Lecture 6 Flashcards
What are the high risk factors for physician suicide?
- Drive
- Ambition
- Independent
- Competitive
- Graduates of high prestige schools
What is happiness?
Happiness is what makes you happy and what makes others happy. You have to find out what makes you happy, take time, sort out what is the best for you.
What are the caveats about the search for happiness?
A lot of the time there is a “think positive” delusion, and that no matter how you feel you should always think positive. You need to be cautious about this, as there are different types to happiness and it is about how you react and always being positive is not realistic.
What are the different types of happiness?
- Sensory pleasures - relief of discomfort.
- Noble - meaningful happiness and beyond the individual i.e. making others happy.
- Unconditional happiness - this is freedom from desires and is the highest form of enlightenment.
What are the circuitries for happiness?
- Calm and contentment circuitry.
- Excitement pleasure circuitry.
- Connection compassion circuitry.
Describe the calm and contentment circuitry?
This is the circuitry of feeling calm, content and safe. This is crucial for happiness. External sources include alcohol, weed, benzodiazepines, SSRIs, and surroundings. Internal sources include mind training techniques e.g. mindfulness.
The neurotransmitter used is GABA, serotonin, endogenous opioids.
Describe the excitement pleasure circuitry?
This is overemphasized in the world in terms of happiness. This is arousal, motivation, reward, pleasure. It is extremely powerful and addicting. It is short term and unsustainable.
The neurotransmitter used is dopamine.
Describe the connection compassion circuitry?
This may potentially be the highest form of happiness. It is an evolved capacity, it’s sustainable and internally reignited.
What are the traps to happiness?
- Habituation - if you continually do the same thing you can lose excitation after a while.
- Focusing on the negatives.
- Overestimate effects of happiness.
- Perfectionism.
- Uncontrolled emotions.
Describe emotions/feelings states?
An emotion is a rapid signal that is more powerful than the rational mind. Positive emotions (such as joy and happiness) are fleeting, they are easily forgotten. Negative emotions (such as fear, anger, sadness, disgust) are very powerful and they stick - negativity bias.
List the positive psychology interventions?
- Gratitude.
- Mindfulness.
- Empathy and compassion.
- Self-compassion.
- Religion and spirituality.
- Dealing with negative thinking.
- Better coping strategies.
- Flow experiences.
- Committing to goals.
- Physical exercise.
- Optimism.
- Identifying and applying strengths.
- Cultivating positive mind states.
Describe gratitude?
This is what we are grateful for, it can simply be listing three things each day what we are grateful for. It can help in the following things:
- Antidote to habituation.
- Provides perspective.
- Easiest, most do-able.
- Turbo charger of happiness scores.
How can we enhance gratitude?
- Gratitude diary at night for 6-8 weeks; list 3-5 things.
- Gratitude at the dinner table with family and friends.
- Interdependence exercise.
Describe generosity?
This is the quality of being kind and generous i.e. giving to others (could be your time, your smile anything).
Describe mindfulness?
Typically our brain wonders and we are easily distracted and we are very reactive to everything, especially minor inconveniences. Mindfulness is continuous awareness of the present moment, accepting and without judgement. Essentially it is taming the voices in our head, being present and letting go.
