The Hmong Sudden Death Syndrome

Vang was a former Hmong (Laotian) soldier who settled in Chicago in 1980, as an escapee of the war in Laos. Lang suffered from traumatic memories of wartime destruction, including severe guilt of leaving his brothers and sisters behind when he fled with his wife and child. According to a mental health team, the culture shock created due to moving from a rural Laos to urban Chicago increased Vang's stress even further. He experienced problems almost immediately.

Vang suffered from sleep issues; he was unable to sleep from the first night in his apartment in Chicago. This continued for the next two days, causing him to visit his resettlement worker, Moua Lee, and confess his problems. He confessed that on the first night, he had woken up suddenly, feeling short of breath from a dream in which a cat was sitting on his chest; and that on the second night, a figure which resembled a black dog came to his bed and sat on his chest, causing him to go out of breath quickly and dangerously. On the third night, a tall, white-skinned female appeared in his bedroom and lay on top of him. Her weight caused difficulty in his breathing, and after 15 minutes, the spirit left and he woke up screaming.

Trauma & Culture

Vang's report attracted scientific interest due to around 25 Laotian refugees in the United States dying of what was termed as the Hmong Sudden Death Syndrome. The victims in those cases also experienced symptoms similar to those Vang did: an exhibition of laboured breathing, screaming, and frantic movements. The US Center for Disease Control investigated these deaths and was unable to find a physical cause. They concluded that the deaths were triggered by a combination of the stress of resentment, guilt over having to abandon families in Laos, and Hmong's cultural beliefs of angry spirits.

The authors of Vang's case study concluded that he might have been a survivor of Sudden Death Syndrome. The role of cultural beliefs is suggested by what happened next. Vang went for treatment to a Hmong woman regarded as a shaman. She told him his problems were caused by unhappy spirits and performed ceremonies to release them. Vang's nightmares and breathing problems during sleep ceased afterwards.

Like the cases of voodoo deaths, Vang's case study suggests that cultural stress and beliefs may have a profound influence on physical well-being. This work was followed by other studies on Hmong immigrants and stimulated interest in the relationship between cultural beliefs and health.

Case Studies

The major limitation of a case study is that it is a poor method for determining cause-effect relations. in most case studies, explanations of behaviour occur after the fact, and there is little opportunity to rule out alternative explanations. The fact that Vang's symptoms ended after seeing a shaman might not have anything to do with his cultural beliefs; it could have been pure coincidence, or other changes in his life could have been responsible.

A second potential drawback concerns on the generalisation of findings: will the principles uncovered in a case study hold true for other people or other situations? The question of generalisability pertains to all research methods, but drawing broad conclusions from a case study can be particularly risky. The key issue is the degree to which the case under study is representative of other people or situations.

A third drawback is the possible lack of objectivity in the way data is gathered and interpreted. Such bias can occur in any type of research, but case studies can be particularly worrisome due to them often being based largely on the researcher's subjective impressions. In science, a skeptical attitude is required for claims based on case studies to be followed up by more comprehensive research methods before being accepted. We should adopt similar skeptical views in our daily lives, too.

Announcement: New Short Story Blog

Hey, everyone!

I just finished making my blog and posting the first chapter of my first story there. Here's the link:https://the-omniscrolls.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-unseen-part-i-paralysed.html

Announcement

Hey, everyone.

I'm going to be running a new blog soon on my own short stories. I haven't created it yet, but I will let you know when it's done.

Hypnosis and Memory

In TV shows or movies, there are scenes in which people are given a suggestion that they would not remember a certain thing (such as a person's name or an incident, either during the session itself (hypnotic amnesia) or at the end of hypnosis (posthypnotic amnesia). A reversal cue could also be given, a phrase such as "You will now remember everything"; once the person hears this, their state of amnesia ends.

According to research, around 25% of hypnotised college students could be led to experience amnesia. Although researchers agree that hypnotic and posthypnotic amnesia occur, they do still debate the causes. Some feel that it's a result of voluntary attempts in avoidance of thought on certain information, while others believe it to be caused by an altered state of conscientiousness which weakens normal memory systems.

Memory Enhancement

In contrast to producing the effect of forgetting, can hypnosis enhance memory?

