MIL Lecture 1 (2) PDF

Our Times - what makes mental health difficult ? King, L.A., Hicks, J.A., 2021. The science of meaning in life. Annu. Rev. Psychol. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921 Meaning in Life (MIL) - framework Subjective state Linked to better mental and physical...

Our Times - what makes mental health difficult ? King, L.A., Hicks, J.A., 2021. The science of meaning in life. Annu. Rev. Psychol. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921 Meaning in Life (MIL) - framework Subjective state Linked to better mental and physical health Three characteristics: Coherence Purpose Mattering Why the difficulties ? 1. Stratification of power – E. Musk (Starlink) as an example: “I don’t matter…I have so little power”. Significance (Mattering) 2. Hyperactive social media, with lapsed responsibility likely: “modern life is incoherent and ‘crazy’ ” Coherence – I can’t figure it out…it’s negatively fluctuating 3. Cognitive overload, especially reversion to polarized positions reflecting all-ornothing thinking (CBT): ‘bitter’ politics & warfare – destabilizing chaos: “In a crazy world, there’s no purpose” In this crazy world, it’s hard to decide on my purpose. 4. Increased participation from all global areas – more competition in an unstable economy: ‘can I compete? And where? “I can’t compete, therefore I cannot fulfill goals” Purpose – It’s hard to decide on goals 5. COVID recovery: decreases regular ordering – Durkheim – ‘anomie’ – rule-lessness… Purpose – It’s hard to organize my self … less order to organize around 6. Environmental anxiety ? “The world is becoming a parched, flooded & fiery landscape… Nothing to build on – no Coherence or Purpose…why try when it will all be destroyed? King, L.A., Hicks, J.A., 2021. The science of meaning in life. Annu. Rev. Psychol. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921 Meaning in Life (MIL) Subjective state Linked to better mental and physical health Three characteristics: Coherence Purpose Mattering The antidotes? Addressing the problems of mood and inspiration 1. Extreme stratification of power – E. Musk (Starlink) as examples: “I don’t matter…I have so little power” See Significance in all you do… 2. Hyperactive social media, where lapsed responsibility is likely: “modern life is incoherent and ‘crazy’ ” Coherence – becomes clear with moment-by-moment awareness 3. Cognitive overload, especially reversion to polarized positions reflecting all-or-nothing thinking (CBT): ‘bitter’ politics and warfare – destabilizing chaos: “In a crazy world, there’s no purpose” Purpose – It’s a crazy world we have to make sane. 4. Increased participation from all global areas – more competition in a fluctuating economy: ‘can I compete? And where? “I can’t compete, therefore I cannot fulfill goals” Purpose – If you see significance in all you do…a subset of doings become your purpose 5. COVID recovery: decreases in regular order – Durkheim – ‘anomie’ – rule-lessness… Purpose – We need to rebuild…you decide on your ordering 6. Environmental anxiety ? “The world is becoming a parched or flooded or fiery landscape… no Coherence or Purpose…apparent destruction is a phase – we must ecologize King, L.A., Hicks, J.A., 2021. The science of meaning in life. Annu. Rev. Psychol. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921 Meaning in Life (MIL) Subjective state Linked to better mental and physical health Three characteristics: Coherence Purpose Mattering The antidotes? Addressing the problems of mood and inspiration 1. Extreme stratification of power – E. Musk (Starlink) as examples: “I don’t matter…I have so little power” See Significance in all you do… 2. Hyperactive social media, where lapsed responsibility is likely: “modern life is incoherent and ‘crazy’ ” Coherence – becomes clear with moment-by-moment awareness 3. Cognitive overload, especially reversion to polarized positions reflecting all-or-nothing thinking (CBT): ‘bitter’ politics and warfare – destabilizing chaos: “In a crazy world, there’s no purpose” Purpose – It’s a crazy world we have to make sane. 4. Increased participation from all global areas – more competition in a fluctuating economy: ‘can I compete? And where? “I can’t compete, therefore I cannot fulfill goals” Purpose – If you see significance in all you do…a subset of doings become your purpose 5. COVID recovery: decreases in regular order – Durkheim – ‘anomie’ – rule-lessness… Purpose – We need to rebuild…you decide on your ordering 6. Environmental anxiety ? “The world is becoming a parched or flooded or fiery landscape… no Coherence or Purpose…apparent destruction is a phase – we must ecologize King, L.A., Hicks, J.A., 2021. The science of meaning in life. Annu. Rev. Psychol. