.05 BAC) causes friendliness and

loss of inhibitions– after four or five drinks (0.06-0.10 BAC) impairs motor

coordination (driving), cognitive abilities, decision making, and speech

– After many drinks (0.4 BAC and higher) may cause coma or death

ALCOHOL (CONT.)

• Nervous system– affects many parts of the nervous system– stimulates GABA neural receptors, leads to feeling

less anxious and less inhibited– also impairs the anterior cingulate cortex, monitors

the control of motor actions– drinkers fail to recognize their impaired motor

performance (driving)– high doses: depresses vital breathing reflexes in the

medulla (brain stem) – may lead to death

ALCOHOL (CONT.)

• Dangers– hangover– includes upset stomach, dizziness, fatigue, headache,

and depression – repeated and heavy drinking can result in tolerance,

addiction, and dependency– withdrawal symptoms– shaking, nausea, anxiety, diarrhea, hallucinations,

and disorientation– another serious problem, blackout– occur after heavy and repeated drinking

ALCOHOL (CONT.)

• Dangers (cont.)– blackouts– person seems to behave normally but does not

remember what happened when sober– repeated and heavy drinking can also result in liver

damage, alcoholism, and brain damage

ALCOHOL (CONT.)

• Risk factors– of 109 million people who drink alcohol, 10 to 14

million will develop alcoholism – psychological risk factors– children of either one or both alcoholic parents can

develop unusual, abnormal, or maladaptive psychological and emotional traits

– childhood risk factors include being easily bored, engaging in risk-taking or sensation-seeking behaviors, and acting impulsive or over-emotional when faced with stressful situations

ALCOHOL (CONT.)

• Risk factors– genetic risk factors– refer to inherited biases for predispositions that

increase the potential for alcoholism– genetic factors contribute 50 to 60% to the reasons a

person becomes an alcoholic

MARIJUANA

• Use and effects– most widely used illegal drug– medical marijuana– can be effective in treating nausea and vomiting

associated with chemotherapy, appetite loss in AIDS patients, eye disease (glaucoma), muscle spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis, and some forms of pain

– gateway effect– says that using marijuana leads young people to try

harder drugs

MARIJUANA (CONT.)

– drug– psychoactive drug whose primary active ingredient is

THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)– found in leaves of the cannabis plant– THC is rapidly absorbed by the lungs (while smoking)– 5-10 minutes produces a hit that lasts for several

hours– depending on the user’s state of mind, marijuana can

either heighten or distort pleasant or unpleasant experiences, moods, or feelings

MARIJUANA (CONT.)

– nervous system– THC receptors are located throughout the brain,

including the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, limbic system, cerebellum, and basal ganglia

– the brain itself makes a chemical similar to THC– anandamide– currently under study

MARIJUANA (CONT.)

• Dangers– can cause temporary changes in cognitive functioning– can temporarily decrease secretion of various

hormones and effectiveness of the immune system– respiratory problems like bronchitis and asthma– high doses: may cause toxic psychoses, including

delusions, paranoia, and feelings of terror

module 8 hypnosis and drugs

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