Artificial States of Consciousness

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Artificial States of Consciousness

• Hypnosis
• Meditation
• Psychoactive Drugs

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• Hypnosis
• ---Posthypnotic amnesia
• ---Posthypnotic suggestions
• Hypermnesia

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• Hypnosis
• Social interaction in which one person (the
  hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that
  certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts or
  behaviors will spontaneously occur
• Relaxed state

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• Hypnosis is not a state of unconsciousness, nor
  is it complete mind control
• Hypnosis is a heightened state of awareness
  relaxation, combined with a large degree of
  openness to suggestion

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Hypnotic Suggestibility

• Related to subjects openness to suggestion
• Ability to focus attention inwardly
• Ability to become imaginatively absorbed

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Can you be hypnotized?

• Imagine you are holding in your hand a lemon. A
  bright yellow lemon with shiny, puckered skin.
• Bring it up to your nose and inhale the citrus
  smell.
• Take your other hand and peel back a big piece of
  the skin to expose the white pith and the juicy
  fruit underneath.
• Now bring the lemon up to your mouth and bite
  right down into it, sucking in all the juices.
• Salivating? If you are Like most people, you
  probably started salivating once I asked you to
  imagine a lemon in your hand. You have just used
  the power of your mind to create a physical
  change in your body in about 15 seconds. 

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Posthypnotic Amnesia

• Supposed inability to recall experiences during
  hypnosis
• Induced by the hypnotists suggestion

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Posthypnotic Suggestion

• Suggestion to be carried out after the subject is
  no longer hypnotized
• Used by some to control undesired symptoms and
  behaviors

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Hypermnesia

• supposed enhancement of a persons memory for
  past events through a hypnotic suggestion

You Are Getting Sleepy
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Can hypnosis enhance recall of forgotten events?

• Age regression therapy (the ability to re-live
  childhood memories) is very limited in its
  effectiveness..
• age regressed people may act as they think a a
  6-year old would, but most often they combine new
  memories and fantasy with what may have been
  reality

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Can hypnosis force people to act against their
will?

• Hypnotee is aware of everything the hypnotist
  says at all times while they are experiencing
  hypnosis.
• Hypnotic suggestions cannot make you do anything
  against your morals, religion, or
  self-preservation.
• An authoritative person in a legitimate context
  can induce people, hypnotized or not, to perform
  some unlikely acts

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Can hypnosis alleviate pain?

• Dissociation is a split in consciousness, which
  allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur
  simultaneously with others
• IE. An unhypnotized patient will feel the pain
  of an ice bath in less than 25 seconds. A
  hypnotized patient will feel the cold, but not
  the pain, though their sensory systems will
  register the activity is present

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Help Through Hypnosis

• Reduce pain
• Reduce stress
• Improve concentration and motivation
• Modify behavior in eating disorders
• Suppress the gag reflex (dentist)
• Eliminate recurring nightmares
• .much more!

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Meditation

• Any one of a number of sustained concentration
  techniques that focus attention and heighten
  awareness

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Two Forms of Meditation

• All forms of meditation have the goal of
  controlling or retraining attention
• Concentration Techniques
• Mantra (focus)
• Opening Up Techniques
• Quiet awareness of the here and now

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Drug-Altered Consciousness

• Psychoactive Drugs- change moods and perceptions

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Substance Abuse

• Recurrent substance use that results in
  disruption of academic, social or occupational
  functioning or in legal or psychological problems

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Physical Dependence

• A condition in which a person has physically
  adapted to a drug so that he or she must take the
  drug regularly in order to avoid withdrawal
  symptoms

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Tolerance

• Increasing amounts of a physically addictive
  drug are needed to produce the original, desired
  effect

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Withdrawal Symptoms

• Unpleasant physical reactions, combined with
  intense drug cravings
• Occur when abstaining from a drug when physically
  dependent

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Drug Rebound Effect

• Withdrawal symptoms are opposite to the drugs
  action

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Do I Have A Drug Problem?

• Dependence is defined as exhibiting three of the
  following seven symptoms over a 12-month period
  of time

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• Developing tolerance
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when attempting
  to stop
• Using a substance for a longer period, or in
  greater quantities, than originally intended
• Making repeated attempts to stop or cut-back on
  drug usage

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• Devoting a great deal of time attempting to
  obtain or use a substance
• Giving up or reducing social, occupational, or
  recreational activities as a result of drug use
• Continuing to use a substance even after negative
  physical or psychological effects have occurred,
  or will continue to occur with usage

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Depressants

• drugs that reduce neural activity
  
• slow body function

• Alcohol- widely used, abuse common
• Barbiturates- sedation meds
• Tranquilizers - Valium

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Pain Killers/Opiates

• Mimics endorphines
• Opiates- mostly illegal, produce euphoria alters
  the brains reaction to pain

• Opium
• Morphine
• Heroin the most frequently abused opiate

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• Stimulants
• Excite neural activity
• speed up body function

• produce feelings of optimism, energy, arouse
  behavior, and increase mental awareness
• stimulates the cerebral cortex

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• Stimulants
• Caffeine- widely used, addictive
• Nicotine- widely used, addictive
• Amphetamines- euphoria/crash
• Cocaine

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IE. Cocaine

• Cocaine blocks the reuptake of dopamine
  (pleasure), norepinepherine (energy), and
  serotonin (arousal), so the feelings generated by
  those neurotransmitters intensifies as they
  linger in the synapse longer

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• Psychedelics/Hallucinogens
• Distort perceptions evoke sensory images in the
  absence of sensory input
• LSD- psychotic state
• Marijuana- cannabis plant, THC similar to LSD
• Mescaline
• Peyote

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Why is marijuana considered a hallucinogen?

• It relaxes, disinhibits, and may cause a euphoric
  high like alcohol, but it may also amplify
  sensitivity to colors, sounds, tastes, and smells

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• Drug Type Pleasurable
  Effects Adverse Effects
• Alcohol Depressant Initial high
  followed by Depression, memory loss, organ
• relaxation and
  disinhibition damage, impaired reactions
• Heroin Depressant Rush of euphoria,
  relief from Depressed physiology,
• 
  pain agonizing withdrawal
• Caffeine Stimulant Increased
  alertness and Anxiety, restlessness, and
• 
  wakefulness insomnia in high doses
• uncomfortable
  withdrawal
• Metham- Stimulant Euphoria,
  alertness, energy Irritability,
  insomnia,
• phetamine hypertension, seizures
• Cocaine Stimulant Rush of
  euphoria, confidence, Cardiovascular stress,
  
• 
  energy suspiciousness,
• 
  
  depressive crash