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921 Meaning in Life (MIL) Subjective state Linked to better mental and physical health Three characteristics: Coherence Purpose Mattering Mood and Inspiration Everyone has ‘bad moods’ - a way of saying ‘bad moods that one gets ‘stuck in’ The ‘problem of depression’ raises the challenge of finding a way back to ‘inspiration’ Depression takes multiple forms but all are based on a perception of being ‘unable’ to do what you want - and counteract a disability you feel you have King, L.A., Hicks, J.A., 2021. The science of meaning in life. Annu. Rev. Psychol. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921 Meaning in Life (MIL) Subjective state Linked to better mental and physical health Three characteristics: Coherence Purpose Mattering Inspiration Process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something good or potentially good, especially something creative Transition from depression to inspiration is based on first feeling unable and deciding to not to do – then feeling stimulated to do and feel… and create. Whereas depression is contractive and reductive, inspiration is expansive and additive What is the difference physiologically? Depression is stress-increasing and inflammation-increasing Inspiration is stress-decreasing and inflammation-decreasing But do we have a model for how to become inspired? Perhaps ‘flow’ offers an approacj? Start with Csikszentmihályi’s Concepts Flow is a healthy & enjoyable state … that can lead to achievement 1. challenge-skill balance (competent to meet high situational demands) [must seek & confront situations with high demands] 2. action-awareness merge (‘doing’ spontaneously without having to think first) [must practice spontaneous ‘doing’] 3. clear goals (strong sense of what one wants to do) [must find out what it is you want to do] 4. unambiguous feedback (knowing how well one is doing during performance) [must be unafraid to confront the truth of unambiguous feedback] 5. sense of control (control over what one is doing) [staying calm when control seems reducing or slipping) 6. concentration/focus on task-at-hand (complete task focus) [must develop attentional control] 7. loss of self consciousness (minimal pride, vanity, pretentiousness - the ‘doing’ is the reward) 8. transformation of time (time passes differently, less tediously and more ‘magically’ or interestingly than normal) 9. autotelic experience (flow experience is rewarding). (Csikzentmihalyi and Csikzentmihalyi, 1988) How to make the journey between depression and inspiration?..between being ‘stuck’ and ‘flowing’ Between ‘good moods’ and ‘bad moods’, between a downwards shift and an upwards shift – a resilient uplift or a ‘downwards curve’. The domain of psychotherapy or counseling focuses on that journey. What do you do to ensure effective, successful journeys? What you do becomes, to some extent, ‘habitual’ and ‘daily’? What do you do, daily? What are daily regimen decisions relevant to mood? Daily Regimen Decisions (DRDs) Do you run, walk or meditate or visualize, chant or do yoga or weight lift? All of those DRDs are relevant and related to in this course They are increasingly the subjects of podcasts and debates, & we will explore their evidential basis One cannot not do something when confronted with a ‘downwards’, detrimental mood but what is the ‘it’ that you do? In place of what you do, what might be best to do? What might be the best way to think about what to do? Every day in our doings, we make mistakes. We do what’s unhealthy. When what’s unhealthy becomes toxic and habitual, we call it an ‘addiction’ Addiction prevalence is estimated at about 21% per lifetime, about 1 in 5…17% point-prevalence for addiction disorder and 10% for mood disorder…1 in 3 Canadians met the