February 20, 2023
Have you ever experienced an “altered state of consciousness”? The answer is necessarily… yes! And for good reason, behind this name, hide in particular these small absences that one can have from time to time. When one is “in the moon” for example. But not only…
A modified state of consciousness presupposes a… consciousness, which requires the activation of three components: awakening, “as opposed to sleep, during which one loses consciousness”, as reported by Inserm. But also a “realistic perception of his environment” and another, ” of oneself “. Which means if one of these components “is diminished, extinguished or dissociated, we switch to a modified state of consciousness”.
It’s kind of a different mental state than ordinary wakefulness. It can occur spontaneously, for example when going from wakefulness to sleep – hypnagogic state – and from sleep to wakefulness: hypnopompic state.
Techniques to induce them
And beyond that, certain altered states of consciousness can be induced to relieve, for example, symptoms or illnesses. For this, illustrates Inserm, “Many techniques have been known and used since the dawn of time: hypnosis, meditation, shamanic trance or even psychedelic substances…”
Finally, this “different mental state” can also take a pathological form: “sometimes the impairment of awareness of self and the surrounding world proves to be detrimental and pathological, as in schizophrenia”concludes Inserm.
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Source : Inserm. To ponder – What is an altered state of consciousness? September 25, 2022 – Lapassade, G. (1987). 1. Spontaneous changes in “ordinary consciousness”. In: G. Lapassade, The modified states of consciousness (pp. 9-28). Paris cedex 14: University Press of France
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Written by : David Picot – Edited by: Emmanuel Ducreuzet
