Mind Issue #03

MAY – AUG 2010 Singapore Institute of Management

FOR INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY

> Content:

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Sleep-Eating Disorder:

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Dreaming Up A Theory

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Positive Psychology:

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Are You Afraid to Commit? Read on…

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Top 10 Most Peculiar Psychological Disorders

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Battle of XX and XY: BIG-OREXIA!

Eat while you sleep while you eat…

Synergy of Mind and Body

Win! 1-year free membership!

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Narcissistic Personality:

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A Sound Mind in a Sound Body

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Ethics in Psychology

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Did You Know?

Paul Ekman

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PSYSOC Committee 2010

Photo by Loriene Perera Layout by Stephanie Stella

Self-love Overload!

Sleep-Eating Disorder: Eat while you sleep while you eat…

By Loriene Perera I used to… What?

When I came across the term “sleep-related eating disorder” in my biopsychology textbook I was struck by déjà vu. Till I came across that term in Foundations of Physiological Psychology, I did not realize that my childhood “sleep-eating” problem was real. If sleepwalking was not already a problematic nocturnal activity, imagine finding yourself sleep-eating to a fuller figure!

So, what exactly is this sleep-related eating disorder?

Sleep-related eating disorder is simply a disorder in which the person leaves his or her bed and seeks out and eats food while sleepwalking, usually without a memory for that episode on the following day. It is important to note that sleep-related eating disorder has nothing to do with night eating disorder. Sleep eating disorder occurs during sleep without the person being aware that he or she is eating. On the other hand, night eating disorder pertains to people who wake up in the middle of their sleep feeling hungry and can only return to sleep after satiating their hunger.

Sleep-related eating disorder is an uncommon sleep disorder. According to Carlos H. Schenck in his book Sleep: The Mysteries, The Problems, and the Solutions, sleep-eaters make up 2-3% of the U.S. population.

More specifically, 1% struggle with sleeprelated eating disorder and another 12% have night-eating syndrome. This perhaps explains why my family mistook my sleep-eating issues as a nocturnal misadventure.

The symptoms of sleep-related eating disorder are more than just a nocturnal episode of unconscious binging. One of the symptoms is that it occurs only during the night, not during naps. This explains that while I may sleepwalk during my naps in the afternoon, I did not sleep-eat.

The sleep-eating episode occurs frequently, mostly every night, and for some unfortunate people, multiple episodes may occur. Fortunately for me, my condition did not go to the extreme of multiple binging throughout the night. I can only imagine how farcical it would be if it did happen: being pulled back to bed repeatedly after being found gobbling or licking anything edible in the kitchen.

Sleep-eating involves consuming high calorie food (but can also involve items not usually eaten, such as coffee grounds, or nonfood items, such as cleaning materials). The food I have eaten during my episodes includes raw pork, soya sauce and even a bite off a bitter gourd. If I am lucky, I may be found eating bars of chocolate or tidbits. However, the fact is that I cannot control what I eat when I’m “sleeping”. At least I did not drink detergent or anything harmful. That is enough consolation for me.

Sleep-eating typically does not involve the consumption of alcoholic drinks. I was a kid back then so I doubt I had any

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subconscious desire to booze. However I do have a penchant for Coca-Cola. Now I wonder if I had guzzled any down… Oh I remember! I had difficulties opening soft-drink cans, so in one of my episodes, all I did was licking the can. Eww… So who are at risk of having sleep-related eating disorder?

They are people with a family history of sleep disorders, night terrors, sleepwalking and sleep eating disorders, a personal history of eating disorders or people trying to quit an addiction, such as to tobacco or alcohol. The extreme stress from trying to quit the addiction or from other sources of stress may trigger sleep eating, but sleep eating may not persist beyond the initial period of stress.

Sleep-eating disorders may be triggered by medication such as tricyclic antidepressants, a kind of drug that was widely used to treat clinical depression or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the past. In my case, my sleep-eating and sleepwalking behaviour could be hereditary. My Dad has a history of sleepwalking, particularly rapid eye movement (REM) behaviour disorder.

So every night he acts out his dreams, which range from “imagined” fights on the bed to driving to work.

Mayo Clinic, ranked second in U.S. News & World Report's 2009 “America’s Best Hospitals” feature, recommends some ways of relieving the disruptive behaviour of the sleeprelated eating disorder: improving sleep hygiene (setting up a quiet and comfortable sleeping environment, going to bed and getting up at a fixed time, and avoiding stimulants) to avoid sleep deprivation, making the sleep and kitchen environments safer and prescribing medication. Besides these methods, stress management is also used to cope with the disorder.

I did not get the chance to be properly diagnosed or even treated for my sleep-eating problem. Oddly, I grew out of sleep-eating and even sleepwalking eventually. Sleep-eating is now just a © Loriene Perera memory of my childhood. Interestingly though, my parents thought of my inability to eat as a bigger issue than my sleep-eating and frequented the paediatrician to treat my refusal of food. I was ironically diagnosed with childhood eating disorder. In retrospect, perhaps it was because I was plagued with the constant guilt of sleep-eating and the fear that I will eventually be obese that made me simply refuse to eat.