criteria for at least one of the six selected mental or substance use disorder at some point in their life. We must do better with mental health – one key is implementing ‘health psychology’ How we will study Health Psychology Learning from actual studies (mainly RCTs) which you will have plenty of time to study and demonstrate your knowledge of.. Learning about psychophysiological responses in your body that integrate mind (especially cognition) with body (physiology) and can be stimulated and implemented by you. These will be integrated in a ‘cell’-to-society perspective, with proven interventions focused on as the ‘integration points’. Examination will be a combination of ‘open book’ and necessary memorization Cell – intra-cellular stress – mitochondria – the source of energy (90%) to Organ – stress & health effects – Heart, Pancreas, Brain, Lungs, Liver-Kidneys, Gut to Psyche – relationship between mental health and physical health to Condition – Syndrome - Diagnosis King, L.A., Hicks, J.A., 2021. The science of meaning in life. Annu. Rev. Psychol. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921 Meaning in Life (MIL) Subjective state Linked to better mental and physical health Three characteristics: Coherence Purpose Mattering Autonomic Innervation of the Heart Sympathetic branch Fight-flight Slower cardiac influence Parasympathetic branch Rest-digest Rapid cardiac influence Appelhans, B.M., Luecken, L.J., 2006. Heart rate variability as an index of regulated emotional responding. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 10, 229–240. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.10.3.229 “A Healthy Heart is Not a Metronome” Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Beat-to-beat interval variations Parasympathetic functioning High HRV ≈ Health and dynamic responding Low HRV ≈ Autonomic inflexibility and disease Shaffer, F., McCraty, R., Zerr, C.L., 2014. A healthy heart is not a metronome: An integrative review of the heart’s anatomy and heart rate variability. Front. Psychol. 5, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01040 Acharya, U.R., Joseph, K.P., Kannathal, N., Lim, C.M., Suri, J.S., 2006. Heart rate variability: A review. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 44, 1031–1051. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-006-0119-0 Polyvagal Theory Relates HRV to social behaviors Vagus nerve: Face-heart connection Social engagement system Porges, S.W., 2011. The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company, New York, NY. Neurovisceral Integration Model Links HRV to self-regulation via executive functions Pain & emotion processing Central autonomic network (CAN) HRV measures prefrontal– subcortical connectivity Smith, R., Thayer, J.F., Khalsa, S.S., Lane, R.D., 2017. The hierarchical basis of neurovisceral integration. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 75, 274–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.02.003 system Salience, self-awareness, pain processing & addiction system King, L.A., Hicks, J.A., 2021. The science of meaning in life. Annu. Rev. Psychol. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921 Meaning in Life (MIL) Subjective state Linked to better mental and physical health Three characteristics: Coherence Purpose Mattering Meaning in Life (MIL) and Social Relationships Positive cycle Social Relationships MIL Therefore, MIL à health benefits of social relationships Stillman, T.F., Lambert, N.M., 2013. The bidirectional relationship of meaning and belonging, in: Hicks, J.A., Routledge, C. (Eds.), The Experience of Meaning in Life. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, Netherlands, pp. 305–315. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6527-6_23 Meaning in Life (MIL) and Stress Regulation MIL: A stress buffer Coherence: Enhances comprehension of stressful events Purpose: Organizes the prioritizing what is actually worth doing and worrying about Cohesion: Provides feedback on environmental effects Hooker, S.A., Masters, K.S., Park, C.L., 2018. A meaningful life is a healthy life: A conceptual model linking meaning and meaning salience to health. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 22, 11–24. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000115 McKnight, P.E., Kashdan, T.B., 2009. Purpose in life as a system that creates and sustains health and well-being: An integrative, testable theory. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 13, 242–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017152 Primary Hypotheses H1: Higher MIL = Higher baseline HRV Secondary Question 1. State MIL 2. Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory Frankl, V.E., 1963. Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. Washington Square Press, New York, NY. Garland, E.L., Farb, N.A., R. Goldin, P., Fredrickson, B.L., 2015. Mindfulness broadens awareness and builds eudaimonic meaning: A process model of mindful positive emotion regulation. Psychol. Inq. 26, 293–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2015.1064294 Meaning in Life Questionnaire Presence Subscale (MLQ-P) Avoids presupposing any one definition of meaning in life e.g., “I understand my life’s meaning.” Meaning in Life State Scale (MIL-S) 5-item scale Items converted to reflect present-moment timeframe Example: “My life makes sense” ↓ “Right now, life makes sense” Baseline (5 min) Resting phase Procedure Stress task (5 min) Unsolvable patterns Meditation (10 min) Active vs. Control Hypothesis 1: MIL-HRV Positive Baseline Relationship? Regression Predicting HRV From Meaning in Life (N = 77) Variable Model 1 Meaning (linear) b SE p 0.467 0.905.607 R2.00 Hypothesis 1: MIL-HRV Positive Baseline Relationship? Regression Predicting HRV From Meaning in Life (N = 77) Variable Model 1 Meaning (linear) Model 2 Meaning (linear) Meaning (quadratic) b SE p 0.467 0.905.607 1.430 0.300 0.936 0.109.131.008 R2.00.10 Hypothesis 1: MIL-HRV Positive Baseline Relationship? Regression Predicting HRV From Meaning in Life (N = 77) Variable Model 1 Meaning (linear) Model 2 Meaning (linear) Meaning (quadratic) Model 3 Meaning (linear) Meaning (quadratic) Positive mood Depressive symptoms Respiration b SE p 0.467 0.905.607 1.430 0.300 0.936 0.109.131.008 -0.054 0.283 1.877 -0.654 -2.947 1.032 0.104 0.870 0.654 1.327.958.008.034.321.030 R2.00.10.23 Let’s continue on Thursday We can use meaning-in-life as a: therapeutic focus self contemplative focus educative focus Relationship: HRV and Meaning in Life (N = 77) (Controlling for Covariates) Fitted Value + Residual 450 400 350 300 10 15 20 MLQ−P 25 30 35 Hypothesis 2a Changes in Trajectory HRV ln(RMSSD)*100 380 370 360 350 340 Stress progression 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stress onset 7 8 Mindfulness recovery 9 10 11 12 Time (min) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Hypothesis 2a Higher MIL and Less Stress Reactivity? HRV Decreases From Baseline to Stress Onset as a Function of MIL Final baseline minute (T5) HRV Differences Between Baseline and Stress Onset as a Function of MIL Stress onset (T6) Difference in ln(RMSSD)*100 (T6−T5) 10 Difference in HRV HRV ln(RMSSD)*100 420 400 380 360 340 10 15 20 MLQ−P 25 30 0 −10 −20 −30 −40 10 15 20 MLQ−P 25 30 Hypothesis 2b Higher MIL and Faster Stress Attenuation? HRV ln(RMSSD)*100 380 370 360 350 340 Stress progression 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mindfulness recovery 10 11 12 Time (min) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Hypothesis 2b Higher MIL and Faster Stress Attenuation? RMSSD Slopes During Stress Phase (6.0–10.0 Min) at Different MIL Levels Parameter Slope Estimate SE p MLQ-P = 15 (10th percentile) 0.03 1.02.980 MLQ-P = 19 (25th percentile) 0.32 0.98.748 MLQ-P = 24 (50th percentile) 0.52 0.98.591 MLQ-P = 27 (75th percentile) 0.57 0.97.562 MLQ-P = 31 (90th percentile) 0.52 1.02.608 Hypothesis 3 MIL × Mindfulness Interaction on HRV? HRV ln(RMSSD)*100 380 370 360 350 340 Stress progression 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stress onset 7 8 Mindfulness recovery 9 10 11 12 Time (min) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Hypothesis 4: MIL as a State Variable? Change in State Meaning in Life (MIL−S) Across Phases 14.0 p =.011 MIL−S 13.5 13.0 12.5 12.0 baseline p <.001 p =.025 stress Phase intervention Conclusion Cardiac vagal tone and cardiac vagal reactivity are linked to MIL Future research is needed to further clarify the physiology of MIL MIL is modifiable in the here and now