psych 215 Feb11

Highway Hypnosis

• Definition: Highway hypnosis is a trance-like state that drivers can enter during long periods of monotonous driving.

• Causes: This state typically occurs due to the repetitiveness of the driving task, which causes the driver to become disengaged with the road, leading to a wandering mind.

• Experiences: Many people report instances where they cannot remember parts of their journey, similar to how the speaker's brother experienced a loss of an hour during a long drive.

Maladaptive Daydreaming

• Concept: Maladaptive daydreaming refers to a condition where individuals experience extensive, immersive daydreams that can interfere with their daily life.

• Characteristics: Individuals may create entire worlds and scenarios in their minds, which may distract them from reality. Though daydreaming is common, this form is considered problematic because it may displace real-life activities.

• Recognition: This phenomenon was identified as a disorder in 2001 but remains controversial as to its classification as a clinical disorder.

Dissociation and Related Concepts

• Dissociation: A psychological state where individuals disconnect from their thoughts, feelings, or sense of identity. This can manifest in various forms, such as loss of focus or memory gaps.

• Examples in Autism: In some autistic individuals, episodes of dissociation may occur, where the individual appears unresponsive for short periods (seconds to minutes).

• Dissociative Amnesia: Involves memory loss typically related to traumatic events. This is often a symptom associated with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

• Depersonalization: A symptom of PTSD where individuals may feel detached from themselves, often viewing traumatic events from a third-party perspective.

• Flashbacks: In PTSD, individuals may experience intrusive recollections of traumatic events as if they are re-experiencing them, disrupting their current reality.

• Shock and Catatonia: Extreme stress can lead to responses such as being catatonic, where individuals may become unresponsive for extended periods.

Complex PTSD and Dissociative Disorders

• Complex PTSD: A more severe form of PTSD resulting from prolonged exposure to trauma, leading to a more complicated symptomatology than standard PTSD.

• Dissociative Disorders: Including dissociative identity disorder, which is often misunderstood. Some deny its classification in diagnostic manuals like the DSM-5.

• Dissociative Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified: A catch-all category for dissociative symptoms that don't fit neatly into other specific diagnoses.

Trauma and Stress Perception

• Definition of Stressors: Any event or situation that triggers a stress response, which can vary greatly in effect from person to person.

• Individual Responses: What may be a stressor for one individual might not be perceived the same way by another, as exemplified by attitudes toward clowns.

• Social Readjustment Rating Scale: A scale that ranks various life events by their average stress impact, with events like the death of a spouse being the highest stressor.

Stress and Health

• Correlation with Illness: Increased psychological stress is linked to a higher susceptibility to various illnesses, including colds. Stress impacts the immune system.

• Graphical Representation: A graph showing stress levels against illness occurrences illustrated how stress can weaken the immune response, particularly during exams coinciding with flu season.

• Heart Disease and Stress: Events like earthquakes may not directly cause death but can precipitate health crises (e.g., heart attacks) due to the stress they provoke.

Stress Response Mechanism

• Fight or Flight Response: Initiated in response to perceived threats, involving activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares the body for immediate action.

• Amygdala and Thalamus Functions: The thalamus relays sensory information to the amygdala, which processes emotional responses and triggers the appropriate physiological reactions.

• Long-Term Stress: Prolonged exposure to stress can lead to chronic health issues, including depression and anxiety.

Theories of Stress Adaptation

• Homeostasis Model: Stress responses are typically short-term adaptations, but chronic stress can lead to burnout and health issues.

• Diathesis-Stress Model: This model illustrates the interplay between predisposition to mental illness (such as genetics or previous trauma) and current stressors to explain the emergence of mental health issues.

Coping Mechanisms and Strategies

• Healthy Coping: Engaging in physical activity, mindfulness, or sustaining social connections can help mitigate stress levels.

• Unhealthy Coping: Using substances like alcohol or drugs to escape stress can worsen the problem and prevent learning productive coping mechanisms.

• Importance of Development: Developing effective coping strategies is crucial for managing stress over time and can prevent reaching the mental illness threshold.