Loriene is the Publications Dept’s very talented photographer. Every word she says in this article is actually true; once, she was even caught drinking a bottle of soya sauce while sleepwalking!

Dreaming Up A Theory

By Sherlyne Yong

© iStockphoto

You are running through a corridor, away from your predator.

Along the corridor, people stand watching coldly behind locked gates. Despite your desperate pleas, no one lifts a finger to help. Helplessly looking around, you have reached a dead end.

Someone grabs you, and then you wake up. It is just another nightmare. To be specific, it was a recurring dream that I used to have many years ago.

Have you ever awoken from a dream, with the nagging feeling that there was something more to it than just absurd content? I know I have. The dream lingers in your mind the entire day, even though it does not make any sense. Yet, there is this sense of familiarity around it. Now, what could that possibly be?

One of the answers to that can be found in The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud. According to Freud, dreams represent repressed wishes, which are distorted by the ego in a bid to keep our deepest wants from surfacing to the conscious.

The ego acts as a censor by inhibiting any form of thought that is taboo. Freud contends that these are raw, primeval desires that stem from our early childhood experiences. As such desires often break social norms, our dreams are therefore distorted to save us from distress. As a result, dreams are filled with symbolic meaning and its true significance is almost, if not always, hidden.

Freud thus created two terms for dream contents; manifest content refers to the obvious situation in the dream, while latent content refers to the underlying cause of the dream. Using my nightmare as an example, the manifest content is the helplessness felt after being ignored in a life endangering situation. The dream probably stemmed from my insecurity and desire to be liked during typically volatile teenage years.

Otherwise also known as the latent content of the dream, this therefore resulted in a wish to be taken care of, and to be supported by friends whom I could trust.

Freud had termed the process of distorting thoughts and wishes as dream work. Any inadequacies in performing dream work would lead to nightmares, as the dreamer’s thoughts had not been concealed properly, hence causing disturbed sleep.

One of the most significant works of Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was dream theory. The Interpretation of Dreams marked the move from psychotherapeutic procedure to psychology, and interestingly, also marked Freud’s discovery and analysis of his own subconsciousness. Although Freud and his works are important for establishing psychology as we know it, many critics have dismissed them for being backdated and

sexualized. Others have also said that not all dreams are disguised and filled with the multitudes of symbols that Freud believes in. Along with these detractors, there are also neuroscientists who believe that dreams are merely the results of random neuron firings. This is because rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage of sleep when we dream, is controlled by the pons. Yet, the pons is the part of our brain that takes care of automatic jobs such as respiration and cardiac activity.

Cynics have also discredited Freudian dream theory, as although the pons allows dreaming, it does not involve any motivations or emotions that are required to fulfill Freud’s wishing states.

However, a study on dream research by neurologist Allen Braun and his colleagues have added more credibility to Freud’s dream theory. With the help of modern brain scanning technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Braun found out that the limbic and paralimbic areas of the brain are highly active during the dreaming process. These are the regions of the brain that control an individual’s motivation and emotions. Conversely, the prefrontal cortex that controls cognitive abilities such as logic and self-monitoring was found to be inactive. Substantiating these new findings is another study done by neuropsychologist Mark Solms. Solms had conducted an experiment with astonishing results showing that people with damage in the pons area of the brain continue to dream even though their REM sleep is disrupted. On the contrary, others who have had damage to their brain’s motivation centres were reported to have had a loss of dreaming. It is evident that dreaming is a higher level mental function produced by our motivational and emotional systems.

These studies further allude to Freud’s belief that “dreams are the royal road to the unconscious”.

Freudian dream theory is a good introduction to understanding our unconscious. It is after all, the work that pioneered Freud’s first foray into psychoanalysis. To top it off, Solms’s and Braun’s findings have provided Freud’s theory with tremendous support.

However, it has to be kept in mind that Freudian dream theory is not entirely validated, and should therefore be taken with a pinch of salt.

Sherlyne is pursuing a Double Major in Communication and Psychology. She dreams almost every night, and she likes it because she gets to do all sorts of things that she can’t do in real life!

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Positive Psychology: Synergy of Mind and Body

By Dr. Uma Shenoy Dr. Uma Shenoy specialises in child psychology, cross-cultural psychology, positive psychology and mindfulness. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in the State of Arizona, U.S.A, and also a Ph.D. graduate in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, completing her internship at Wayne State Medical School (Michigan) and post-doctoral work in a Native-American agency through an Arizona-based Psychology Consortium. She currently teaches undergraduates in the SIM-UB Psychology programme.

Think of the last time you received something you really wanted. You were happy, right? Now think — for how long?

Welcome to the world of cerebral happiness — derived from the emerging dominant culture of “goods life” over “a good life”, as demarcated by Tim Kasser, a social psychologist well known for his work on materialism and well-being. With the former, there is the stealthy creeping of “me” as the target of happiness, and the gradual delineation of all others as outside of one’s purview.

This preoccupied self-absorption and neglect of others has been quoted in some religious texts as signaling the end of the world. Are we headed in that direction?