Law enforcement agencies sometimes use hypnosis in aid of eyewitnesses to a crime. In a famous case in California which occurred in 1977, a bus carrying 26 children and its driver disappeared without a trace. The victims, buried underground in an abandoned trailer truck by three kidnappers, were later found alive. After the rescue, an expert hypnotised the bus driver and asked him to recall the ordeal. The driver formed a vivid image of the kidnappers' white van and could "read" all but one digit of the vans licence plate. The information helped track down the kidnappers.

Despite occasional success stories such as this, controlled experiments find that hypnosis is unable to improve memory. In some experiments, participants watch videotapes of simulated bank robberies or other crimes. Next, while hypnotised or not, they are questioned by police investigators or criminal lawyers. Hypnotised individuals tend to remember better than non-hypnotised individuals in some studies, but not all. There have been experiments where hypnotised participants had performed much poorly than non-hypnotised people; they had recalled more information, but much of it was inaccurate.

Another concern regarding this is that some memories recalled under hypnosis maybe pseudomemories—false memories created during hypnosis by statements or leading suggestions made by the examiner. In some experiments, hypnotised and non-hypnotised participants are intentionally exposed to false information about an event (e.g.: about a bank robbery). Later, once the hypnotised subjects are brought out of their hypnosis, they are questioned. Highly suggestible individuals that have been hypnotised are the ones most likely to report the false information as being a true memory and often tend to be confident of the accuracy of their memories.

Although some psychologists are exploring ways to minimise hypnosis-induced memory errors, at present, many courts have banned or limited testimonies obtained under the influence of hypnosis. The increased suggestibility of hypnotised individuals makes them particularly susceptible to memory distortion caused by leading questions, and they may come to believe things that never occurred in the first place. Similarly, if a therapist uses hypnosis to help patients recall long-forgotten memories of sexual abuse, what shall we conclude? Are the memories real, or are they pseudomemories created during therapy sessions?

Disassociation

What is hypnosis ad how does it produce its effects?

Several researchers propose theories that view hypnosis as an altered state involving a disassociation of consciousness. Ernest Hilgard proposed that hypnosis creates a division of awareness in which the person simultaneously experiences two streams of consciousness that are cut off from each another. One stream responds to hypnotic suggestions, while the other—the part of consciousness which monitors behaviour—remains in the background, but is aware of everything that goes on. Hilgard reefers to this second part of consciousness as the Hidden Observer.

Suppose a hypnotised subject is given a suggestion that she wouldn't feel pain. Her arm is lowered into a tub of ice-cold water for 45 seconds and every few minutes, she reports the amount of pain. In contrast to unhypnotised subjects, who find this experience moderately painful, she would probably report feeling less pain. But suppose the procedure is done differently. Before lowering the subject's arm, the hypnotist says, "Perhaps there is another part of you that is more aware than your hypnotised part. If so, would that part of you report the amount of pain."

In this case, the subject's other stream of consciousness, the Hidden Observer, would report a higher level of pain.

For Hilgard, this disassociation explained the reason behind the involuntary automatic behaviour that occurs under hypnosis. Given the suggestion "Your arm will start to feel lighter and will begin to rise," the subject intentionally raises his or her arm, but only the Hidden Observer is aware of this. The mainstream of consciousness that responds to the command is blocked from this awareness and perceives that the arm is rising all by itself.

Studies on Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a state of heightened suggestibility, in which certain individuals can experience imagined situations that seem real. There is great interest in hypnosis several therapists use to treat mental illnesses with it. Some Psychology PhD programmes tend to offer courses in hypnosis. Scientists who explore whether hypnosis is a unique state of altered consciousness tend to put the claims about it through several tests.

Hypnotic Behaviour

Hypnotic Induction is the process by which a person (a researcher or a hypnotist) leads another, the subject, into a state of hypnosis. A hypnotist may request the subject to sit down and gaze at an object on the wall, or something like a pendant in his hand. He then may suggest that the subject's eyes are getting heavy. The goal of this test is to relax the subject while increasing their concentration.

Contrary to popular belief, a person can't be hypnotised against their will. Even when people want to be hypnotized, they differ in susceptibility to hypnotic suggestions. Hypnotic susceptibility scales contain a standard series of pass/fail suggestions being read to a subject after hypnotic induction. The subject's score is based on the number of passes. Some subjects tend to be completely non-responsive; some pass all while the rest fall in between.

