Download Chapter 5 Notes, Drugs and Alcohol (OLD)

• Dreams are one altered state of
consciousness, but there are
more.
• Meditation is a method used by
some people to try to narrow their
consciousness so that the
stresses of the outside world fade
away.
• All techniques focus on a
peaceful, repetitive stimulus. It
helps people relax and narrow
their consciousness.
• It is an important part of some
religions and it can help lower
blood pressure, heart rate, and
respiration rate.
• Biofeedback is a system that
provides information about something
happening in the body.
• People can learn to control bodily
functions such as heart rate, blood
pressure, and even control tension
headaches.
• They learn to create alpha waves, but
must be done under medical
supervision.
• Hypnosis – Psychologists disagree
about whether it is an “altered state of
consciousness” during which people
respond to suggestions and behave
as though they are in a trance.
• Developed by Franz Mesmer in late
1700’s, it is used today to reduce
anxiety, manage pain, overcome
fears, and as anesthetic in certain
surgeries.
• Hypnosis is not sleep, but hearing
the word “sleep” may help put
people in trance due to hypnotic
suggestibility.
• To help someone quit a habit,
therapists may use posthypnotic
suggestion. Often, the habit is
linked with something repulsive.
• Drugs may distort people’s
perceptions, change their moods, or
cause them to see or hear things that
are not real.
• Depressants – drugs that slow the
activity of the nervous system which
include alcohol and narcotics.
• Alcohol in small amounts may make a
person relax or sleep, but in larger
amounts it can kill someone.
• It has been estimated that the average
American college student drinks more
than 34 gallons of alcohol yearly,
predominantly beer.
• Alcohol is the cause of more than 50%
of all fatal accidents.
• One “drink” is considered 12 oz of
beer, 5 oz of wine, or 1.5 oz of hard
liquor (50 proof).
• Females do not metabolize alcohol as
quickly as males.
• Narcotics are addictive
depressants that have been used
to relieve pain and induce sleep.
Many (morphine, heroine,
codeine) are derived from the
poppy plant.
• People addicted to narcotics
experience withdrawal symptoms
such as tremors, cramps, chills,
rapid heartbeat, insomnia,
vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Stimulants increase the activity
of nervous system. They speed
up heart and breathing rate.
• Nicotine, the drug found in
tobacco leaves, is one of the most
common stimulants. It spurs the
release of the hormone
adrenaline, which causes the
heart rate to increase.
• Cigarette smoking is as addictive as
heroin. Stopping can cause
nervousness, drowsiness, loss of
energy, headaches, and other sideeffects.
• Each year more than 400,000
Americans die from smoking-related
illnesses more than number who die
from car accidents, alcohol/drug
abuse, suicide, homicide, and AIDS
combined.
• Caffeine – is the world’s most
popular drug. It blocks the effects of
adenosine, a chemical in our brain
that induces sleep.
• Regular consumption of caffeine
interferes with the sleep cycle, thus
making you more tired during the day.
Consequently, you are more apt to
reach for caffeine during the day as a
needed pick-me-up.
• People can become addicted to
caffeine rather quickly. As little as
100 mg a day will induce
dependence.
• Amount of caffeine in common
products include:
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6 oz of brewed coffee (100 mg)
6 oz of brewed tea (40 mg)
12 oz of Coke (47 mg)
12 oz of Dr. Pepper (61 mg)
6 oz of chocolate milk (4 mg)
8 oz of Red Bull (80 mg)
1.5 oz of dark chocolate (30 mg)
1.5 oz of milk chocolate (10 mg)
• Amphetamines are known for
helping people stay awake and
for reducing appetite.
• They are made from a colorless
liquid composed of carbon,
hydrogen, and nitrogen.
• Also called “speed” and “uppers”,
they can be taken in the form of
pills or injected directly into the
vein.
• People crash at end of high and fall
into deep sleep or depression.Some
users commit suicide. It can cause
hallucinations (bugs crawling on
them) or delusions (flying without aid
of airplane).
• Cocaine – a stimulant derived from
the leaves of the coca plant which
grows in South America. Produces
feelings of pleasure, reduces hunger,
deadens pain, and boosts selfconfidence.
• It can sometimes lead to death
because it raises blood pressure
and speeds up heart rate, but
decreases supply of oxygen to
heart.
• Hallucinogens – drugs that
produce hallucinations and may
cause feelings of relaxation and
pleasure or feelings of panic.
• Marijuana – produced from the
leaves of cannabis sativa.
Produces feelings of relaxation
and mild hallucinations.
• Hashish, or hash, is made from
the sticky part of the plant and
has stronger effects. Impairs
perception and coordination,
memory and learning.
• People with high blood pressure
or heart problems are at risk
because it increases the heart
rate up to 140 – 150 beats per
minute and can cause anxiety
and confusion.
• Marijuana cigarettes yield almost 4
times as much tar as tobacco
cigarettes.
• Regular use dulls emotions and
suppresses the immune system.
• Marijuana is fat soluble, unlike alcohol
which metabolizes rather quickly. It
can be detected for up to a month in
the body. Long-term use can result in
chromosomal damage.
• LSD – Lysergic Acid Diethylamide,
sometimes called acid. Invented by
Albert Hoffman in 1938, by accident.
Much stronger than marijuana.
Produces intense and sometimes
bizarre hallucinations.
• Users claim that it expands their
consciousness and they achieve
great insights, but once the drug
wears off, they are often unable to
recall or use these discoveries.
• Sometimes effects are so
extreme that users injure
themselves or commit suicide in
state of panic and confusion.
Memory loss, violent outbursts,
nightmares, flashbacks, and
feelings of panic are lasting side
effects.
• Treatment:
• Detoxification – the removal of
harmful substances from the body.
Most common for alcoholics and
narcotic addicts.
• Maintenance Programs – participants
are given controlled and less
dangerous amounts of the drug or
some less addictive substitute.
Sometimes used for narcotics
addicts.
• Counseling – individual and
group methods used for treating
stimulant and depressant abuse.
• Support Groups – consist of
several people who share
common experiences, concerns,
or problems. Group setting
provides emotional and moral
support.