If what we think will make us happy is really not going to, then what will? Recent empirical findings provide several viewpoints.

Psychologists Martin Seligman, Nansook Park and Christopher Peterson refer to two kinds of happiness — “cerebral” happiness and “heart” happiness. In the tussle between the heart and the mind to find happiness, it is the heart that wins out! Accordingly, our state of happiness is not dependent on others and objects, but what we create and control for ourselves. This concept of “heart” happiness sounds indeterminate, so is it attainable for ordinary people?

Before we think of attaining happiness, we need to understand what it is. Seligman dissects happiness into three components — positive affect (pleasant life), engagement and meaning — concluding that the most satisfied individuals are those who pursue all three, especially the latter two. Popular culture reinforces only the first component, while the other two escape public knowledge. From a psychological perspective, the purpose of this article is to review findings from recent investigations of happiness. Philosophically, it is to help the movement towards “heart” happiness.

Positive psychology is the study of positive emotions, positive traits and positive institutions. As Seligman points out, the focus of interventions is to increase happiness, which has three pathways as described above. Let us examine each of them.

The positive affect component has been pursued by us all, and needs no explanation — it is what we all consider happiness.

This is highly subjective, and differs between individuals.

However, there is burgeoning evidence of happiness being correlated to marital joy, satisfying social relationships, speedy recovery and protection from illnesses, and improved attentionspan. Social psychologist Barbara Fredrickson developed a positive emotions theory that has gained popularity in recent years — the “broaden and build” hypothesis. According to this, positive emotions help us to broaden our attention span, leading to improved productivity and creativity. This in turn helps us to discover and build resources like lasting social support. Specifically, there are four types of resources: cognitive (being mindful and attentive), psychological (to gain a sense of mastery), social (to give and receive social support) and physical (to maintain good health).

This line of thinking has contributed to the identification of several self-help ways to improve one’s positive affect, as noted

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by Seligman. They are all worth a try, preferably with guided supervision. Take for example the “Identifying and Using Strengths in New Ways” exercise. Think of what your strengths are and how you can use them, consistently for a few weeks.

Put it to practice, and you may be amazed at what you find! Or, in the “You At Your Best” exercise — simply remember the time when you felt you were at your best and reflect on the strengths related to that story. Then, bring those strengths to mind each day, especially when you are down. An exercise that may not require supervision is “Three Good Things in Life”. At the end of each day, list three good things that had happened, and think about them. Not only psychologists believe in this one — how many of you have had grandparents telling you to pray and be thankful before going to sleep each night? They may not have had empirical evidence then, but they already knew it worked!

What this all suggests is that material things such as iPods and iMacs may bring about a transient positive emotion, but a lasting one stems from us being of use to ourselves and others.

In fact, many of the aforementioned exercises are indirectly related to the other two pathways of happiness — being engaged and being meaningful. The first is simple; focus on your task — if you are a student, pay full attention to this and bring out your best through what you do, and the intrinsic reward is there for all to see. The second pathway — doing something meaningful — is a little harder, but not impossible.

Let us revisit the exercise of using one’s strengths in new ways.

If one were to consciously conduct this exercise, it would definitely add meaning to oneself and others. To balance our mind and body, we simply need to pay attention, do our duties well, and try to help others.

Life is simple if we wish to make it so. We get so caught up in everyday aspects of our lives, reinforced by popular culture, that we forget what is important. Interestingly, Seligman, Park and Peterson studied the relative endorsement of character strengths in forty countries and found that the following key values emerged across nations — kindness, fairness, authenticity, and open-mindedness. They added that these may be the requirements needed for a basic viable society. So, being happy and contributing towards a happier society is not that hard!

While the above review is based on Western empirical literature, it is worth noting that ancient cultures, from Native Americans to Asians, have had a positive psychology component for centuries — meditation (in varying forms). After centuries of being shrouded in mystery, neuropsychological studies today are showing that positive affect, improved attention and concentration, and improved communication between cerebral emotional-regulation systems accompany this practice. So, whether it is becoming mindfully happy through meditation, or becoming “heart” happy by mindfully attending to oneself and others, this synergy between mind and heart is worth pursuing!

(Edited by Janice Huang)

Are You Afraid to Commit?

By Aaron Yeo When she said “I love you”, my brain froze and immediately declared an emergency. There was too much at stake if I didn’t say something equally deserving of her affection. But in panic, I replied, “May the force be with you”. Needless to say, we broke up before I could even show her my Millennium Falcon. She left me because of her disdain for my Star Wars references, but mostly because I had some issues with commitment.

My relationship with Princess Leia and many before her always felt like it was some kind of open secret. We would go through the rituals of dating couples, to the places where couples usually went, but all the time feeling like it was a scandalous affair. When questioned about the status of our relationship, I would neither deny nor admit to anything concrete. When questioned about my non-committal actions, there was always some cheap movie excuse or a story from the past to fend away the questions. In reality, I freak out at just considering the prospect of getting married and sticking to that one person for the rest of my life. Ambiguity seemed like a mighty safe place to be.