Does hypnosis alter one's behaviour and psychological function? Some claim it does.

Involuntary Control

Hypnotised individuals subjectively experience their actions as involuntary ones; they believe they're controlled by a mysterious force rather than their conscious control.

If behaviour seems to be involuntary under hypnosis, can it be used to perform harmful acts? According to Martin Orne and Fredrick Evans, hypnotised subjects were able to be made to dip their hands briefly in a solution of foaming liquid, which as made to believe was acid, and throw on another person's face.

This might be an example of the power of hypnosis in getting people to act against their will. However, in another controlled group that Orne and Fredrick tested on, the subjects were asked to simply pretend to be hypnotised. These subjects were just as likely as the earlier group to dip their hands in the solution and throw it at another.

In another experiment, researchers induced hundreds of adults to keep giving what they believed to be hundreds of  painful electric shocks to an innocent man with a heart condition, while he begged them to stop. None of the subjects were hypnotised; they were simply following the researchers' orders. This shows that contrary to popular beliefs, hypnosis does not involve a unique power to get people to behave against their will. A legitimate authority figure can induce people to commit out of character, dangerous acts with or without being hypnotised.

Amazing Feats

Have you seen or heard of stage hypnotists who gets an audience member to perform an amazing physical feat such as the 'human plank'? The subject, usually a male, is hypnotised and lies  outstretched between two chairs. He is told that his body is rigid and then, amazingly, another person stands on his legs and chest.

Similarly, psychology can have striking effects. Consider the classic experiment which involved 13 people allergic to the toxic leaves of a certain tree. Five of the test subjects were hypnotised while being blindfolded and were told that a leaf from a harmless tree they weren't allergic to was touching one of their arms, when, in fact, it was toxic. But four of five hypnotised subjects had no allergic reaction. For the next  step, the other arm of the hypnotised subjects were rubbed with a leaf from a harmless tree and he or she was falsely informed of the leaf being toxic. All five of them reacted to the harmless leaf with an allergic reaction.

Should the human plank, as well as the unusual responses of the allergic subjects, be attributed to the unique powers of hypnosis? Here is why a healthy dose of critical thinking may be of importance.

Pain Tolerance

Scottish surgeon James Esdaile performed more than 300 major operations in the mid-1800s using  hypnosis as the sole anaesthetic. According to experiments, an increase in pain tolerance, which wasn't due to the Placebo Effect, was confirmed.

For patients who experience chronic pain, hypnosis can produce relief lasting for months, or even years. Brain imaging research has revealed that hypnosis modifies a person's neural activity in areas that process painful stimuli, but non-hypnotic techniques such as mental imagery and performing distracting cognitive tasks also alter neural functioning and reduce pain.

We do not know exactly how hypnosis produces painkilling effects. It may influence the release of endorphins, decrease a patient's fear of pain, distract patients of their pain, or somehow help them in separating the pain from the conscious experience.

Announcement

Hey, everyone. If any of you like novels or short stories, you should check out my Wattpad account. Here's the link:

https://www.wattpad.com/user/JansenSharon

Sleepwalking and Consciousness

What is sleepwalking, and how can people do things that are impossible to do while being asleep? Some people sleepwalk to their kitchen to eat food and go back to sleep with no recollection of it in the morning.

Sleepwalking and Crime

There was a case where a man had driven to his mother-in-law's house and killed her and her husband. While driving back home, he had woken up in the car with a bloody knife. Realizing that something had badly gone wrong, he handed himself to the police with the knife, but with no recollection of what had happened—or maybe he did and used sleepwalking as a defence. He was acquitted of murder.

In another case, a man killed a prostitute and set fire to a brothel. Later, he was acquitted on grounds of sleepwalking. Sleepwalking may be real in some cases, but it’s the perfect defence for murder. There were other incidences, one where a couple would sleepwalk to the kitchen and eat raw bacon. In another, a woman would consume salted sandwiches, buttered cigarettes, and large quantities of peanut butter, butter, salt, and sugar. Once, she had woken up while trying to open a bottle of cleaning agent to drink. These individuals usually have no recollection of what happened while they were asleep. The empty packages and half-eaten food, though, made it obvious that something was amiss.

