• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Mood Disorders

• Major Depressive Disorder: a mood disorder in which a person,, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks or depressed moods, deelings of worthlessness, and diminished intrest aor pleasure in most activities
• Dysthymic Disorder: a down-in-the-dumps mood that fills most of the day, nearly every day for two years or more.
• Depression is a whole body disorder. It involves genetic predispositions, biochemical imbalances, melancholy mood, and negative thoughts.
• People seldom commit suicide while in the depths of depression, when energy and initiative are lacking. It is when they begin to rebound and become capable of following through that the risk increases.
• Martin Seligman argues that depression is common among young Westerners because of the epidemic of hopelessness stemming from the rise of individualism and the decline of commitment to religion and family.
• Misery may love another's company, but company does not love another's misery.

Loneliness

• Loneliness-the painful awareness that one's social relationships are deficient-is both a contributor to depression and its own problem.
• The deficiency stems from a mismatch between one's actual and desired social contacts. One person may feel lonely when isolate. Another when in a crowd.
• Aloneness often breeds loneliness
  • People who are alone-unmarried, unattached, and often young-are more likely to feel lonely.
• People commonly experience one or more of four types of loneliness.
  • To be lonely is to feel excluded from a group you would like to belong to.
  • To feeel unloved and and uncared about byt those around you.
  • To feel constricted and unable to share your private concerns with anyone.
  • Or to feel alienated, ordifferent from those around you.
• Chronically lonely people tend to be shy, self-conscious, and lacking self-esteem, and to be perceived as less socially competent and attractive.
  • They often find it hard to introuduce themselves, make phone calls, and participate in groups.
• Thus, the very factors that work to create and maintain the cycle of depression can also produce a cycle of loneliness.

A Guide to Selected Psychoactive Drugs (Drug, Type, Pleasurable Effects, Adverse Effects)

• Alcohol (Depressant)
  • Initial high followed by relaxation and disinhibition
  • Depression, memory loss, organ damage, impaired reaction
• Heroin (Depressant)
  • Rush of euphoria, relief from pain
  • Depressed physiology, agonizing withdrawal
• Methamphetamine/"speed/"ice" (Stimulant)
  • Euphoria, alertness, energy
  • Irritability, insomnia, hypertension, seizures
• Cocaine (Stimulant)
  • Rush of euphoria, confidence, energy
  • Cardiovascular stress, suspiciousness, depression crash
• Nicotine (Stimulant)
  • Arousal and relaxation, sense of well-being
  • Heart disease, Cancer (from tars)
• Ecstasy/MDMA (Stimulant, mild hallucinogen)
  • Emotional elevation, disinhibition
  • Dehydration and overheating, depressed mood and cognitive functioning
• Marijuana (Mild hallucinogen)
  • Enhanced sensation, relief of pain, distortion of time, relaxation
  • Disrupted memory, lung damage from smoke

Happiness is...

• Researches have found that happy people tend to:
  • Have high self-esteem (in individualistic countries)
  • Be optimistic, outgoing, and agreeable
  • Have close friendships or a satisfying marriage
  • Have work and leisure that engage their skills
  • Have a meaningful religious faith
  • Sleep well and exercise
• However, happiness seems not so much related to other factors such as:
  • Age
  • Gender (women are often more depressed, but also more joyful)
  • Education levels
  • Parenthood (having children or not)
  • Physical attractiveness