According to the co-founder and co-executive director of the American Society for Philosophy, Counseling, and Psychotherapy, “the fear of commitment is rooted in the demand for perfection”. To me, perfection is like the proverbial grass that is always greener on the other side. There are too many good-looking “what-ifs” walking around for me to concede so quickly. In the deep recesses of my mind, I am constantly comparing and constantly seeking out someone better. What if I meet my dream lover — a younger, smarter, prettier and more compatible girl than the girl I’m currently seeing? Perhaps I fall in and out of love too quickly. But I would rather be alone and free than trapped in a safe and secure relationship with the wrong partner.

I know I am not alone in this predicament. I have seen many non-committal guys breaking up with their partners just when the relationship matures, or when the other party pushes for greater commitment. To understand his own actions, such a guy may mistakenly think that he’s some sort of Casanova out there playing the field. For the less heartless, there’s the “it’s not you, it’s me”

routine to sneak out of a commitment. On the flipside, I also know of some others who are bent on getting married as soon as possible. These people would have made great kamikaze pilots.

Similar to phobias, this fear of commitment can take a life of its own, causing irrational paralysis. The solution to fear is to meet it and get to know it better through open and honest discussion.

Get to the details and really address the fundamentals of what being in a relationship entails. Perhaps it’s also a good time to take an honest look at ourselves and reflect on our attitudes towards relationships to find out what triggers our fears. Sometimes it’s as easy as to stop using the word “commit” altogether since it already has so many negative connotations. Instead, replace it with a more neutral word like “want”. If you want to be with someone, the commitment part will follow naturally without much fanfare. If nothing else works, there’s always the company of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca on your television set.

In addition to his penchant for Star Wars references, Aaron has a liking for obscure facts. For instance, if you want to know why M&M’s are named thus, he can actually tell you!

© stock.xchng

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Stockholm Syndrome Bibliomania An obsessive-compulsive disorder that causes one to hoard books, often to the point of self-neglect. Patients are unable to talk about any non-literary topics, and will grow anxious if they are separated from books for too long. If you were to tour a patient’s home, you would probably see books overflowing from shelves, and even placed in strange places such as inside ovens or bathtubs!

Not to be mistaken for exam-period students.

Capgras Delusion Think Stepford Wives or Changeling, and you pretty much have the gist of it. Sufferers from this disorder believe that someone they know, usually a spouse or close relative, has been replaced by an identical-looking imposter.

However, unlike in movies, the imposters are usually not imposters — in extreme cases, patients can cause a great amount of emotional pain to their families.

Hybristophilia

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Patients with the disorder are sexually attracted to others who have committed crimes. For instance, in the U.S., there are more than a hundred women who got to know, got engaged to, or got married to men who were facing the death penalty — all after they were already convicted. I hear people say “evil is sexy” all the time, but this totally brings the phrase to a whole new level!

TOP 10

Trichotillomania

Most Peculiar Psychological Disorders

By Janice Huang

Cotard Delusion A psychiatric disorder in which one has the delusional belief that he/she is dead or does not exist.

Patients are often unable to contend with the fact that despite being “dead”, they still have thoughts and feelings. Thus, in an attempt to end this discomfort, many end up killing themselves.

Such a paradox — “dead” people wanting to die a “second” time!

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Disclaimer: No, I didn’t make them up, and no, I didn’t write about them just to creep you out. Many people with the following disorders don’t get help because they don’t even know such disorders exist! So it certainly won’t hurt us all to know a little more about them…

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A disorder that involves strong urges to pull out one’s own hair from the roots; be it scalp hair, eyelashes, pubic hair, or other body hair. It can be identified by bald spots, and is sometimes accompanied by trichophagia, in which patients eat the hair that they pull out, leading to gastrointestinal problems. If you thought that only cats suffered from ingesting hairballs... you thought wrong!

Apotemnophilia

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A disorder characterised by a feeling of mismatch between the internal feeling of how one’s body should be and the physical reality of how it actually is. Patients display strong negative emotions towards a specific limb, and have irresistible urges to amputate the said limb. In extreme cases, patients become so desperate that they resort to selfamputations. All I can say is — ouch.

Stendhal Syndrome

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Stunned by beauty, literally. Stendhal’s is a psychosomatic illness that is triggered when one is exposed to a lot of beautiful art in a short time frame. Rapid heartbeat, dizziness and sometimes even hallucinations are experienced. Tourists (not just Japanese ones) are apparently more susceptible to this, so the next time you travel, go easy on the galleries and museums!

Paris Syndrome A condition in which Japanese tourists suffer mental breakdowns after visiting Paris, due to their inability to separate their idealised, romantic view of the city from the bustling city it really is. The Japanese embassy even has a 24-hour hotline for tourists suffering from severe culture shock. The good news — you’re probably safe from this disorder if you aren’t Japanese.

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A disorder in which kidnap victims become sympathetic and attached to their captors. Named after the 1973 Stockholm bank robbery, in which the victims defended their captors, with one woman going as far as marrying one of them! This condition also appears in domestic abuse and rape cases, which may well explain why some abuse victims do not accept help even when it is extended to them.

