A. Szczegielniak

Lucid Dreaming: a Mysterious Phenomenon

Introduction Lucid Dream (LD) is a phenomenon occurring at the end of REM sleep and during which one is aware that one is dreaming. It is possible thanks to the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reinforced by other cortical areas of the brain. As previous studies show, it is much more common among children and adolescents than among adults, as prevalence of LD relate to a degree of maturity of the CNS. Aim The study was designed to assess incidence of lucid dreaming among youth and compare it with the prevalence in general population. Materials and Methods A questionnaire about sleep hygiene, distinguishing also between past and present experiences of lucid dreaming, has been developed. It was distributed both in paper version and on-line. IP control has been introduced for the virtual participants. Timeline for material gathering covered 01/01-15/03/2014. Results Study confirmed that age has a significant role on lucid dreams appearance. Participants of the study with bad sleep hygiene (irregular time of sleeping, watching TV before going to sleep, hard to digest dinners) less frequently experienced lucid dreams. Women seems to be more interested in LD’s developing techniques, however there is a small knowledge about positive aspects of lucid dreaming among Poles. Conclusions Lack of knowledge about the phenomenon of lucid dreaming among the population may affect the results of future studies in this field.

Excessive Exercise: a New Definition of Health

Absolutely unrealistic body images promoted by mass media seems to negatively affect behavior of different age groups, but is particularly evident among adolescents and young people. It results with low self-esteem, negative self-image, impaired contacts with peers, unhealthy diet and excessive exercise. The last two can also be accompanied by uncontrolled use of pharmacological agents, including prescription drugs, to achieve a desired body shape. Its not easy to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy exercise since both may share same attributes. In recent years media willing promote, variously defined, a ‘healthy lifestyle’ as defensive shield against various civilization diseases. There are also no doubts about positive effects of sport on variety of health indicators. The aim of the study is to answer whether its possible to examine social context of exercise addiction. In order to do this authors prepared original questionnaire that was disseminated among participants together with Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI). Additionally, a special emphasis was placed on previous medical records, other addictions and possible negative consequences of the behavior. The study took place between May and October 2014.

EPA-0902 – Treatment for alcohol dependence in poland. is there a better option?

In Poland, the problem of alcohol dependence according to various statistics cover from 5 to 7% of the population, hence the number of centers for such people is growing. The most common method of the treatment of addiction at the moment is integrative psychotherapy of addiction based on psycho-social model. It turns out, however, that the method of BSFT has many advantages that make it effective and less expensive than traditional methods used. The aim of this study was presenatation of patients’ and therapists’ needs as well as identification of existing barriers. 64 therapists were examined in total; 37 women (57%) and 27 males (43%). The study involved also 191 patients, 160 men (83.77%) and 31 women (16.23%). All the surveys were anonymous and were collected in health centers within the province of Silesia. As it turns out, type of education and skills learned in the process of therapists’ training is the main factor in the choice of the form of therapy proposed to patients. When it comes to barriers for alcohol addiction treatment, the therapists often pointed to cultural barriers, such as shame of admitting the addiction or fear of stigmatization. As reasons why the alcohol addiction treatment centers’ do not change their treatment programs surveyed indicated as the most important answer’patients do not care what methods are used in’ (16.75%). This points to the need for more programs tailored to the needs of respondents, since the standard treatment regimens lead to more frequent treatment failure.

1507 – Consequences of the choice to specialize in psychiatry

Introduction Providing of mental health service is the main task of every country. Its implementation obviously depends on the number of professionally active psychiatrists. So the issues of a great importance for current psychiatry are determinants and consequences of the decision of specialization in this medical domain. Objectives The aim of our work was, most of all, the assessment of motives of the choice of specialization in psychiatry from the perspective of physicians-practitioners. Methods In order to do it, we prepared an original questionnaire, which contained 22 questions (some of them were of multiple choice) concerned with, i. e. sociodemographical and professional aspects. The study group was created from 132 psychiatrists (including 33 men), participating in international scientific-training conference in Wisla in 2011. Average age was 43 years (SD=9.7), and seniority in psychiatry - 15 years (SD=9.8). The obtained results were statistically analyzed using Statistica 8.0. Detailed results of our analysis will be presented during conference. Results The results of our questionnaire may be used to improve the image of psychiatry as attractive path of professional career (almost 95% of questionnaired physicians do not regret their decision!). Conclusions The results may also become an essential argument during the discussion about current problems in psychiatry, for example problem of occupational burnout, and possibilities of their solution.