According to my mother, two of my brothers used to sleepwalk when they were very young. Once, one of them had even almost walked off the balcony. If my mother hadn't woken up, he would have fallen. My son used to sit on the bed and talk in his sleep, and sometimes even try to walk out. On a few occasions, he spoke of the One Ring (from The Lord of The Rings) and even looked for it under his pillow—though he didn’t really recall anything in the morning. As I was a light sleeper since my son was born, I would always wake up for the slightest sound, preventing him from walking out.

How can a person sleepwalk to the kitchen and prepare food and eat in their sleep, and how can a person drive while they are asleep and then commit murder, too? Why don't you fall off your bed at night as you are unaware of your many postural shifts as you sleep? Maybe it's because part of you knows where the edge of the bed is. Have you ever been engulfed in thought and spaced out while driving and suddenly snapped out with no recollection of the number of miles you have driven? This means that though you were conscious, you were still focused inward, and a part of you without conscious awareness kept track of the road, controlling your hand movements at the wheel.

The Puzzle of Consciousness

According to philosopher David Charmer, consciousness "is, at once, the most familiar and most mysterious thing in the world. These mysteries range from a normal state of awakening, sleep and dreams, drug-induced experiences, and beyond.”

But what exactly is consciousness, and how does it arise in our brain? In the 1800s, when psychology was founded, it’s “great project” was to unravel some of the puzzles of consciousness. This interest waned in the mid 20th century due to the dominance of Behaviourism, but the resurgence of cognitive and biological perspectives has led us to rethink the longstanding conceptions of the mind.

In psychology, consciousness is often defined as a moment-to-moment awareness of ourselves and our environment. Among its characteristics, consciousness is subjective and private: others cannot directly know what reality is for you, nor can you directly enter into their experience.

Dynamic throughout each day, we drift in and out of various states. Moreover, through stimuli, we are aware of constant change; we typically experience consciousness as a continuously flowing stream of mental activity, rather than as disjointed perceptions and thoughts. Self-reflective and central to our sense of self, the mind is aware of its consciousness. Thus, no matter what your awareness is focused on, a lovely sunset or an itch on your back, you can reflect on the fact that you are the one conscious of it.

Finally, consciousness is intimately connected with the selective attention process. It consists of the selection of some details and the suppression of the rest due to the urgency of attention. Selective attention is the process which focuses on the awareness of some stimuli to the exclusion of others. For example, if the mind is a theatre of mental activity, the consciousness reflects what’s illuminated at the moment; such as the bright spot on the stage, and the selective attention in the spotlight, or the mechanism behind it.

States of Consciousness

Scientists studying consciousness must operationally define private inner states in terms of measurable responses. Self-report measures ask people to describe their inner experiences—they offer the most direct insight into a person's subjective experiences, but aren't always variable or possible to obtain. Most of us do not speak while we sleep; nor can we fill our self-report questionnaires. Much of what occurs within our brains is beyond conscious access. You don't consciously perceive the brain process which lulls you to sleep, awakens you, or regulates your body temperature; and, although you are aware of your thoughts, you're unaware of the brain’s process of creating them.

According to Freud's proposal a century ago, the human mind consists of three levels of awareness. The conscious mind contains thoughts and perceptions of current awareness. Preconscious mental events are outside current awareness, but can be easily recalled under certain conditions. For instance, when someone mentions a friend you haven't thought about for years, you become aware of pleasant memories.

Unconscious events cannot be brought into conscious awareness under ordinary circumstances. Freud proposed that some unconscious content, such as unacceptable sexual and aggressive urges, traumatic memories, and threatening emotional conflicts, are repressed—kept out of conscious awareness due to the possibility of it arousing anxiety, guilt, or other negative emotions.

Behaviourists criticized Freud's ideas as they sought to explain behaviour without invoking conscious mental processes, much less unconscious ones. Cognitive psychologists and many contemporary psychodynamic psychologists, too, take issue with specific aspects of Freud's theory. According to psychodynamic psychologist Drew Westen, many aspects of Freud's theory are, indeed, out of date, and should be. Freud died in 1939, and he was slow to undertake further revisions. However, research supports Freud's general premise: that unconscious processes can affect behaviour.