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Alien Hand Syndrome No, I do not mean alien in the “District 9” sense. It refers to a neurological disorder in which a patient’s hand seems to have a mind of its own, and can even perform complex tasks such as undressing or wielding tools without the patient’s control.

Incidentally, during my research, I noted that this disorder was also listed on a “Top 5 Psychological Disorders that can get a guy laid” list.

Now, I wonder why…

All pictures © stock.xchng

Battle of XX and XY: Bigorexia!

For every issue, we have two of our phenomenal writers writing on a fairly controversial issue, each on opposite sides, battling it out! On the left side, Janice Huang and on the right side, Wilson Lim! Disclaimer: What the writers express in this newsletter may not be representative of PSYSOC’s stand!

If you think that anorexic girls are scary, then you’ve yet to meet bigorexic men. These men are obsessed with bulking themselves up and attaining “ripped bods”. Of course, a man who bothers to maintain a pleasing physical appearance has better chances with the ladies, but a man who prioritizes it over all else is — there’s no other word for it — creepy.

In my opinion, there may be two reasons for why a man is so obsessed with his looks — he could be narcissistic or have extremely low self-esteem. Either way, it’s not attractive. Also, guys who suffer from the disorder might have other compulsions.

Minor ones include obsessive cleaning, packing, organising… I won’t get started on the major ones.

In extreme cases, bigorexia can turn really ugly. James Leone, an eating-disorder expert, came across a man in the U.S. who missed the birth of his first child because he needed to finish his six-hour workout. How is this neglect different from that of a man who is cheating on his partner? Girls want guys who can be there for them, not guys who can lift trucks with one arm.

Is bigger better? Not always, but being the stereotypical “metro-man” is not exactly the better alternative to the extreme of achieving the physique of someone like The Hulk.

Granted, nowadays there are more and more guys who have figures girls could only dream of, but there is nothing wrong about working out for a well-toned body, provided that the quest for muscles is not so extreme that it results in bigorexia.

Bigorexia is a cheerless mental disorder to have.

Compulsions include spending excessive hours in the gym, wasting incredible amounts of money on useless sports supplements, strange diets or even doing drugs. Thankfully, bigorexia primarily affects male bodybuilders, both professional and amateur.

So how much muscle is too much? You probably know you have too much when your muscles are not proportionate to your height! Tennis player Rafael Nadal’s giant forearms only look good with his tall frame and toned body. Let’s face it, if you are a short guy and you have a huge upper torso you are only going to end up looking like a frog.

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Ladies, you may feel that you are being supportive by encouraging your men when they decide to visit the gym.

That is perfectly reasonable, but you must learn to draw the line when he starts to prioritize his gym visits over you. If it becomes apparent that your man needs professional help to alleviate his bigorexic tendencies, do not be afraid to let him know… it is in his (and your) best interests!

Perhaps bigorexia stems partially from the notion that girls are shallow and only want to date hunks — which I feel may just be the most slanderous statement I’ve ever heard. To guys (and girls too, actually): what makes you attractive is what you can do with your heart and soul, not with your body.

Janice is a Communications major.

As objective as she tries to be, it is quite possible that her disdain for bigorexic men simple stems from her disdain of all physical activity!

Train more for cutting and muscle definition instead of size; your veins will look better and more natural. Muscle definition triumphs over size!

Some training tips — stay out of the gym and either play sports or use your own body weight to train! Using your own body weight has numerous advantages. Firstly, it is totally free! Secondly, you can train anywhere, anytime; your weights are with you no matter where you go! Thirdly, because you will not be lifting more than your own weight your muscles will not become excessively big. Just increase your repetitions and sets to achieve more muscle tone and definition.

Don’t be a slave to the gym and don’t waste precious time and money on supplements, weird eating patterns or drugs.

Train hard, but remember to train the right way!

Wilson is pursuing a Double Major in Communication and Psychology. He plays tennis and does fencing regularly, so guys, you can be assured his advice on “training the right way” is reliable!

Want to battle it out with our writers? Email us your opinions at publication.psysociety@gmail.com and you will stand a chance to win 1-year free membership in PSYSOC! Wait no more, come and join in the fun!

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Narcissistic Personality: Self-love Overload!

Looked in the mirror today? Stared unabashedly in admiration of your physical appearance? Basked in the perpetual glow of your reflective glory? Unable to pry your peepers away from what is God’s gift to humanity — you? According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), you may have a problem, and it may be detrimental enough to warrant therapeutic psychological intervention. Ridiculous as it may seem in theory, narcissistic personality disorder is officially certified and existent.

As put forth by the DSM, a person is diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder when he or she displays a pervasive pattern of grandiosity in fantasy or behaviour, a need for admiration, and lack of empathy. This typically begins in early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: 1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance.

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty or ideal love (megalomania).

3. Believes he/she is "special" and can only be understood by, or should associate with, people (or institutions) who are also "special" and/or of perceivably high status.

4. Requires excessive admiration.

5. Has a sense of entitlement.

6. Is interpersonally exploitative.

7. Lacks empathy.

8. Is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him/her.

9. Demonstrates arrogant and haughty behaviours or attitudes.

A fascinating aspect of this disorder is the contradiction that apparently exists between what is observable (an overbearing and pompous behavioural predisposition accompanied by displays of obvious insensitivity with regards to the welfare or existence of others) and the implicit reality of the matter (a fragile self-esteem that is unable to tolerate any form of criticism). In essence, a person suffering from narcissistic personality disorder is an apprehensive and timid individual who is burdened by the weight of an inferiority complex. The person’s solution to this problem is to obsessively elevate himself or herself to a position of power by leveraging the perception of inferiority that is cast on others. Once this disorder is in place, the reinforcing routine of the sufferer’s symptomatic actions further intensifies the dysfunctional polarity of the contrasting realities which dominate his or her life — the aforementioned observable and implicit truths.

At present, no “textbook” causes of narcissistic personality disorder are known, which points towards complexity (an alarmingly common answer to many questions that boggle the

By Tong Wei Chuen

imaginative minds of psychologists). The usual suspects — the likes of “dysfunctional childhoods” — are proposed with seemingly little conviction. My personal take on this issue is a pragmatic and sensible one (as always), and encompasses the serial execution of certain events. The ritual begins when Mr. Insecure implicitly decides he needs a change of title. Step 2 he looks to accomplish this by falling in love with himself and simultaneously falling out of love with the lesser mortals who dare wander into the sacred realms of his world. Step 3 - the situation deteriorates. Step 4 — Mr. Insecure’s questionable actions are linked to legitimate symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder. Step 5 — We need to get Mr. Insecure some much-needed help.

In alignment with the suggestions of Step 5, let us now consider the treatments available for this intriguing personality disorder.

Psychotherapy serves as the main avenue of relief for sufferers of this disorder. The four main forms of psychotherapy deployed for this purpose are psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, family therapy and group therapy.

Psychodynamic therapy is often used to uncover defence mechanisms and to trace their origins to emotional conflicts in the patient’s early life. The long-term goal is to reshape the patient’s personality, so as to facilitate modifications to problematic patterns of thinking that repeatedly distort the patient’s self-image, to create a realistic self-image.

Psychotherapy can also help an individual to relate better to others so that his interpersonal experiences are more intimate, enjoyable and rewarding. Crucially, it can also promote the understanding of the causes of emotions and what drives an individual to compete against and distrust others, and despise himself or herself and others in the process. However, ultimately, as each case is unique, it is impossible to draw conclusions about the impact of these treatments on the disorder itself.

In conclusion, I would like to cast a personal shadow upon the topic on hand. Mr./Miss/Mrs. Insecures are inherent in every single one of us. The only variable that mediates this sad truth is the extent to which we live up to this title. It is critical that we stay in touch with our emotions and keep our self-esteem in check.

Mirrors are brittle.

So are we.

Do not let the mirror break you.

And honestly, do not break the mirror either.

Wei Chuen is Publications Dept’s selfdeclared “phantom writer”. He travels and works as a free-lance writer for Lonely Planet.

So if you can’t get enough of his writing in MIND, you know where to find him!

Narcissus by Caravaggio © The Yorck Project

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A Sound Mind in a Sound Body

By Wilson Lim “Sit mens sana in corpore sano”, a famous Latin quotation derived from Satire X of the Roman poet Juvenal, often translates as "a sound mind in a sound body." This “healthy mind, healthy body” philosophy dates all the way back to ancient Greek and Chinese civilizations. The study of sport psychology explores a person’s behaviour in sports and how the mind affects the sportsperson’s body.

In its widest sense, sport psychology encompasses all areas of exercise, fitness and leisure, and not just competitive sport. But in terms of competition results, what are the factors that separate the winners from the losers, the champions and the defeated?

deception. It is about starting with the right attitude and state of mind, and programming our mind for success ahead of time with positive affirmation and realistic expectations. Focus on the things you want to happen instead of the things we are afraid might go wrong. At the end of the day, just do it!

Research has shown that visualization (mental imaging in which a speaker vividly pictures himself or herself performing) can significantly increase athletic performance. In one study on creative visualization in sports, Russian scientists compared four groups of Olympic athletes in terms of their training schedules: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Group 1 — 100% physical training; Group 2 — 75% physical training with 25% mental training; Group 3 — 50% physical training with 50% mental training; Group 4 — 25% physical training with 75% mental training.

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. — Michael Jordan

I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results. © stock.xchng

Michael Jordan, an American NBA basketball player widely considered to be the greatest player in the history of the game, attributes three elements among many others that made his career. They are mental toughness, positive thinking (motivation/mindset) and visualization.

Mental toughness is having that natural or developed psychological edge that makes you perform consistently. It is about pacing, patience and persistence with full effort. It is about being completely focused and giving our best — our very best, every single time. It is that insatiable desire and intrinsic motivation to keep pushing your limits.

Competition is not for the faint hearted. To maintain our composure and thrive on the pressure of competition, we must first embrace it and step into the moment. We have to accept that anxiety is a big part of competition and know that we can cope with it. Additionally, we got to condition the mind to stay determined, focused, resilient and in control under pressure.

Mental toughness is about cultivating strength, endurance and flexibility in the mind. It is about knowing where you are going, and not be shaken by anything. It can be developed; all it takes is lots of practice and training. It is what is happening every single second in the gym, a place far away from the competition arena.

Being positive is not only a choice but also a discipline. If you start out with an awareness of negativity that causes you to lose focus or be frustrated, rushed and intimidated, reframe it into something positive. For example, when running, rather than saying “don’t slow down!”, tell yourself “keep going!”.

— Michael Jordan

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot … when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result. — Michael Jordan The results of the study was that Group 4, with 75% of their time devoted to mental training, performed the best. What they discovered was that mental imagery acted as a prelude to muscular impulses, linking our neurons up to make that 25% physical training more effective!

Being able to visualize a positive outcome in any given situation is critical for any sportsman to better manage the pressures of competition. A vivid vision of exactly what happens to achieve a winning performance in the athlete’s mind will go a long way.

External factors like bad weather or a noisy crowd will then also have less effect on concentration and focus.

Mental toughness, positive thinking and visualization are valuable for everyone and especially so for sportsmen. They help to sharpen our minds and toughen our bodies in preparation for any activity in life. They also answer this question: why are some athletes able to rise to the occasion and perform well under pressure when others seem to just lose control?

Wilson frequently applies the power of his mind in sports and daily activities.

Besides getting him to the finishing line in a race, he can always count on mental toughness to tide him through deadlineinduced stress!

Being positive is not about being unrealistic or employing self-

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Ethics What would be the right thing to do? Should I consider the welfare of the human population or of this individual? Is it ethical? And most importantly, what is ethics? “A branch of philosophy which seeks to answer questions about morality” is the definition agreed upon by most philosophers and ethicists.

To be put simply, it is an aspect of philosophy that helps us differentiate between right and wrong and weigh the morality behind each decision. Do you find yourself asking the above questions almost every time you encounter ethical dilemmas?

In my perspective, ethics is an inevitable issue that we face constantly in our lives and future jobs, especially if we intend to pursue the field of psychology or jobs that involve a great deal of contact with different individuals.

Why psychology involves plenty of thorny ethical issues has to do with the nature of psychology. Most of us have a rough idea of what psychology is all about and what it entails; particularly that it contains solutions to the mental problems that people face. Contrary to popular belief, psychology is more than that.

To be precise, it is a science that studies human behaviour.

Therefore, in the process of scientific discovery, situations that lead to a struggle between psychology and ethics may arise.

For starters, there has been much research on ethics in psychology, signifying its importance, especially when human beings, and sometimes even animals, are concerned.

Organisations like The Body Shop have taken action against animal testing. There is a rising trend against unethical animal testing and, in general, unethical means taken to achieve selfish goals that only benefit a select handful.

This is when the American Psychological Association (APA) comes into play. The APA sets the rules that psychologists must adhere to whenever they wish to conduct an experiment, which are compiled in the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. The 16-page Code of Conduct specifies details about the procedure of experiments, setting ethical standards from the beginning to the end of a study. Basically, after a scan of the tedious Code of Conduct, I concluded that the list of standards stems from a common principle — psychologists ought to consider the feelings of the other parties involved in the experiments conducted and not let self-interest rule over compassion.

Many other concepts such as the significance of confidentiality, the emphasis on ethical means rather than successful ends and most importantly, honesty, build on this foundation of consideration. All these factors, though they may seem insignificant, go a long way. For instance, an honest report is necessary for the development of mankind; if there were any discrepancies or false results in a study concerning a cure for cancer, scientists might work on the false results and end up producing something that does not cure cancer at the end of the day. This shows the importance of accuracy and honesty

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in

Psychology

By Debbie Leong © stock.xchng

and why the interest of the bigger group ought to overrule selfinterest.

Even though animals may not express feelings as explicitly as humans, they are also thought of as living things with feelings and rights. There used to be cases where monkeys are injected with syphilis just so psychologists can try out cures on them.

Thanks to efforts against such unethical experiments, animals are now protected against such cruel treatment in science and psychology.

Did you know that there is an organisation that was started solely to express their dissension against animal testing called the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)? What is your take on animal testing? Are you a strong advocate of it because, like some scientists, you reckon that there is nothing wrong with sacrificing an animal for the betterment of mankind as results are the most important? Or perhaps you oppose it because cruelty towards animals is unjustifiable regardless of any extenuating circumstances? Maybe you think it depends on the situation? This is what PETA is for — setting guidelines for the humane treatment of animals.

Finally, there is an example that most of us, as students, face almost every semester — plagiarism. Do not be surprised as psychologists are put to the test all the time too. Once more, the decision to go by their moral conscience or self-interest is the main concern here. If one decides to go with the latter and plagiarise someone else’s work, one would be forgoing one’s moral principles and also implicate the rest of the society by deceiving the audience about the originator of the work. Such deception is the underlying criterion that qualifies plagiarism to be unethical and immoral.

Consideration of how others feel ought to be the basis of our decisions. After all, we are all part of an interconnected social web; we cannot forget that any action has the power to impact many other people. Using unscrupulous means to achieve breakthroughs in psychology may well benefit the small group involved in research, but what they often fail to realise is the huge costs that their action creates for everyone else.

Both of Debbie’s articles in this issue are inspired by Communication Ethics professor Kenton Anderson (whom she is a huge fan of!).

DID YOU

?

When you lie, do you find it difficult to control your facial expression? Most of the time, nonverbal cues give you away, don’t they? The television series, Lie to Me, features a deception expert who can tell if a person is lying via verbal and nonverbal cues. The intriguing series is inspired by the scientific discoveries of a real-life psychologist, Dr. Paul Ekman, who studies emotion and its expression, in addition to deceit. Similar to his on-screen counterpart, Ekman is an expert in detecting lies and reading emotions, a skill that I’m sure most of us have been yearning to acquire!

KNOW

Named as one of the 100 most influential people of 2009 in Times Magazine, Ekman had also received the Research Scientist Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, which has been renewed five times. He developed the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to categorize human facial expressions, though his studies on lying also include observation of the rest of the body.

Ekman also made significant contributions to the

understanding of the roots of compassion, altruism and amicable relationships.

How has his research thus far helped society? When he was interviewed about the Monica Lewinsky scandal, he mentioned that he could detect that former U.S. President Bill Clinton was lying because he used distancing language, which simply means using language in a way that makes the © paulekman.com speaker appear less involved with the content of what they say. Watch out, liars! Ekman is currently helping to design a visual lie detector. Ah, finally. The absolute truth and nothing else!

Debbie is pursuing a Double Major in Communication and Psychology. She would very much like to own one of those visual lie detectors that Ekman is making!

PAUL EKMAN

Editor’s Note

Co-editor’s Note

By Pak Hui Ling

By Janice Huang

MIND is back for its third issue! You may have noticed some changes in the background; MIND now has a longer length and a new editor and co-editor!

Dear readers, we officially have three things to celebrate.

In this issue, we take a closer look at “sleep” — something often neglected in our drive to squeeze yet more minutes of productivity out of our already packed day. Considering that we spend a third of our lives on sleep, we do not really pay much attention to it, do we?

If you have forgotten how important sleep is to your well-being, Loriene Perera and Sherlyne Yong will remind you about it, with their articles on sleep-eating disorder and dream theory!

Also on the topic of well-being, Dr. Uma Shenoy’s article about positive psychology, an up-and-coming field in psychology, provides insights on how to live life to the fullest. Contrary to what some people may think at first, psychology is much more than the study of problems in human minds. It also studies how people can live happy and fulfilling lives. I’m sure everyone could do with more advice on this!

As always, the MIND team strives towards informing and interesting you, our dear readers, in every issue. It is our pleasure and honour to be able to write about topics close to our hearts while reaching out to so many readers. Thank you for your support!

Hui Ling is the Director of the Publications Department and the layout designer of MIND. She loves writing formal emails and hiding her artistic genius behind a Matrix-like exterior!

Firstly, MIND’s very first 12-page release! Our precious newsletter has hitherto always been eight pages per issue, so I can safely say it has grown quite a bit! Of course, that would not have been possible at all without our Publications seniors, especially our beloved Stephanie Stella. We wish you guys all the best in your future undertakings… live long and prosper!

Secondly, we have the return of our favourite guest writers. Aaron Yeo explains to us why committing to a relationship can be such a gruelling experience for some, and Tong Wei Chuen shows us how narcissism may really be a personality disorder. (Bet you never knew that!)

Last and definitely not least, we celebrate PSYSOC turning one year old! What we have accomplished thus far is no mean feat, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Radhi Raja, Dr. Reena Dabas, the Student Life Services and everyone in PSYSOC for their hard work. I hope the rest of this year will be a good one for us all!

Janice is the Deputy Director of the Publications Department and she thinks Hui Ling’s formal emails are creepy!

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Š Loriene Perera

PSYSOC Committee 2010 Administration President

Josephine Poh

Vice-president

Joanne Toh

Honorary Secretary

Marlene Chua

Finance Director

Michelle Lau

IT Director

Tan Swee Kiat

Research and Internships

Human Resource

Deputy Director

Wendy Cheong

Director

Koh Yun Shi

Aloysius Ng

Director

Lua Yusi

research.internships.psysociety@gmail.com

To reach our president directly: PSYSOC@clubs.sim.edu.sg

Publications

Events

General enquiries general.psysociety@gmail.com

Director

Pak Hui Ling

Director

Nicole Loy

Deputy Director

Janice Huang

Deputy Director

Uma Padmanathan

Isaac Chan

Abdul Rahman Restria Fauzuana

Rowena Chin

Andrea Chua

Debbie Leong

Lim Ai Ling

Wilson Lim

Liu Weimin

Loh Eng Hao

Tricia Tan

Loriene Perera

Thomas Yang

Sherlyne Yong events.psysociety@gmail.com publication.psysociety@gmail.com

This issue of MIND is bundled with an exclusive 19-page coverage of PSY2010!

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